This book on Bahian poet Jacinta Passos really is worth reading. I should discuss Passos and the book in greater detail at some point, but for now I will say only that Passos has a marvelous concept, “established disorder,” which refers in effect to authoritarian situations. A Peruvian professor of history has written a book … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: Dalila Machado
This evening I went to a fancy movie theatre with a good, if small book store and a fancy café sharing its space. Suddenly I could tell I had been living too much in the slums because the upscale nature of everything was so unfamiliar. I was not quite sure I belonged at first. Lula, … More Lula, The Movie
In Reeducation we were to accentuate the negative. We were to find our faults and our weak spots. Admit, accept, confess, apologize, make amends, promise to improve, and on, and on. For me, though, that kind of negative approach makes improvement hard. History matters but fretting about it is pointless — although one of Reeducation’s … More Positively
There is a breeze, and I am over my crisis. This is, as we know, a mystical town full of spirits who jangle at you or sweep through. As usual, I have had a multifaceted crisis — it always involves a house, a writing project, and an arbitrary power from home — and have discussed … More Tropical Breeze
Three reasons I am exhausted are: 1. The material situation, dealing with this house. 2. The psychological situation, dealing with the owner of the house and the caretaker. 3. The psychological situation, dealing with my “friend” who was going to pick me up from the airport. Since these situations began to wear upon me, my … More On Attitude
I have not gotten enough done these past two weeks, or enjoyed myself much, but I have learned something, perhaps, about vacation rentals; you really need guarantees and you must ask many apparently anally retentive questions because if not, you will lose. It is odd but the worst renter I ever had was someone I … More Caveat Emptor: On “Vacation” Houses
Here is his useful blog, Changing Universities. Axé.
It was raining, raising the rotten smells in this slum with its beautiful view, but now the sun is out and it is bright, oh so bright! The bay is beautiful, and I am going to the beach. I have just realized something bright. The reason there is no point in coming to an agreement … More Bright!
I am continually learning, of course, that it really is all right to do as I see fit. I learned at various points that my doing as I see fit might be challenging to people slightly less confident than I, and that it would be cruel of me not to defer to that so that … More Ich habe gelernt…
Now, thanks to Jennifer, I am honing in to where I want to be in terms of tone for this missive. Human has a point — that this person really is out of line — and so does my IRL friend here in Brazil, who said: –What is he trying to do, dominate you? and … More Honing In
coldhearted scientist وداد 