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.

Taskbar of Hell

taskbar
Originally uploaded by Kuja.

Roland Piquepaille disserts about Durl, the new del.icio.us search tool that has the ability to bear things away from their usual places. In my case, I went from Roland Piquepaille to Alexandre B A Villares, non stop. Great displacements, great discoveries. Speaking of which, Napster ATTENS AP2P has discovered my taskbar. Good grief. Scare the hell out of me.

BitTerrorism

Reuters had spread a note asserting that "BitTorrent accounts for an astounding 35 percent of all the traffic on the Internet". Somebody made a fact checking about this? Anyway, Suprnova should take the burden of a part of that traffic, because it is offering trackers of manuals like "US Army FM 5 250 Explosives and Demolitions" and "Atomic Bomb - An Introduction to Nuclear Physics". Where those requests are coming from? Iran?

[ The Futureheads - Hounds Of Love ]

Skype Over Beethoven

Now I'm talking with my friend Mark Abene through Skype. He is in Queens, NY, and I'm in São Paulo, SP. This little piece of VoIP tchotchkes made this miraculous bridge happens, I can tell you. I can hear a chain gang busting into Mark's house carrying several bags of tacos now. They are eating and playing Mark's arcade and talking about the World Series that will be over tonight (David Blumenstein, one of the gang, says that Boston Red Sox will sweep the series from St. Louis Cardinals). Meanwhile the gang play and I try to convince Mark that 2600 Hacker Quarterly still put out good stuff, David calmly watches The West Wing on NBC (I guess he has a crush on C.J., I don't know). I'm also trying to convince them to stop the US political quagmire and go to the ballots next Tuesday. C'mon, boys, GWB and Kerry are in a statistical dead heat and every vote counts now. How can you put up with that stalemate? Do you need a stimulus? Then run and watch the last Eminem's videoclip.

[ Czerkinsky - Natacha ]

Semiotic Ghosts

In his last review for Technology Review, professor Henry Jenkins had a whim. The Tomorrow That Never Was is the best review about Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow (a new retro-futurist film) and, at the same time, In The Shadow of No Towers, Spiegelman's new graphic novel. And, for the general amusement, professor Jenkins, probably unware, has set off a genuine "when life imitates art" occurrence upon refering to the Zeppelin Hindenburg III. Two times.

[ Gotan Project - Around About Midnight ]

Clampdown!

In one more attempt to grant a technology clampdown, Computer & Communications Industry Association was obstructed from taking part in the meeting on S. 2560, also known as the INDUCE Act, a proposal created for extend the power of copyright laws and debunk innovation. The stakes involved are high, because the law might affect several sort of devices, as VCRs, optical disk recorders, radio receivers, audio devices, IMs, personal computers, iPods (and other personal music players) and online music services. It simply covers every recording, duplication and information technology device today – even the Internet itself.

[ X - Hungry World ]

Mesh in Salvador

ITU TELECOM AMERICAS is to be held from 3-6 October in Salvador, Bahia. I'm almost certain that 3G will be addressed. Yes, because it is supposed to surrogate the DSL and cable broadband networks. For know, the developing countries have been watching the war between GSM and CDMA. But this is the iceberg's tip. In the undercurrents new and exciting technologies start to emerge, as Flash-OFDM and WiMax. Giants as Intel, Nortel and Cisco back the last. But, in my opinion, Wi-Fi mesh networks could be faster deployed in Brazil, instead of WiMax. Time will tell.

[ Guided by Voices - Everybody Thinks I'm A Raincloud ]

Venezuela From Below

Last weekend I've seen Venezuela From Below, a film by Dario Azzellini and Oliver Ressler, and it made my mind boils big time. It is a well-directed documentary about the revolutionary process by which Venezuela is passing through. The film is absolutely educational and begins with a historic overview introduced brilliantly by the philosopher Carlos Lazo. The ascension of Hugo Chavez, Lazo explains, is the result of a bourgeois process that excluded the left-wing parties from the political decisions. The outcome of this exclusion was inevitable: the reclaiming of a progressive constitution. It is staggering to note how Venezuelan people are politicized and how well they are versed in the participatory culture. The people, supported by the army, refuted two coup d'etat and several attempts of sabotage of the country's main economic asset: the oil production, concentrated in the oil company PDVSA, in Puerto La Cruz. By the way, the army is very embedded into the people environment, and Ressler's documentary has captured the proof of this concept, a show where soldiers and other officers play guaracha before a dancing popular audience. The revolutionary spirit has triggered a broad process of grassroots self-organization in vital areas like education (Mission Robinson, Ribas and Sucre), health care (Barrio Adentro) job generation (Vuelvan Caras) and alternative media (El23.net). Venezuela From Below is highly recommended for Brazilian investigative journalists, left-wing politicians and rappers.

[ Señor Coconut – Autobahn ]

Moog and Theremin

Ok. This is completely irresistible not point out to two thought-provoking documentaries. The first is "Moog" (2004), about Bob Moog, inventor of electronic musical instruments, the most famous one named after his name. The second is "Theremin" (1995), about the Russian inventor Leon Theremin, who created the world’s first electronic instrument, and it also bore his name. Needless say that I’m looking very forward to watch them.

[ Kings Of Convenience - Know-How ]

Brighton, 1999

Brighton, 1999
Originally uploaded by Kuja.

My wife, Maria Teresa, shot this in 1999. Before we'd arrived in this Albion gray and metallic coast city, we've stopped at Forrest Row, near East Grinstead. A guy from Scholle Müllerinnenart Greenfields School was returning to an earlier or less mature pattern of feeling...