e-Postcards

Project Black - Take Two

2008-07-13T10:51:00.004-03:00

We always associate flowers with color.

I thought black flowers existed only in the realm of fairy tales.

Then, one day, I saw these black tulips...

Project Black

2008-07-13T01:23:00.009-03:00

What is blacker than a vinyl album?
A vinyl album that has "black"in it...

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise"

Does this count as a double hit? Even considering that this is the White Album?

Check all entries to Anna's Project Black by following the links in her blog...

Japanese Immigration Centennial

2008-06-18T07:11:00.005-03:00

Japanese ikebana, Brazilian flowers...

On June 18th, 1908, the Kasatu Maru docked at the port of Santos bringing the first Japanese immigrants, 781 people, to Brazil. These first immigrants came to work at the coffee farms in the state of São Paulo. Their adaptation to such a different country was hard, but in a few years thousands of new Japanese immigrants had arrived and spread throughout the states of São Paulo and Paraná. Later some families started buying their own farms, and others moved to the cities in search of other occupations. Those who stayed in the farms helped shape a revolution in our agriculture, with their techniques, their knowledge and their patience. They introduced new vegetables, flowers, fruit in Brazil, and they taught us how to grow native species we didn't even care about. Those who moved to the cities brought with them their example of hard work, ethics and family values. We owe a lot of what São Paulo is today to their contribution. By the way, it is said that São Paulo is the largest Japanese city outside Japan.
If we often still call the fifth or sixth generation Brazilian descendants japoneses (or even the friendly term japas), it's not in a derogatory manner, but almost reverently. I wouldn't be able to point a single person in São Paulo who doesn't have a "Japanese" friend.
This will be a week of celebration, with Crown Prince Naruhito visiting many cities in Brazil.
Thank you, all my friends of Japanese descent, for all that you and your ancestors brought to Brazil. This is certainly a better country because of you!

Domo Arigato Gozaimashita!

A boat full of blue...

2008-06-10T07:27:00.004-03:00

...is my final delivery to Project Blue.

This is from the same Dale Chihuly exhibition shown on this post.

A blue door

2008-06-06T07:37:00.001-03:00

A high wall and a locked door. I wonder what's behind it: a secret garden, maybe?
See lots of blue pictures following Anna's Project Blue...

Project Green

2008-04-22T07:45:00.002-03:00

This is a view from my living room window, and a contribution to Anna's Project Green.
Not my best picture or composition, I know, but at least nobody will say it doesn't have enough green...

Looking Through - Take 2

2008-04-22T07:30:00.001-03:00

The University of São Paulo opened a new campus a couple of years ago, located on one of the poorest regions of the city. It is on the way to the airport, and one day, when I was early to pick up my wife, I finally had some time to stop and visit.
This is currently the largest building on the campus, and I thought these staircases had some Escher-esque quality...

Looking Through

2008-04-18T07:32:00.000-03:00

Here's a small contribution to Mark's Project Looking Through :

Incidentally, this is from the same series of pictures on my first post on this blog...

Old Lady

2008-02-05T18:02:00.000-03:00

On Sunday morning, I arrived early for a meeting with a friend, so I decided to find out where the steam train station indicated by the signs was.
As I approached, I saw the locomotive being prepared for the Sunday tourist rides. Ignoring the "authorized people only" sign, I stopped my car and started taking pictures from a distance. Next thing, the engineer climbs aboard, the whistle blows and the big machine starts moving, with its unmistakable choo-choo sound. The whole thing lasted only a few seconds, but it made my day...

Chicken checked

2008-01-28T22:59:00.001-03:00

Although they may seem a little crowded, these chicken were checked and I can guarantee you that they were naturally grown, er... I mean, crafted. As you can see, they're all happy and proud of their colors...

Hidden...

2007-12-31T13:36:00.001-03:00

I've been away for a while, busy with lots of different things. Among them, the fact that I've "unretired": I'm back to office work. I don't know how this will work out, but since I was invited, I had to try...
I stopped by to wish all of my blogger friends a Happy 2008!
I hope I can post more frequently next year...
P.S.: Can you find my noisy friends in the picture?

Escape to the Orient

2007-09-19T10:35:00.000-03:00

Guess where I've been recently...
(More on this later, I'll wait for your guesses...)

Update: Sorry if I mislead you (well, to tell the truth, I meant it...).
I didn't have to travel far to see this temple. Actually I didn't travel East, but West, and only for 22 km, about 14 miles, from my home. This is the Zu Lai temple, located in Cotia, a town in the greater São Paulo. It was built just a few years ago. (You can find more pictures here.)
They have a vegetarian cafeteria, a coffee shop, a gift shop, a small museum, and besides the Buddhist activities, they also teach several classes there: Tai Chi, Chinese language, vegetarian cooking, Shiitake mushroom cultivation, Kung Fu...
Surprised? Well, I was, too. A recent tourism ad says that if you can't find something in São Paulo, is because it doesn't exist. I guess this can be used as evidence...

Pick a color...

2007-09-08T13:14:00.001-03:00

More about the flower show: it was sponsored by a flower growers association, from a region in the greater São Paulo. Most of the farmers in that region are Japanese or of Japanese descent.

It was not all about orchids, as you can see...

Not my garden...

2007-08-27T10:35:00.000-03:00

On Saturday my wife and I went to a flower show. I'll tell more about it later, for now I'll just say that I never saw so many orchids together before!

Refreshing

2007-08-14T15:30:00.003-03:00

I haven't posted anything for a long time. The reasons? Lots of work, some "blogger's block", and even connection problems with my provider.
But the water kept flowing...

Cactus flower?

2007-06-19T19:37:00.000-03:00

My wife saw this plant at a friend's house and liked the way its long leaves grow from other leaves. Our friend gave her a leaf, and the plant developed well. What we didn't know was that it blooms - it happened for the first time 2 years later. The flowers are very delicate and last only for a couple of days. I searched on the Web and found that it's a cactacea, Lepismium houlletianum, also known as Rhipsalis houlletiana and a few other names. I couldn't find a common name, though - probably because it's not a very common house plant...

Boo!

2007-06-13T20:48:00.001-03:00

Was the barn surprised to see me?

Marathon

2007-06-04T09:50:00.001-03:00

Look at their bodies: all muscles, not a bit of fat. Look at their faces: total concentration. More than 33km gone, but still more than 8 to go. And most of the thousands of runners are still in their way in, almost half a race behind...
My compliments to the winners of the São Paulo marathon, run yesterday: Reuben Chepwek, from Kenya (# 8, Michael Mislay, #3, from Tanzania, was second) and Jacquiline Chebor, also from Kenya (Marizete dos Santos, from Brazil, was second). And to all those who participated, even if just for fun.
(The race passes just one block from my home, so that's all the distance I had to run, I mean, walk...)

The Bandeirante's House

2007-05-18T19:30:00.000-03:00

Bandeirantes were the explorers who, from the 16th to the 18th century, leaving mainly from São Paulo, went deep inland looking for natives they could enslave, and for precious metals and stones. Soon they found that the natives didn't make good slaves, because they refused to work. They found some mines, but not all the gold or the emeralds they hoped for. The lasting result of their travels, though, was that they explored and colonized a great part of the current Brazilian territory (which by the treaties in effect at that time should belong to Spain) for the Portuguese crown.

This house, near the Pinheiros river in São Paulo (and at walking distance from my home), never belonged to a bandeirante, and was probably built in the mid 18th century. It is a taipa house: the thick walls are built of compacted earth.

In 1954, when the city celebrated its 4th centennial, the house was restored and furnished to resemble a typical house of that period. Later it was decided that this was not the best approach from a museology point of view, so today it is used for temporary exhibitions.

St. Francis of Assisi Church - Pampulha

2007-05-11T13:34:00.000-03:00

Pope Benedict XVI is in São Paulo, and today he canonized Friar Antonio de Santana Galvão as Brazil's first native-born saint. I intended to post a picture of the Pope here today, but his popemobile passed by me so fast I didn't know whether I should watch him pass or take the picture, and faster than I could decide he was gone; all I got was a picture of the back of his head. Oh, well, this is not my first Pope, I hope I'll have other chances...
So, to celebrate the visit, I decided to post the pictures of this church instead.

Located by the Pampulha lake in Belo Horizonte, it was designed by Oscar Niemeyer (who'll be turning 100 in December). Built in 1943 in one of the most conservative Catholic regions in the country, its modern style resulted in it not being consecrated for 17 years. Another reason, maybe, was the fact that both Niemeyer and Candido Portinari, who did all the paintings, were well known communists...
When I visited it, four years ago, it was in a sad state of conservation, but fortunately it has been restored since then.

More guesses, anyone?

2007-04-27T20:30:00.000-03:00

Inspired by my friend Cris's post, I decided to ask a similar question. Who can tell me what are these fruits that grow from the trunk of their trees?
The first one is edible as it is (and there's nothing like eating them picked right from the tree), and also makes good jam and liqueur.
The second one I must confess I'd never seen before, and unfortunately there were no ripe fruits to photograph. As for its use, I could use Cris's hint...

Capim dourado - Golden grass

2007-04-24T21:22:00.000-03:00

The beautiful natural gold color and shine of this plant were unknown outside its native region of Jalapão, in the state of Tocantins, until recently.
As I was driving on Sunday to the nice country restaurant that Cris showed in her blog recently, my wife saw these articles displayed on the sidewalk, and asked me to stop there on our way back. She only had to ask once because, while she was interested in browsing, I had already spotted the nice photo opportunity...

Jangadas

2007-04-17T08:20:00.000-03:00

These fragile-looking rafts are a common site in Northeast Brazil. If you're lucky to catch them returning from open sea, you can buy the freshest fish you'll ever find, and have it prepared right there on the beach, at a price so low you won't believe it...
This day, though, the jangadas were ashore - time for the fishermen to be with their families, at last!

Tropical flavors

2007-04-11T21:08:00.000-03:00

At Mercado São Sebastião (St. Sebastian market) in Fortaleza you can find many kinds of tropical fruit that are common in Northeast Brazil. They don't look perfect, spotless and shiny; they look natural, and that's good!
From top to bottom, these are their names (most come from native languages): Jaca (jackfruit); Murici (nance); Pitomba (Eugenia luschnathiana, couldn't find a common name in English); Serigüela (jocote); Acerola; Cajá (yellow mombin?); Sapoti ( sapodilla); Cajá-umbu (this is possibly a hybrid between cajá and umbu); Pequi; and Graviola (soursop).

Vertical stage

2007-04-05T11:22:00.000-03:00

The pictures are blurred, they were taken with poor light and without appropriate support. But I wanted to share with you the spectacular performance I watched last night. Project Bandaloop performed at the IBM building (where, by the way, I worked for 19 years), celebrating that company's 90th anniversary in Brazil.

The movement, the lighting, the reflections on the glass, the shadows, everything was so perfect! Maybe I'll return tonight and watch it again...

Water

2007-03-22T10:17:00.000-03:00

March 22nd is World Water Day

Water. H2O, one of the simplest substances.
Basis of all life on Earth.
We use it for drinking, cooking, cleaning, manufacturing, generating energy, irrigating, even for fun... Cities are built around it, people depend on it to live and work.
And yet we don't think much about it unless it's not there when we need it.
We waste it and pollute it.

Think about it today. And do your part to preserve our water sources.

Engenho - Sugar mill

2007-03-20T13:05:00.000-03:00

This is an old-fashioned engenho, where we can see the traditional process for making sugar. First, the sugar cane is pressed to extract its juice, which is then boiled in huge pans, frequently stirred with wooden paddles. The cane pulp, the bagaço, is not wasted, it is used to feed the fire. After hours of boiling, the resulting thick paste is poured into molds and left to cool. The final product is rapadura, pure cane sugar bricks that are also sold flavored with coconut, pineapple etc. Very sweet pure energy!

At the market

2007-03-08T10:26:00.000-03:00

CEAGESP is the huge wholesale market that supplies all kinds of fresh food to the city of São Paulo. On Saturdays, the central pavilion houses a farmer's market where anyone can get the best vegetables, fruit, meat, seafood... It's a feast for all senses!

Moonglow

2007-03-04T21:27:00.000-03:00

I wish the pictures were better, but I guess consumer digital cameras still can't match the performance of film in some conditions. Anyway, I wanted to share with you the wonderful nature show I watched last night!

Old house

2007-03-03T11:43:00.000-03:00

"Not heaven itself upon the past has power;
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour."

John Dryden, Immitation of Horace

A stroll in Riviera - the flowers

2007-02-26T14:58:00.000-03:00

"See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these."
No lillies here, but the same is true about all flowers, isn't it?

A stroll in Riviera - the green

2007-02-23T23:04:00.000-03:00

This is not the French Riviera, of course! Riviera de São Lourenço is a development on the coast of the state of São Paulo that goes to great lengths to preserve nature. The Atlantic forest is exuberant: most of it is gone, but fortunately more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of preserving what's left and recovering this magnificent natural asset.

Relaxed Carnival

2007-02-21T12:16:00.000-03:00

Carnival. Literally millions of people leaving São Paulo towards the shore. It took us 3 hours to travel 80 miles to our friends' beach house. Now, will anybody tell me it wasn't worth it?

Unreal garden

2007-02-12T16:58:00.000-03:00

Visiting Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden was like dreaming about visiting a garden on another planet...

Elsewhere, it's Winter

2007-02-09T16:23:00.000-03:00

Beaches of Ceará, my wife's home state, where it's Summer year-round...

California dreaming...

2007-02-07T13:48:00.000-03:00

"I've been for a walk,
on a Winter's day..."

The Bay Area and the coast south of San Francisco, some of the most beautiful views in the world...

Wauwatosa

2007-02-05T13:47:00.000-03:00

Returning to downtown Milwaukee from a short shopping trip, I decided not to take the freeway and found this little jewel of a town, almost deserted at early afternoon...

Shared memories...

2007-02-05T09:06:00.000-03:00

I recently bought a new digital camera and rediscovered the pleasures of photography, so I decided to start this blog to share some of my pictures with my friends. Some will be recent and some will be old, recovered from old slides or scanned from prints; some from remote places, some from around the corner. Just a few postcards straight from my memories...