Friday, March 31, 2006

What to see at the Premiership

I have to admit that as thrilling as I consider the English Premiership to be, times have stood in a kind of a lull for my beloved Liverpool. We are 5 points behind Man U, but 10 ahead of Spurs. We've crushed Everton already, and that's something that reallly counts. But no big surprises await the Kop nation in the following weeks, I reckon.

I am not saying I do not think it is a bad championship at all, especially considering the doldrums that are the mid-tables of Spain and Italy these days. When I do my daily click at BBC Sport to check the latest news, I have been focusing my attention on two places: Lancashire and South England.

4000 holes and three tough teams

Lancashire is a county up north (slightly south of Liverpool) that is famous for being mentioned in the Beatles song "A Day In The Life". This year the region's fans have a real reason to celebrate because the its three major teams (Bolton, Blackburn and Wigan) are serious contenders for European competition next season.

Bolton kind of screwed up in this year's Uefa Cup but are a solid and competent team that might use this experience to do a lot better next year. Blackburn are famous for being the team that everybody hates - especially for its stud-in-the-socks mentality and bad boys like Robbie Savage and Craig Bellamy - and hence they are as tough to crack as a turtle shell. And Wigan has faded a lot since its amazing run in the beginning (maybe content with being runners-up in the Carling Cup) and have let Arsenal steal their once seemingly secured a Uefa Cup spot; even so, it has surely been the most memorable year for the Latics.

Pompey, hooray

As for South England... well it is more of a South American connection than anything else. Since Portsmouth signed Andrés D'Alessandro on loan I cannot help but follow them and see if the former River Plate star is playing well. Especially because the relegation fight is really tough - much more than last year I guess, when there were more teams competing - and it is sure that the two that will join Sunderland at the Championship in 2006-7 will come from a shortlist that includes Pompey, West Brom and Birmingham. The latter have a lower morale these days than Milhouse from The Simpsons, and WBA pulled it off last year (still with Kieran Richardson) but do not seem that confident this time.

Portsmouth, on the other hand, have won some interesting away games (such as West Ham) and have players that can cope with the task of winning more games than Brum and WBA. Pedro Mendes, a former Tottenham reserve, has been particularly impressive. And I wonder when D'Alessandro will start scoring some of his own.

So whoever feels like saying that England does not have thrilling football... well, you might wanna follow things in a closer look.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Geena Davis x Martin Sheen

I noticd there is a new TV series that tries to show the day-by-day of the White House. Surely a copycat following in the footsteps of "The West Wing", I thought, and given my predilection for the latter I had every reason to be skeptical and suspicious about this new show.

Then I realized that
(1) the president is Geena Davis - that's where the cliff she jumped into at the end of "Thelma and Louise" leads to, then: the White House! - and she is as convincing being tough as Mr Bean would be;
(2) the deputy press secretary (I couldn't really figure who the press secretary was) is Tiffany from "Once and Again" - from hippie single mother to press secretary, hooray, - and I wonder whether she interviewed for the job with C.J. Cregg (from "West Wing"), oh Lord she would be crushed like a cockroach.
(3) there is a kind of a strong focus on the daily life of the president's family - her siblings having breakfast with the first-gentleman (is that the correct term? whatever) and going to school, her leaving Situation Room to get a call on the mobile complaining about school change, and so on - and I felt like a couple years ago when I watched A LOT OF "Once and Again".
(4) people don't really look as busy as they do in West Wing - I don't know but they just seem a bunch of incompetents. Or a bunch of actors mocking a White House.

I may be too critical, and in fact I cannot say I was too hurried to change the channel - it is actually amusing, though in a Once-and-Again way, of people-having-all-sorts-of-trouble-juggling-personal-and-professional-lives, rather than in a West-Wing-way of I'm-in-the-créme-de-la-crème-job-in-public-andministration-and-therefore-I'm-so-good-and-I-love-my-job-but-it's-so-tough-and-I-got-no-personal-life. It's a different kind of series altogether, full stop.

Anyway, after it the new "24" season started and THAT was really good.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

A vacuum

I have been trying to find a reason to write again. Tough work as it already is to find subjects, I decided to ponder deeper, to search for something that would be a definite style: a pattern, something that would be elemental and definite of myself, like a piece of Peruvian fabric is so distinguishly recognizable as being Peruvian anywhere. That search, dear friends, is long and ardorous and I have not quite finished it.

I have experimented with football commenting a la chalkboards, which always enticed me and still do - especially David Pleat at The Guardian. However, they are much more fun to be thought about than written - it is long and dutiful. Plus it bores the readers in the long run.

Song lyrics have been tried as well, and they work very well when all the blogger wants to convey is his current mood. But they lack in creative spirit - I have to admit that many of the times I have published song lyrics I was just too lazy to type.

I have been thinking of writing about relationships - about my views on friendships, on work relationships, on romantic relationships, on family relationships, on aspects of relationships such as distance, dedication, absolute and relative care, and so forth. But after drafting a couple of times I gave up - relationships are more fitting when discussed in terms of fiction. So I may start short stories or a novel in a while.

But as of tonight, nothing new under the sun. Just a reminder that I am alive. And I'm gonna keep on trying till I reach the highest ground.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Lego it be


Speaking words of wisdom, lego it be.
Genius.

Song of the Week

"Vou batê pá tú", Arnaud Rodrigues e Chico Anísio

Vou batê pá tú Bate pá tú
Pá tú batê
Vô batê pá tú, batê pá tú
Pá tú batê
Vô batê pá tú, batê pá tú
Pá tú batê
Vô batê pá tú, batê pá tú
Pá tú batê

Amanhã a pá não me dizer
Que eu não bati pá tú
Pá tú pode batê

O caso é esse
Dizem que falam que não sei o que
Tá pá pintá ou tá pá acontecer
É papo de altas transações

Deduração um cara louco
Que dançou com tudo
Entregação com dedo de veludo
Com quem não tenho grandes ligações

Song of the Week

"Vou batê pá tú", Arnaud Rodrigues e Chico Anísio

Vou batê pá tú Bate pá tú
Pá tú batê
Vô batê pá tú, batê pá tú
Pá tú batê
Vô batê pá tú, batê pá tú
Pá tú batê
Vô batê pá tú, batê pá tú
Pá tú batê

Amanhã a pá não me dizer
Que eu não bati pá tú
Pá tú pode batê

O caso é esse
Dizem que falam que não sei o que
Tá pá pintá ou tá pá acontecer
É papo de altas transações

Deduração um cara louco
Que dançou com tudo
Entregação com dedo de veludo
Com quem não tenho grandes ligações

Sunday, March 19, 2006

The Sour Times


A timely welcomed gift. From a very dear person.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

I feel a little spaced out

Ando meio desligado, como diriam os Mutantes. Eu tenho estado um pouco ocupado - "atucanado" como dizem em Porto Alegre. A tradução de atucanado, acho, é uma combinação de ocupado + incomodado com alguma coisa que não se sabe bem o que.
Até por isso não sei muito sobre o que escrever, afinal continuo ouvindo Portishead sem parar mas já escrevi sobre isso alguns dias atrás.

Então, pra refletir um pouco sobre como andam algumas coisas na minha vida, segue uma frase da Ellen deGeneres:

"Procrastination isn't the problem, it's the solution. So procrastinate now, dont put it off."

E fiquem também com alguns cirros no horizonte. Apenas nuvens. Onde está minha cabeça.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Rubber Ring


"but don't forget the songs that made you smile
and the songs that made you cry
when you lay in awe in the bedroom floor
and said 'oh don't smother me, mother' "

(the smiths)

Monday, March 06, 2006

Album of the week


Dummy do Portishead. Nada carnavalesco. Mas reflete bem meu momento. Principalmente "Roads", "Strangers" e "Glory Box".

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Bits of Buddha

Quem me conhece sabe que não sou muito místico ou religioso, mas meio que por impulso curioso aceitei o convite de minha amiga Laura pra acompanhá-la à visita da Lama Djordge Drolma ao Brasil.
Quem? Bom essa Lama é uma lama mesmo, tipo o Dalai Lama, mas mulher. É uma senhora suíça, de cabeça raspada e olhos bem azuis. Ela está no Brasil pra fazer uns acampamentos de meditação em Alto Paraíso de Goiás, troço bem hippie, sei lá, mas a princípio me pareceu uma boa oportunidade pra (1) encontrar a Laura e a Julia prima dela que são ótimas companhias (2) aprender um pouco sbre budismo que parece interessante, mas sem pretensão nenhuma de me converter ou coisa do tipo.
Não vou dizer que a companhia das meninas não tenha sido boa, mas a segunda parte me surpreendeu muito positivamente. Um tanto pelos preceitos do budismo - que basicamente te dizem pra levar uma vida melhor sem exigir muito em troca - e um outro tanto pela própria lama, que achei uma pessoa fantástica.
A lama falava em francês com uma tradutora riponga mas a mensagem parecia um pouco nebulosa pra mim - coisas como "se libertar do ciclo de vidas passadas", "se desvincular de identificações", "sentir os Bodhivatsas presentes no lugar", etc etc etc - mas ela falava de um jeito que não era um discurso pronto de padre na homilia. Não sei. Era estranho. Era sincero, era calmo, era sobre pequenas coisas do dia-a-dia que fazem sua vida melhor. Como dicas de meditação para o farol vermelho.
Fui falar com ela em inglês e ela me desarmou com a candura e empatia. Perguntei se para aceitar os ensinamentos dela eu tinha que acreditar em vidas passadas e participar em rituais - e se tem coisa que me afugenta de religiões são dogmas e rituais. Ela disse que pelo contrário, ela pouco se lixava no que eu acreditava desde que eu praticasse. Isso me tocou. Era tipo o padre falando que não precisava ir à missa ou ler a Bíblia desde que eu fizesse o que ele falava! E a lama ainda deu a entender que "rituais existem porque tem pessoas que precisam deles, mas se você não precisa deles não tem porque fazer"! Não é o máximo?
Enfim, ela me impressionou o suficiente pra voltar lá no dia seguinte, sem a Laura, e falar mais com ela sobre pequenas coisas da vida. Não acho que me converti mas definitivamente parei pra pensar - what the fuck have I been doing? Esses primeiros dois meses do ano têm sido de adaptação pra mim - ainda sem ritmo de trabalho, ainda sem casa, começando planos e não terminando, negligenciando pessoas que não deveria negligenciar, enfim, não sei se deixo transparecer mas não tem sido simples. Talvez o que eu precise é de um pouco de meditação e de reduzir a marcha um pouco.

Ah e li um resumo de "A República" de Platão no fim de semana. Muito bom. E tô finalmente quase acabando "On The Road" do Kerouac.