Never read the comments, you fool!

My mantra from now on: Don't read the comments on social media. Don't read the comments on social media. Don't read the comments on social media. Don't read the comments... Off course, I'll never make comments again as well.

An admirable Brazilian song

Every single music lover knows: Samba is the most authentic genre of Brazilian music. Originated from African rhythms, samba is the cultural portrait of my country to many people. Though I personally prefer hard rock and heavy metal, that contagious Brazil's beat also appeals to me.

Last month (in my other blog) I spoke briefly of a Brazilian song - Pra que discutir com madame? - that I really enjoy (Besta Quadrada, the other blog, is written in Portuguese; if you want to visit it, click here). Pra que discutir com madame? was composed by Haroldo Barbosa and Janet de Almeida in 1956. Years later, singer and acoustic guitarist João Gilberto recorded it, making it known abroad.

How about listening to the song?

  

A few days ago, I came across with a nice translation of the song lyric in the musician João Macdowell's blog.

Check it out (I put the translation lines and the original Portuguese lyrics side by side):

WHY SHOULD I ARGUE WITH MADAM? (PRA QUE DISCUTIR COM MADAME?)                                           

Madam says the reason the race does not improve, (Madame diz que a raça não melhora,)

That life just gets worse because of Samba (Que a vida piora por causa do samba)

Madam says that Samba is full of sin (Madame diz que o samba é pecado)

That poor Samba should disappear. (Que o samba, coitado, devia acabar)

Madam says that samba has cachaça, (Madame diz que o samba tem cachaça,)

mixing races, mixing colors, (mistura de raça, mistura de cor,)

Madam says that democratic Samba (Madame diz que o samba democrata)

is just cheap music, it’s worthless. (É música barata sem nenhum valor)

                                        
                                         [Chorus:]

Let’s put an end to the Samba, (Vamos acabar com o samba,)

Madam doesn’t like to see the Samba (Madame não gosta que ninguém sambe)

She keeps on saying Samba is a shame (Vive dizendo que samba é vexame)

Why should I argue with Madam? (Pra que discutir com madame?)

Carnival is near, and this year I’m in the contest  (No Carnaval que vem também concorro)

My gang from the favela is coming down, singing opera. (Meu bloco de morro vai cantar ópera)

and in the sweaty alleys, when it’s hot, loud and packed, (E na avenida entre mil apertos)

every single voice will sing a concert. (Vocês vão ver gente cantando concerto)

Madam is a little bit nuts (Madame tem um parafuso a menos)

She spits out so much poison, My God, what a shame (Só fala veneno, Meu Deus, que horror)

Brazilian democratic Samba (O samba brasileiro democrata)

Roots of Brazil, we have pride and we know our worth. (Brasileiro na batata é que tem valor)

Come to think of it, I would've translated the last line a little bit differently... Anyway. Macdowell claims that "the lyrics present a very straight forward version of the narrative of cultural conflicts and coexistence of contrasting systems of value that permeates Brazilian culture. There is a rich discourse about the nature of this cultural tension that is exposed through the song". I totally agree with him.

Furthermore, the tune is simply irresistible, mainly when the song is played by a complete group of sambistas, like these guys below, joined to the marvelous singer Teresa Cristina. Enjoy yourself!

Long live the paper books!

"Book Age is over!". "It's the end of Gutenberg's Galaxy'". "Nobody reads paper books nowadays". "In the future, there will be only reading on digital devices".

How many times have you heard/read claims like these?

I've been thinking a lot about reading, mainly printed books reading (after all, it's a pivotal part of my current job). Some weeks ago, I was searching for a few images of people with books in their hands and I found beautiful pictures in a BBC report (signed by Fionna Macdonald), Striking photos of readers around the world. 

The article highlights On Reading, a photographer Steve McCurry's book, which gathers pictures that were taken over past 40 years; some of them, according to Macdonald, are "glimpses of people absorbed in the written word, many unaware they were being photographed".

Take a look at this:

The photo was taken at a museum (Umbria, Italy). I think the enormous skeleton legs belong to the sculpture named Calamita Cosmica, created by Gino De Dominicis. But the woman doesn't seem interested in it. Maybe she's an employee of the museum. Maybe she's seen that sculpture hundreds and hundreds of times and - meh - it isn't so fascinating anymore. Who knows? What is she reading? A catalogue? The picture whets our curiosity (it's irresistible, isn't it?).

And what about this one?

It was taken in 2013. The kid is a member of the Suri Tribe (Tulget, Omo Valley, Ethiopia). It looks like he's at school. Why is he alone? Is he doing a difficult task or just reading for fun?

The next one is odd and thrilling:

What is this facility? Looks like a power plant. The photo (taken in 1991, in Kuwait, i.e. after or even during the Gulf War) shows a man, surrounded by rubble, focused on a simple book!

We couldn't forget my country, could we?

This stunning library is the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura (Royal Portuguese Cabinet for Reading), founded in 1837 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and still working today.

Journalist/blogger Maria Popova, going into the German writer Hermann Hesse's essay The Magic of the Book, wrote:

"The question of what books do and what they are for is, of course, an abiding one. For Kafka, books were “the axe for the frozen sea within us”; for Carl Sagan, “proof that humans are capable of working magic”; for James Baldwin, a way to change our destiny; for Neil Gaiman, the vehicle for the deepest human truths; for Polish Nobel laureate Wisława Szymborska, our ultimate frontier of freedom. Falling closest to Galileo, who saw reading as a way of having superhuman powers, Hesse considers the historical role of the written word: 

'With all peoples the word and writing are holy and magical; naming and writing were originally magical operations, magical conquests of nature through the spirit, and everywhere the gift of writing was thought to be of divine origin. With most peoples, writing and reading were secret and holy arts reserved for the priesthood alone.

[…]

Today all this is apparently completely changed. Today, so it seems, the world of writing and of the intellect is open to everyone… Today, so it seems, being able to read and write is little more than being able to breathe… Writing and the book have apparently been divested of every special dignity, every enchantment, every magic… From a liberal, democratic point of view, this is progress and is accepted as a matter of course; from other points of view, however, it is a devaluation and vulgarization of the spirit'.

All those authors and I are on the same page.

One more thing: Paper books are not a thing of the past. They are still required. Long live the paper books!

An idol called Paula

March 11 1962: Maria Paula Gonçalves da Silva was born in Osvaldo Cruz, Brazil. Nicknamed Magic Paula (relating to former american point/shooting guard Earvin "Magic" Johnson), she is one of the greatest basketball players of all times - and one of my idols! (In 2002, I got her handwritten signature on this book shown above; it was wonderful!).

One of these days, I'll write about her and why she's so outstanding to me.

#CoupDetatInBrazil

There's something really, really out of order when the country's hero (in the opinion of part of the population, not mine, let me set straight it) is a biased judge.

We've had enough of Adam Sandler's movies, OK?

In Brazil, free-to-air television channels are despicable. So, if you don't want to kill yourself while you're watching TV, you'll have to pay.

However, brazilian pay-TV leaves a lot to be desired. It's inflexible and kinda expensive (mainly if you consider the average wage of brazilian workers). Even being a badly paid civil servant, I'm a subscriber. Then you may ask me: And what about the shows, programs, movies? Are they satisfactory at least?

Well...  Let's only talk about movies, right? (Doing so, I guess I'm gonna be able to stay calm...).

Last week, for instance, Paranormal activity: The marked ones and Kick-Ass were scheduled in three channels! Both flicks are fine, but they - like lots of others - have been repeated excessively! Of course, it's just a nasty way to force us to purchase another TV package (with HBO included, for instance, that will cost us more), or to buy on-demand contents (like NOW). That's why pay-TV companies hate Netflix!

In other hand - and speaking of overly repeated movies -, why, why, WHY those channels adore Adam Sandler so much???

Whenever you turn on the TV you see a Sandler's stuff on the air. And some of his films - pardon my French - are a gigantic amount of crap. Do you disagree? Fine. But, please, answer me: Who can put up with things like Jack and Jill, Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, Little Nick or (for Zeus' sake!) You don't mess with the Zohan?

Hey, pay-TV companies, since you're not gonna stop repeating movies, could you choose comedies truly funny at least?

Carnaval? Hell no!!!

What is the first thing you remember when it comes to Brazil? Let me guess: the national soccer team? The statue of Christ the Redeemer? Its endless political scandals and violent cities?

Many people may say CARNAVAL (or Brazilian Carnival, if you insist...). You've already heard about it, for sure. A enormous street festival, samba-schools parades, five or more days of fun, craziness and senselessness all around the country... Sounds good, no? Wrong!!! (But I must admit, I can't complain about the days off, hehehe...).

It's not a matter of age; even when I was younger, I couldn't stand Carnaval too - except the costume thing (some outfits are pretty cool). Everybody acts as if they had to be cheerful and full of effervescent enthusiasm all the time. It's so hollow, if you think about it. We have to deal with traffic jams in the main roads and highways, crowded beaches, tiresome media broadcasts, with the same lame event being shown over and over. Besides, brazilian women often suffer sexual harassment during Carnaval. It's horrible.

If someone, singing and dancing in a bloco, invites me: "Join us!", I reply: "Thank you but I'm out".

Carnaval? Hell no!!!