The Dictatorship of Objectivity

Much have being said about Joseph Ratzinger's opinions against relativism. For the new Pope, this view epitomizes the cultural confusion of our times, in which a bubblegum pop is placed in the same hierarchic position as a Bach's fugue. Ratzinger prefers the secure harbor of an Aristotle’s universal or an absolute entity that imposes itself through a "winner-take-all" method. I've been scratching my head over this issue for a long time and I'd like to make some points. I don't think, for example, that the relativist position should lead to the idea that anything goes morally, like prejudge the Aztecs because they sacrificed children. The Brazilian historian Boris Fausto had quoted last week, in a local paper, the differences between relativism and pluralism made by Isaiah Berlin. With due respect, I think the two categories are intertwined, because both grant as valid people’s cultural differences. For all matters, it is easier figure out this peculiar concoction in the anthropologic field, specifically in the brawl between Marshall Sahlins and Gananath Obeyesekere over the death of Captain Cook. For the first, Cook was confounded with a Hawaiian war god, and this clearly reflects an autochthon rationality; for the second, he was condemned to death for have took as hostage the native chief of a tribe, and this reflects a practical rationality. The anti-relativists argue that the so-called "Western" rationality, expressed at least partially by science and technology, is not locked up in itself, differently of, say, Zande witchcraft. This is the typical argument that makes me believe more enthusiastically that different cultures have different rationalities.

Swing Forever

This is the story: A grandchildren asked her grandpa to make rearrangements over classic rock swings from bands as Nirvana, Soundgarden and (how odd!) Spandau Ballet. Lucky us the grandpa was nothing more than Paul Anka. What about the results? "Sonically amazing, musically impeccable, vocally superb".

Sexual Healing

As everybody knows, John Paul II's Holy Spirit has taken Bush and his John Birch Society acolytes. What everybody doesn't know (and when I say everybody I say the Brazilian media in general) is that Pedro Chequer, the director of Brazil's HIV/Aids programme, had rejected the faith-based AIDS funding, a variation of the infamous condom ban promoted by almighty Vatican.

Team Korea

Who'd say that the only cultural product from North Korea would be pansori or films shot by kidnapped South Koreans directors? Cunnilingus in North Korea is here to oppose this silly and somewhat PI thought. This is a smart flash edited by the artist Young-Hae Chang, a piece of animation that mix a Kim Jong Il's discourse about sex equity with a soul music background. It is probably one of the most acid critics to PKR's Dear Leader, widely known for his instrumentalisation of art for political ends. The piece is publicly available in the skybox of Internet, which certainly was not previewed by the great movie buff.

Drones and Droids

The appearance of Lezama Lima in Before Night Falls (with Javier Bardem in the role of Reinaldo Arenas) is absolutely stunning and unexpected. "Dictators hate art, because beauty cannot be dominated". Fidel's pursuers are like Cylon pursuers, as in Battlestar Galactica.

Folksonomy Sartori

As I was tagging my recent photos in Flickr, something struck me hard in the head. I was using the tag "Trips" for the photos of a travel I did in 1998 to Europe. But I've noticed that "Trips" is an ambiguous word, for it can means either "traveling" or "drug driven experiences". Moreover, the tag "travel" has already been released in the wild inside the Flickr universe, so why not be leveraged by it? Immediately, Thomas Vander Wal's spirit descended upon me and put me closer to other folks that are using the same tag. Somehow, I felt a structural connection with others human beings, a relationship created by a common cultural practice. It is as simple as name an imaginary friend, but it gives empowerment to the people. There is a "revolution going on in the art and science of categorization", as said the prophet Bruce Sterling.

Delicious Sin

It must be the most frivolous thing to do in the face of the earth, but Alf Eaton knows how to skin del.icio.us. Install URIid extension, put a small style sheet in a special folder and make a little editing of userContent.css. Presto! The desert of real is no more. Hey, how many of you really believe that Rogers Cadenhead registered Benedict XVI.com just to prevent evil doers from acquiring this domain? Maybe I won’t see he down there...

Rare Word

"ABRUPTIVE CELERATION OF ALL DERVISHES CARRYING BIBUGGISH PYRITES VIA TURMAND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED." (Memoirs Found In a Bathtub, Stanislaw Lem, p.62, 1973). This is the second time I read the word "pyrites" in the literature (in the first occasion I've read it in the title of a book written by a Brazilian schizoid writer). A word so rare, that it should return some gold to the perpetrator.

[ Zero 7 - Passing By ]

Singing Head

WOW!
UPDATE 05/22: Is it a perpetual playlist? Or the music industry put a spell on it, making it round in an eternal recurrence movement?

[ The Jimi Hendrix Experience - One Rainy Wish ]

American Politics Archeology

Robert Drew's Primary (1960) is an example of Americana cinema verité. The ones who are not political junkies will bash it as a great waste of time, but still it deserves some attention span. Using technologies new for the time - portable cameras and sync audio - Drew shows the critical points in 1960 Democratic primary in Wisconsin, between Senator Hubert Humphrey and Senator Kennedy (Nixon is just shadowy referred). Focusing in the urban constituencies, Kennedy anticipatedly conquers the hearth of the swing state. On the other side, Humphrey directs too much his chautauquan chanting towards the folksy people. Remarkable the scenes in which Draw capture the feet of the registered voters inside the ballots choosing the candidate for the party's nomination. Kennedy addressing a sort of Manifest Destiny is another great moment.

Things To Come

David Fenech has quoted a "song" by Wesley Willis: I like audioblogging is fucking good a lot. You can really jam harder like a magicist. Right on brother. About 93300 people like audioblogging is fucking good. AUDIOBLOGGING IS FUCKING GOOD!!! The music industry notwithstanding, their gonna sail. Oh, they will.

[ The Notwist - One With The Freaks ]

Spongy Road Trip

If you can't afford the Miles and Jack Wine Tour in real life, you can try doing it through Google Maps application. Take the push-pins path and get all the add-on information in the info-popups. Probably you don't have a Chateau Cheval Blanc bottle to toast the special occasion, but you can get along with that old Piriquita though. For the braves, Los Olvidos Cafe is charging $29.00/per person (plus tax) for the SIDEWAYS Menu.

[ Interpol - PDA ]

Music From Aether

Introducing to the feint of heart my candid playlist in Webjay... Oh, Lord, in the very day I've promised never touch a keyboard again You'd showed me some outstanding MP3 blogs! How to turn away and ignore this, this and this?

[New Folk Implosion - Releast]

Godspeed, Herr Knopper!

Knoppix is a Debian Linux you can burn into a CD and boot it over any computer. A work of art kittened by a Teutonic guy named Klaus Knopper. Knoppix is really a smart and sophisticated piece of art. Inside it, the guy has packed all KDE and a whole wurlitzer of wonderful open source software, like GIMP, Open Office and the cave of wonders, KStars, your personal desktop Planetarium (I'm tracking Orion now, eh). Thanks a lot, Mr. Knopper. May the Force be with you against the cipayos patent holders!

[ Rolfe Kent - Chasing The Golfers ]

Sincere Toast

Sincere Toast
Originally uploaded by Kuja.

Mauricio and Nando toasting with the genuine Zubrowka. Oooh, Zubrowka, as expressed by Suw Charman.

Odd Couple

Odd Couple
Originally uploaded by Kuja.

Me and Teca in "A Polonesa" (Hilario de Gouveia Street, 116, Rio). Why not? look the word "jibble" in the sub-title of this blog...

The Peirogi

The Peirogi
Originally uploaded by Kuja.

The peirogi. Not the Hungarian, but the Polish one.

The Czekoladowy

The Czekoladowy
Originally uploaded by Kuja.

The Souffle Czekoladowy, one of the most delicious deserts I've eaten in all my life. Basically, it is an airy chocolate mousse.

The Hunting Party

The Hunting Party
Originally uploaded by Kuja.

The after-effect posers showing a genuine satisfaction in "A Polonesa". The waiter, standing strategically in the center, was the proof of our repletion. From left to right: Mauricio, Maria, "DCMOUSINHO", Nando and Teca, my wife.

The Gefildt

The Gefildt
Originally uploaded by Kuja.

The primo piatto in a polish restaurant in Rio: a Gefildt Fish. This restaurant, called simply "A Polonesa" (The Polish Girl), is a must. Very impressive experience for a Slavian offspring.