Halloween is a time for tradition and family, dressing up and generally scarring the frick out of everyone you meet. It’s a time to eat crazy amounts of pumpkin and candy. A time for sugar and spice and everything nice…or is it?

In the search for the ultimate Halloween experience I found myself looking for ways to impart some basic values and the true meaning of Halloween to the little ones. This is where it got tricky. For starters, there are no real values to be passed on, which makes finding meaning about as easy as finding a cold bottle of Coke in the dessert. It’s not really a traditional anything where we live and is considered one the of the many things that are polluting our cultural air as yet another American tradition is thrust upon us by movies and television. They may have a point, I mean, it’s not like our forefathers traveled all the way here by boat with a dream in one hand and a costume in the other in the hopes that one day we too would dress up as the underworld and freak each other out.

The world has resorted to the ridiculous in an attempt to shock as the masses are now calloused to the basic decorations and costumes such as: knife through the head (boring), skin removed and all the muscle, bone and insides showing and hanging out (yawn), Scream/I Know What You Did Last Summer and other scary movie outfits (double yawn and super bore). This is the reason for insane Halloween decorations such as the one of Sarah Palin hanging from a noose. I don’t know what anyone else thinks, but it’s a bit harsh, and I don’t even like her.

Passing on something wholesome and worthwhile to the young’uns posed a bit of a challenge, but I’m not one to give up easily so I took a look at the original story of Halloween and believe it or not have found something I can pass on, something I can share with not just my babies but with you as well. Here goes:

The first thing that’s important to understand is that Halloween in itself is a fusion between 3 basic festivals or holidays and the merger of the “old religion” with the "new".

There is the Celtic celebration on the 31^st which signifies the end of the “Season of the Sun” and with it the end of the harvest, and the beginning of the “Season of Darkness”, or the cold winter months. This is all Druids and dances with fires and worship, and your basic harmless pagan rituals.

Next, there is the 1^st of November where the Celtics would parade around in the skins and heads of dead animals for 3 days. This is called Samhain. There’s nothing scary about that if you consider that they probably had to wear the animals to ward off the freezing cold all winter. There’s also nothing vile or truly evil about a bunch of heathens dancing around wearing animals they skinned, except perhaps in some cases the smell. It may sound a bit barbaric, but bear in mind that they were barbarians, so, is it really an issue? I think not.

The Romans of course contributed with Pomona Day which is basically a celebration of nature and food. So far, so good. But then here’s where it gets evil, the Catholics traipsed in with All Saints, All Hallows etc, and inevitably it’s at this stage that instead of just dressing up as animals and wearing food and plants in simple celebration, people started dressing up as demons and devils, go figure.

Don’t get me wrong here, I like eyeball punch and dried blood sandwiches just as much as the next guy, but what I dislike immensely is the corruption of the innocents. To think that a perfectly good celebration for harvest, and plenty, and barbaric dancing has evolved to fools hanging presidential candidates and their running mates in their front yards is just wrong. Not to mention the hoodlums, buffoons, berserkers and bandits who take this celebration as a green light to run amok and wreak havoc on the rest of us.

To sum it all up, I would say that Halloween should be just another excuse to hang out with your family and have fun without being so weird you draw attention from the netherworld and the minions of evil. I guess some folks can celebrate the end of the harvest and beginning of winter, but for me and my family, we will mourn the end of what little winter we had and the beginning of smoldering, sticky, tropical heat. Come to think of it, I don’t think there’s anything about Holloween that I can relate to, so…yeah…I guess that means it’s just another day for me to do exactly what I always do, except maybe I’ll grab one of those dried blood sandwiches – and eye ball punch – you can never have too much eye ball punch.

Weekend Update

Friday – Today was the day of the kids Festa das Artes at school. All the classes got together a performance to illustrate one of the goals of 2008. They all had very creative costumes, music and special effects. It reminded me a lot of the olden days, you know, the days of yore, when we had to dress up in shiny unflattering outfits and perform for the masses. A tradition that has been around since the beginning of time or at least since young Methuselah put on a show with his friends in Enoch. But that was yore, and today we were there to see the babies do their thing and pay homage to the God of Humility (King Kong), the way we did, by paying the ultimate price, our pride – all of it, like an enormous shiny banana of humiliation being handed over to the Monkey King, and we were there to witness it. We all have to do it at some point. We all pay our dues and we all pay the Mico Monkey and it has to start somewhere. We had spared our little ones from this rite of passage for long enough, and it was high time for them to pay the piper. So, without further ado, here’s how it went down:

Thing 1 did very well, actually. His class put on a serious show. He knew all the motions and was about as enthusiastic as you could expect from a 14yr old who is forced to perform in front of the whole school wearing naught but pajamas. When I say pajamas, I mean those outfits the pagodeiros wear - baggy white pants and button down shirt, only theirs were shiny, like the fabric we were always clad in at Christmas. That nice, warm, quality fabric you get at the Chinese shopping district of the city. The pants were white and the shirts different solid colors, (they weren’t flowered and for that we have to thank God for small mercies). Since everyone in the class was wearing the same thing, the humiliation quotient was greatly reduced, proving that there is strength in numbers. They won 3^rd place, which I think is great, especially considering there were so many classes and presentations.

Thing 2's class won the competition and it was very well deserved. Their theme was Equal Opportunity and their main song was “Can't Take My Eyes Off of You”, which is always a crowd pleaser. You could tell they worked really hard on their choreography and all their steps were really well rehearsed. There was smoke, confetti, helium balloons, and in general a real show. Everyone was on their feet clapping and singing along with them. It was awesome! All the boys were dressed in suits and sequined ties (one banana each, please), and the girls were dressed in glamazon style powerful women outfits representing different professions. Their prize is that they get 2 extra points for each subject, meaning that they will all pass on to the next grade without having to take the end of the year tests.

Saturday - Today I had a makeup job to do on the other side of town. I had quite an experience and a terrific adventure starting with my ride from hell on the Windy Road of Death, near Skull Mountain, which boarders Trauma Hill whose patron saint is Our Lady of Perpetual Fright. Yep, I went over the Alto in a car full of strangers whose driver was on a mission impossible to make it to our destination in half the reasonable time estimated to safely get there. He drove like a demon all the way and arrived abruptly before you could say Hospital Lorenço Jorge.

Once I arrived there I had to make up 4 different people. Here are the cast of characters: the grandmother who was part of the original cast of Methuselah and Friends, the Aunt who looks almost as old as the grandmother even though she’s technically younger, the stepmother who wanted fake eyelashes and the works (a breath of fresh air), and last but not least, the bridesmaid who was trying to organize everything and get ready at the same time.

I won’t give you a run down on everyone and how it went, suffice it to say that I had to put makeup on a centenarian grandmother who’s already heavily knocking on Heaven’s door and has see-through lizard skin – so creepy. (Note to self: If you’re still around after 70yrs, start sky-diving and paragliding, and doing a bunch of extreme sports with the hopes of making it into the ever after sooner rather than later.) Right before I was going to work on the bridesmaid she had an allergic reaction to something and her face swelled up like Shrek, only bright red. Thankfully, the antihistamine did its thing and I (the fairy Godmother), was able to make her into a beautiful Cinderella right in the knick of time.

Sunday – Dear Diary, today we took a family portrait. The kids were perfectly well behaved, my hair and make-up were fabulous, the lighting was ideal and the background was superb.

I would like to tell you that that’s how it went...but I can’t, because it didn't.

This is more or less what it was like: “Samurai Jack, open your eyes! Miojoboy, quit making that stupid face! It’s not funny! Who farted?! That’s it! I can’t take it. Open a window and let’s get this picture taken. Smile! Not that big. Take that pencil out of your nose!” Ever wonder what Purgatory’s like? I’ll tell you right now, it’s a photo shoot with your kids. That’s what it’s like, and it goes on forever, and ever, and ever. The only difference is that Purgatory is temporary punishment, so given the choice, choose wisely.

BTW, the guy I was supporting for the Mayoral elections, the lesser of two evils, didn't win. Instead, we will now have as mayor of our beautiful city Satan's emissary himself. As it turns out he won by a mere 55,000, for which I blame the fools who for the most part were home nursing their hangovers, and the rest of whom were at the beach worshiping Apollo (or more precisely, roasting like pigs on a spit), and therefore couldn't find their way to the voting booth. Let's see what the forces of evil will do to our fair town now. There's already an ominous shadow cast on us by the mammoth monument to corruption that's nearing completion in Barra, which was the work of the last fiend who ran our city. We can only hold our breath as they decide what else to throw our way that we don't need and don't want.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

The sun doesn’t shine as brightly.
My coffee tastes stale even though it’s fresh.
All food tastes the same.
Music is noise to me.
Celebrity news holds no interest for me anymore.
I don’t even have the desire to put on perfume or lipstick.

I can’t believe I finished my book.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not – most of you don’t keep up with the posts on this blog anyway – but I haven’t posted anything in a while. (Insert huge theatrical sigh here) I hope I haven’t lost my mojo permanently. I feel like there’s a cloud of Satan breath just hanging over my head – uncool.

I now have to find other books to content myself with until I can get my hands on the 3^rd book, Voyager. I don’t know what I’ll do with my nights. It’s like the characters that have been with me these past weeks (it’s a really long book, 900+ pages) have suddenly vanished and I won’t hear about it, or what will become of them, if they’ll ever get together again, or anything for that matter, for months. It seemed like it took forever to read the book, but now that it’s done, it’s just not the same anymore, is it? Everything is just “pleh”.

Have you ever read a book that was so good you were sad finished? If you have, please tell me in the comments.

Not knowing what to do with myself I picked up and read the world’s most shallow book. I don’t know if I really want to admit to anyone that I actually read it, (it’s just that shameful). It’s like Andy’s shame stick. Remember that from “According to Jim”? Andy has his embarrassing snack that he calls a shame stick and it’s just a stick of butter coated in sugar on a stick. Well, the book I read is basically that, but I think the shame stick is less shameful. The book is the equivalent of Malibu Barbie, Clueless, Gossip Girl and Paris Hilton all in one, I kid you not.

I don’t think I’m qualified to make rational decisions at this time. This is the kind of poo I’m picking up and reading. As someone once said, if it looks like poo, smells like poo, feels like poo, and tastes like poo, it must be poo. And so it was. I think it may be part of Satan’s evil plan to take over the world or something by making us all stupid. I’m pretty sure there’s some Satan text in there like hidden messages in music or something. Actually, I take that back, there was nothing hidden about its Satan message at all. It was pretty blatantly shallow and coma inducing. I’m sure that in the ridiculous awards it will either get 1^st or 2^nd place, no doubt about it.

What I can say in it’s defense is that by a miracle it has inspired me to write a post! So, all’s well that ends well, that’s what I always say. But, I don’t want to close before sending a little message to Plum Sykes (the writer of the book):

Plum Sykes, YOU keep the scepter.

In which I take the day off

I’ve been having a difficult week at work and to illustrate the way I feel I’ve decided to share a parable with you:

This is a story about good and evil and stupidity, so pay close attention and listen, because this could happen to anyone. It could happen to him, her, them, – and yes, it could even happen to you.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, a long, long time ago there lived a humble, beautiful and graceful maiden. She was the fairest maiden in all of the land. In this land there also lived a very stupid man who owned a tavern along with his idiot best friend. This was the only tavern in town, and consequently the only place the beautiful maiden could work. We’ll call the maiden Jane, and the stupid tavern owner, Bob, and his friend we’ll call, Bill.

Now Bob and Bill weren’t always stupid idiots. Many times they were just fine and would do their thing. But there were certain things they did that were very stupid and very idiotic. We won’t get into detail here, because it’s really not essential to the story.

Anyfool, one day Bob told Jane to serve all of the customers in the tavern a hot bowl of stew. So Jane, hardworking and uncomplaining as she was, made her way around the entire tavern and served every single one of the customers with a smile and a merry “How-de-do”. When she had finished with the laborious task she started cleaning and moping and washing and doing the normal mountain of duties she had to do every day.

Right at that moment Bill walked in and told Jane that she was not supposed to serve everyone in the tavern the stew, but only the nobles.

“What?? Well, Bob told me to serve everyone as quickly as possible”, Jane said.

“Silence, you insolent wench!”, said Bill, “I want you to go around a collect all of the bowls, scrape them and clean them, get back whatever food has already been eaten and then go and serve the nobles again”.

“Riiiight.”, said Jane.

As if that weren’t enough, Bob’s brother (let’s call him Theo), walked in and said, “Oh, Jane! I would like you to clear everything without the use of a tray, or your hands for that matter. I want you to do everything you need to do using only your feet”.

At this point, things had gotten so out of hand and ridiculous that Jane took off her apron, waved goodbye to all the customers (they were not at fault, after all), and walked away deciding to take the day off to ponder the mysteries of the universe and the meaning of life.

Children, the moral of the story is: if you own an establishment don’t be an idiot, a fool, or a stupid idiot fool, or the people who work for you will walk away and take the day off.

When Great Hair Is Just Not Enough

Have you ever had one of those days where you reach into the fridge for some cold water and the pitcher is empty; you open the freezer for some ice and the tray is empty; you go for some coffee and there’s no more? Well, I had one of those days, true story. I know you see those days in the movies, well, news flash, it happens to regular people as well, and it also happens to me.

For starters, today was warm, quite warm. In fact, I believe it was the warmest day we’ve had since winter. It felt like someone walked out of hell and left the door just a crack open letting all that nasty warmness out. Okay, okay, it may have been a technically beautiful day, but I wasn’t outside reading by the pool with a glamorous Carmen Sandiego at–the-beach hat or anything like that, I was home, working, on the world’s most frustrating project ever.

Have you ever been assigned one of those projects that don’t have the bottom line your boss wants? Have you ever been assigned one of those projects that just don’t make a whole lot of sense but you’re expected to spend endless hours you will never get back on it and still answer the phone with a happy-go-lucky, Pollyanna on Prozac voice? You know that I’m-thrilled-you-called-right-when-I-was-in-the-middle-of-something- but-hey-your-time-is-more-important-than-mine type of voice? Well, that’s how I sounded on the phone all day long.

I want to make something clear before someone misunderstands and thinks I don’t like answering the phone or am unhappy when I get a call – I hate having to answer the phone all day long. I dislike it immensely! Unless I’m getting a call from someone I haven’t spoken to in a while, or someone who has some awesome good news to tell me, I’m not happy. In fact, most of the time I’m so burned out from answering the phone all day I would prefer to go to the dentist, or run with scissors for that matter.

Anylame, I believe I’ve bored you enough with my empty venting, but if you can’t vent on a blog, where can you vent, eh? On a positive and super awesome note, my hair looks beautiful, positively glamorous and effortlessly chic. I do owe it all to my super styling lotion, Potion 9, but I’m sure you don’t care about that. Bottom line: even though my day was a total suckfest, my hair looks great!

Serenity Now!

As I sit and ponder the current state of our economy and the many issues in the world which are consuming our every thought and monopolizing any and all conversations, I wonder about things and can’t help but ask myself some basic questions that are eating away at the back of my mind like: why would China invest in space technology and not in finding an alternative fuel so they can stop polluting the world with coal? Why are people so greedy and why didn’t anyone stop this financial crisis from happening if it was clear we were headed in that direction? What is up with the war in Iraq and why hasn’t it been resolved yet? Why are there no good options in the coming elections, in any country right now? Is Lindsay Lohan really gay and if so why didn’t she choose someone hotter?

These are the deep questions that plague me day in and day out and to be honest it’s just too much. Case in point is the picture above. Are the reporters standing around all day long just so they can get an exaggeratedly desperate shot of a poor bloke falling apart? This is obviously the way they want us all to feel, but in my opinion, no good can come of freaking out, and maybe if we all just take a deep breath and Goosefrabah, Woosah, Kumbaia, we would come up with viable solutions that wouldn’t involve Pinky and the Brain world domination schemes.

I want to have a relaxed conversation that doesn’t include crisis and disaster, so I’ve come up with a solution which may or may not work but which I think is valid nonetheless. Do you remember how during the first crash people needed their spirits lifted so that’s when Superman was created? Well, I think we need comedy. Yes, good old fashioned comedy, the kind of movies that have always been good. They were good when they first came out, they were good when we saw them, and they will continue to be good long after we are gone. Yes, comedy! The world needs comedy. As Cervantes once said, “Too much sanity may be madness”. For this purpose I have made a list of 5 movies I think meet the criteria, although because there are so many millions of movies out every year there may be a few I’m forgetting, or that I like better, but for whatever reason these are the ones that are foremost on my mind. So without further ado, here’s my list for movies to watch during this time of crisis:

1) Wrongfully Accused starring Leslie Nielson. It’s hysterical! One of the classic lines in the movie is: “Your lies are like bananas. They come in big yellow bunches”. Here’s another nugget:

Ryan Harrison: Your dog sure has a surprised look on his face.
Lauren: That's because you're looking at his butt.
Ryan Harrison: Uh, then he's certainly not going to enjoy that treat I just fed to him.

2) What About Bob? is my second movie recommendation starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Bill Murray plays a crazy who is obsessed with his psychiatrist and who won’t leave him alone even when he goes on holiday. This is one of those movies that everyone has to see at least once. Here’s a classic line:

Dr. Leo Marvin: You understand, don't you? There's no other solution. You won't go away.
Bob Wiley: I will.
Dr. Leo Marvin: No, you won't. You're just “saying” you will! But then, after I don't kill you, you'll show up again. And you'll do something else to make everyone in my life think you are wonderful and I'm a schmuck. But I'm not a schmuck, Bob, and I'm not going to let you breeze into town and take my family away from me, just because you're crazy enough to be “fun”.

---

[Leo has a rifle pointed at Bob]
Bob Wiley: What are we doing?
Dr. Leo Marvin: Death Therapy, Bob. It's a guaranteed cure.

3) A Fish Called Wanda is one that should not be missed by anyone. This is classic Monty Python doing their thing and is a gold mine for laughs. Memorable quote:

[Otto dangles Archie out a window]
Archie: All right, all right, I apologize.
Otto: You're really sorry.
Archie: I'm really, really sorry, I apologize unreservedly.
Otto: You take it back.
Archie: I do, I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basis in fact, and was in no way fair comment, and was motivated purely by malice, and I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you, or your family, and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future.
Otto: OK.

4) Men in Tights. What can I say about this movie that has not already been said? This is a classic, to be sure, barrels of laughter, bushels of fun, oceans of giggles, buckets of guffaws, loads of chuckles, miles of merriment, bags of mirth, and ridiculous amounts of cackles.

Sheriff of Rottingham: Wasn't your... didn't your mole used to be on the other side?
Prince John: I have a MOLE?

Ahchoo: Let's get out of this ladies clothing and get into our tights!

5) Sgt. Bilko starring Steve Martin as a ridiculous Sergeant who gets things done regardless of the fact that he is a slacker and encourages as much from his men. It’s a wonderful story about looking good while goofing off and making the hard workers look like the fools.

Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko: You can't marry him. You're a Catholic and he's... an asshole, think of the children.

The movies which I feel deserve honorable mention are:

Rat Race
Airplane
The Princess Bride
Animal House
Austin Powers – International Man of Mystery
Some Like it Hot
The Producers
Blazing Saddles
Zoolander
Dodgeball
Something about Mary
Naked Gun series
Ace Ventura Pet Detective
Ace Ventura - Nature Calls

What about you? What are your fave comedies of all times?

Children's Day

Somehow, not only for Christmas,
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you;
And the more you spend in blessing
The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing
Returns to make you glad.

John Greenleaf Whittier

Yesterday was Children’s Day here and we spent most of it at a party for needy children from a nearby community. Fukui-san made balloon animals with the kids and I face painted. We also helped distribute hot dogs, drinks, and cake with ice-cream. After the party there were tons of toys to give out which many individuals and some companies had donated. The children were overjoyed, Thing 1 and Thing 2 had a blast helping out and I’m really happy we went.

After that we came home and had a special Children’s Day dinner of our own. We had: massive Cholula burgers (Cholula is a spice mix that a little tiny bit picante and very delish), smiley fries and ice-cream sodas. I think you can guess on your own who made the menu. I just follow orders, people. An hour or so after dinner we had dessert. You guessed it, we doubled up on dessert (remember the ice-cream sodas?), because it’s what the babies wanted on their special day and we were forced to make the sacrifice - for them, naturally. We had white chocolate mousse and strawberry parfaits – yum! All in all I believe the day was a success and everyone was very happy.

A Rainy Day - Earl Grey, anyone?

It's been cold, rainy and excessively windy lately. Thing 2 has been sick with the basic weather-change illness, runny nose, cough (sounds like death and mucus), and sneezing. He's getting better now and this is his last day home from school, he's been distraught (not!).

Anyweather, when it rains it's not necessarily a bad thing, it calls for movies in the late afternoons, (we watched Milo and Otis yesterday, Dudley Moore is a riot), books, and tea, Earl Grey tea in fact, and why not throw in some fluffy Earl Grey infused tea cake as well?

I actually really love me some rainy days because when we were kids Majah had a trunk with a bunch of rainy day activities and a very special book, A Treasury of Things to Make and Do. Don't try looking for it because it's out of print and I haven't been able to find it anywhere. In the book you had a variety of things to choose from like recipes to make, poems, stories, origami, art and coloring, etc... Because of that I love rainy days. They weren't depressing, we weren't sad because we couldn't go outside, they were special and we got to spend them with Mom doing fun things and coloring in princesses. Good times!

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It   rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - A Rainy Day

Paul Newman Marathon

This last Sunday there was Paul Newman marathon on TCM (I love that channel!). We saw: Lady L (fabulous!!), Towering Inferno (suspenseful and very good), The Sting (always good fun), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (still a fave of mine). He made some really great movies and I recommend taking a bit of time to appreciate his body of work (plus, it doesn’t hurt that he was the most gorgeous man alive).

In Lady L Paul Newman is a thief and an anarchist. His wife, Sophia Loren, promises to marry a Duke (David Niven) if he will help save Paul Newman from prison. All the actors are fantastic and the whole movie is hilarious and extremely entertaining. I think it would be a perfect rainy afternoon movie for any day of the week.

Towering Inferno is a masterpiece. We were on the edge of our seats for most of the movie. Paul Newman and Steve McQueen (love him, too) work great together and the end result is nothing short of spectacular. We musn’t forget that Faye Dunaway is in the movie as well and while she doesn’t play a pivotal role, she does very well and looks coiffed and perfect throughout (which is quite a feat considering she's in a towering inferno).

The Sting is a testament to intelligence. While most movies will either have a good story or good score, good actors or good directing and editing, The Sting has it all: a good plot with superb actors, wonderful direction, music and editing. Overall it is pure entertainment done in a way that makes you feel like your time was well spent. It’s a pleasure to watch Paul Newman and Robert Redford working together not only because they are the most good looking duo of all times, but because they look like they’re having a blast working together and this is something you can sense when watching them – like the entire cast of Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13, they’re always having fun.

Last, but definitely not least, we have Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I’ll start off by saying that both Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman are at their best physically and professionally. They put on a show that is not easily forgotten. It was originally a play, and a brilliantly written one at that, with an intensely passionate dialogue and a very good story line. The entire movie takes place in 3 rooms with little to no soundtrack and a handful of actors but there is never a dull moment. It’s gripping from beginning to end and that, in my humble opinion, is the ultimate compliment for any movie.

Some other movies of his which I've seen and feel deserve mention are: Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Exodus, Hud, The Color of Money, and Slap Shot. I’ve never seen The Hustler, but it’s on my list to watch as soon as I can get my hands on it which is not easy.

We're going to miss you, Paul Newman.

Spring Picnic

Today we went on a blissful spring picnic. What wonderful fun! There’s an old time charm to them. We had sandwiches, chips, brownies, grapes and mate. Good times! We all brought books and spent some time reading afterwards. I’m reading book 2 of the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber. It’s getting really good, but there are some bad things afoot, so I’m a bit concerned.

During our picnic we had an unexpected visitor, a Capivara. It’s an animal that is native to these parts and is protected by IBAMA and lives in the park we picnic in. There are also micos (small monkeys) and another creature that we have yet to identify.

We had some spirited and enlightened conversations where we came to the unanimous conclusion that Walt Disney should have been awarded a Nobel Prize for bringing so much joy to the world. We also concluded that bird watching is a bore. It’s like going on a stakeout without the promise of action or snacks.

The only thing I regret is not having brought my hats. I have all these beautiful picnic hats and when the time came for them to fulfill their purpose, I forgot to bring them. Damn, I guess we’ll just have to go again.