tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65371692024-03-05T00:03:03.097-08:00Musings from a Person That [sic] Writes ThingsThe title is self-explanatory, do you not agree?
I usually write for a bunch of different people. These include stuff like Screenwritersvoice.com and occasional articles for Fangoria Magazine. To make sure I'm writing stuff on a consistent basis, I do this. Hope you like it.
-VinceVincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.comBlogger245125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-37591881789161167322021-06-16T13:37:00.005-07:002021-06-16T14:09:54.910-07:00The death of critical thinking and empathy<p>Yesterday, we hit the 10 year mark commemorating the second Stanley Cup Riot in Vancouver, following the game 7 loss of the Vancouver Canucks, and many of the lessons of that are still relevant today. </p><p>In a world that is still reeling from a Trump presidency and is slowly clawing its way out of a global pandemic, for better or for worse, human nature will always find a way to assert itself. For better, people will eventually adapt to a new normal and some will even thrive (although even more of us won't). But, through it all, patterns consistently emerge, revealing a lot of truths about people in general. </p><p>While many will have their opinions about the various causes of the 2011 Stanley Cup Riot, a couple of key facts stand out. One, is that there were people who specifically came to downtown Vancouver who were specifically intent on causing trouble, in that they were wearing shirts specifically indicating that they were there for the riot, while others had brought tools and weapons for destroying property. Another, is that the vast majority of the people that were arrested for participating in the riot and related charges (property damage, assault, theft) were people with no particular predisposition towards criminal behavior, like an arrest record.</p><p>Since the riot, I've done casual reading on psychological experiments such as the Milgram Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment. For those unaware, the Milgram Experiment had participants being ordered to deliver increasing voltages of electric shocks to an unseen person, unaware that it's a simulation, and eventually delivering a fatal shock. The Stanford Prison Experiment placed people in a simulated prison environment and participants fell into their roles as prisoner or guard so quickly that the experiment had to be terminated early. In both cases, participants were a random sampling of individuals, most (or all) of whom who had no criminal background, yet due to external factors, such as being given orders from an authority figure or falling into a role of one, were willing to do the wrong thing without much encouragement.</p><p>When traditional news media is in terminal decline and people largely getting their news from social media, I've been seeing an increasing number of friends and acquaintances posting and sharing content containing that ranges from misleading to outright false, and certainly, I've been duped by some content before. But if this is upsetting, this is because this is done by people who I know to at least somewhat intelligent and educated. </p><p>Which brings us back to social experiments and real world examples like the Stanley Cup Riots. Regardless of how smart or savvy we might think ourselves, pretty much anybody is susceptible to manipulation. While most of us haven't been manipulated into criminal behaviour, if you've ever seen an advertisement and then went on to buy something that you didn't even need or want, you can be manipulated.</p><p>Beyond this, there are many real-world examples of this happening. Prior to the Stanley Cup Riots, there was a chilling case in which a prankster was calling multiple McDonald's restaurants from a payphone and impersonating a police officer, who then manipulated employees into submitting to humiliating sex acts under the pretense of a police investigation, all without even showing a badge. Even though he was caught, he was acquitted on all charges, while one of the people who was manipulated into sexually assaulting an employee was given 5 years. More recently, there's the assault of the Capitol building, where the majority of those arrested had no ties to any right wing militia group, and that one is going to take a long time to resolve.</p><p>This is not to say that anyone manipulated towards wrong doing necessarily warrants sympathy or leniency, but rather that pretty much anybody is vulnerable to being manipulated, which would be much to our detriment if we were to ignore that. If people can be convinced that the world is flat and that vaccines cause autism, with the right set of triggers, people can be motivated to do anything up to and including murder and genocide.</p>Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-64626368771665378762011-09-17T11:30:00.001-07:002011-09-18T18:36:12.546-07:00On Amber Alerts, Randall Hopley, and "the system"With the safe return of Kienan Hébert and the subsequent arrest of Randall Hopley, a lot of questions remain, many of which are directed at authorities for not issuing the Amber Alert sooner. I have a few of my own questions, mostly pertaining to the shortfalls of the way we deal with mental health and sexual deviancy.<br />
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As a society, we're pretty merciless against those that would perform sex crimes against children, and justifiably so. Among other things, children represent innocence and hope for a brighter future. For someone to intentionally violate that is reprehensible and shameful, and if the crime is done against someone you know and care about (eg: your own), it's that much more personal. Hence, it's one of the many things that explains the outpouring of support for Kienan's safe return and the utter revulsion that we tend to feel towards the likes of Randall Hopley.<br />
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We view pedophilia as such a social taboo that the mere accusation is sufficient to cause irreparable harm to one's reputation, regardless if it is unfounded. There has even been one instance where a pediatrician was moving to a new town, but an unfortunately misworded announcement, caused a lot of undue embarrassment. The sentiment, "Pedophiles are pure evil" has been mentioned by people I know on more than a few occasions as well.<br />
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I feel that phrases like that grossly oversimplify the problem. I'm of the school of thought that it's our actions that define us, rather than things like brain chemistry and genetic makeup. But more to the point, simply dismissing anyone with tendencies towards pedophilia as "evil" doesn't attempt to understand the full nature of the problem or do anything to protect our children.<br />
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My late father was a mental health professional working at Riverview Hospital. As a psychiatric nurse and a member of a labor union, seeing my dad at home while the nursing staff went on job action was a recurring memory from my childhood. I was too young to understand it back then, but I do remember my father saying things about how they were looking to shutter institutions like Riverview in favour of more "community based" mental health care resources.<br />
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For better or for worse, that seems to be the case now, and we're paying the price for it. <a href="http://www.canada.com/Mentally+need+more/5399401/story.html">Police have replaced mental health professionals</a>, as the mentally ill are being released from institutions and into the community...and onto the streets, homeless shelters, and inside prison cells. In the search of more cost effective solutions, the approach seems to be to assign a band-aid solution when a tourniquet is needed. <br />
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I think that it's safe to say that sexual deviancy, especially that of which would involve harming minors, is a mental disorder [citation needed]. However, given that the prospect of harming minors is such a societal taboo, we're too uncomfortable to proactively tackle the issue head-on.<br />
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Getting back to the whole, "Pedophiles are pure evil" bit. Indeed, infamous child killer Clifford Olsen is clearly "evil" in the classic sense - he's displayed no remorse for his crimes, has not shown any interest in rehabilitation, and puts the families of the victims through the emotional ringer again and again with parole hearing, which he receives every two years under Canadian law. And personally speaking, I think the world would be a much safer place without the likes of him around.<br />
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The reality is that there are people out there who do have levels of sexual deviancy and either haven't acted on them, or <i>have </i>acted on them but haven't been caught. As for those who haven't acted on it, there are several possible reasons as to why, such as the consequences of being caught, the absolute guilt and horror of what they are capable of, and utter and public shame that would result.<br />
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If the shame and fear of being caught is keeping potential pedophiles in check, that's probably the only good thing about it, as it's largely a band-aid solution. Given the way we tend to react against those that would harm children, no one would admit to ever having this problem, which allows the problem to go unchecked. Those who admitted that they have a problem have no resources or means to treat it. There was at least one instance in which a convicted sex offender repeatedly asked for help to deal with his compulsions from various mental health professionals, but after given useless advice, ended up crossing the line [citation needed].<br />
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There have been discussions as to possible solutions, although a lot of people are just way too uncomfortable to entertain the idea. In general, most sexual health professionals do not view pornography as gateway towards sexual deviancy and sexual predation, and some would argue that there is a <i>negative</i> correlation between availability of pornography and sex crimes. There have been arguments towards the production of pornography that does NOT involve the use of minors at all (eg: hand-drawn and/or computer generated images) as a possible therapeutic tool, but given that some of the more uptight communities are known for perceiving <i>hentai</i> (Japanese pornographic comics) as "obscene", limits its availability.<br />
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While the act of preying against children is certainly morally reprehensible, assigning moral responsibility for the act is something I'm not comfortable doing ("Only God Can Judge Me"), especially since it could very well be due to mental disorders, or our level of discomfort with treating them. But, in terms of scale, one thing I do find worse is the use of society's perception of sexual crimes and deviancy as a blunt weapon.<br />
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As someone who has does group activities that involve people of all ages (specifically, Rubik's Cube speed solving and martial arts), it's likely that I'm going to be regularly spending time with minors. Competitive Rubik's Cube speed solving proportionally involves a lot more minors than martial arts, although people I regularly have conversations with in my speed solving are adults, especially when it comes to planning upcoming events.<br />
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I found myself in a Facebook group chat session which involved one or two of my regular (adult) contacts and the rest of them being minors. After a few comments were exchanged, I made an off-hand joke about me being the oldest one there, at which point one of the newer group members (with whom I'm unfamiliar) made some snide remark about hanging out with a bunch of kids, calling me a "creep" for doing so.<br />
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Operating under that logic, that would probably mean that any adult male who works exclusively with children, from primary school educators, daycare workers, pediatricians, to children's entertainers, would automatically be a "creep" or "pervert" for doing so.<br />
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It's safe enough to assume that she didn't know that I was with the local competitor scene from the beginning (was the primary organizer behind two competitions), and given the tendency for the anonymity of the Internet to allow people to turn into complete jerks, I could've let that one slide, but given the implications, the comment made me angry enough to react (although not immediately).<br />
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We live in a society in which a teenage girl will get an "F" in class, and in retribution, will make a frivolous accusation of sexual misconduct from her teacher, causing him to lose his job, his friends, and his reputation, even if the allegations are founded to be untrue. I find actions like this to be even worse than those of actual pedophiles for several reasons.<br />
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For starters, untrue allegations of sex crimes will cause doubt to be cast on <i>actual</i> instances of sex crimes. Additionally, the reputation of being a liar is infinitely more benign than the unjustified reputation of being a pederast. But most of all, if it turns out that sexual deviancy towards harming minors is a mental illness for which actual sexual deviants can't get the appropriate treatment, to those that would throw around false accusations, I ask: what's <i>your</i> excuse?<br />
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I've since permanently banned her from the group.<br />
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Indeed, children do need our protection and anyone who would perpetrate sex offenses against children must never go unpunished. With that in mind, the way in which we protect our children must be a lot more proactive if we want our children to be safe. And treatment towards potential sexual deviants needs to be a lot more effective and available, and people should be able to seek it out if it is necessary.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-14493518246112897112011-06-26T21:57:00.001-07:002011-06-27T07:06:23.336-07:00The Milgram Experiment, the Bystander Effect, and the Vancouver RiotThe Milgram experiments of the 60s were part of a study on human social psychology, specifically how individuals react to authority figures. In the actual experiment, the test subject was given a button which they were told would deliver a nasty electric shock to an unseen participant (actually a voice recording). The experimenter would ask a series of questions to the unseen participant and would direct the test subject to push the button, while increasing the voltage for each incorrect answer.<br />
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With successive shocks, the unseen participant can be heard reacting in pain, often banging against the wall and complaining of a heart condition. If at any point, the test subject raised any objections, the experimenter would prompt the test subject to continue, while assuring the test subject that he or she would not be held responsible for whatever happened. The experiment would end if the test subject refused to continue or if the test subject delivered a fatal or incapacitating shock. <br />
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Given the morals and ethics behind such an action, researchers polled initially believed that only 1 to 3% would be willing to deliver a fatal shock to the unseen participant. The first time the experiment was conducted, 26 out of 40 test subjects were willing to deliver a fatal shock (65%). The experiment has been duplicated several times, each time indicating a surprising percentage of people who were willing to carry out these actions within the scenario, most of whom (if not all) were your average, everyday law-abiding citizen. The test subjects who delivered a supposedly fatal shock also expressed discomfort, yet proceeded anyway.<br />
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Stanley Milgram (the psychologist for whom the experiments are named) created the experiment in response to a recent trial of a Nazi war criminal. While not necessarily a defense (ie: "I was following orders"), the findings do have some very interesting (if disturbing) implications for human nature. Indeed, how does one explain why average ordinary citizens who would never steal or murder, are prone to be willing to commit these acts when thrust into specific situations?<br />
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As an ardent info-junkie, I've been regularly following the news on the Vancouver Riot ever since the first car was set on fire. As the city has been working to rebuild their now-tarnished image, the courts are trying to bring certain individuals to justice while social media is actively working to identify and shame the individuals responsible for the riot.<br />
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The initial assessment from the Vancouver mayor and the Vancouver chief of police were that the riot was the work of recognized anarchists who specifically came to the downtown area specifically intent on causing trouble, and surely enough, some of them were recognized as the same ones that came to Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics specifically to vandalize the city. And yes, people specifically came to the downtown core with weapons, Molotov cocktails, and other tools of destruction, and would thus represent a very small segment of the people who came to watch the Canucks <strike>lose</strike> play.<br />
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What caught a few people off guard was the fact that the bulk of the people being formally charged with related crimes (assault, arson, vandalism, inciting a riot, etc.) do not fit the "typical" profile of a serial rioter. None of them have prior arrest records, and are often saying that they were "caught in the moment" (or variations to that effect). This was one of the reasons given by one Camille Cancino, who was caught looting from a Black & Lee formal wear store in her widely-slammed apology (which she has since edited to remove any sort of justification or explanation for her actions).<br />
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I'm not quite ready to make up my mind on the public digital shaming thing yet. In this Web 2.0 era and proliferation of cameras on cell phones, it was inevitable that anyone doing acts of destruction and violence would be caught on camera and identified, so anybody who was down there really should've known better. <br />
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In the intervening week and a half since the city burned, I read everything I could about it, from blogs to editorials to Facebook groups. There's a wide mix of emotions, with blind rage being the most prominent. It has certainly motivated a lot of social network mavens to identify the people who were involved in this, which has led to several of them turning themselves in, while also giving proper due to the rare heroes of downtown who were attempting to stem the damage. At the same time, it's also brought about reactions towards some involved individuals which seem disproportionate, such as the death threats towards the family of Nathan Kotylak, prompting them to flee their home. <br />
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A general public this angry clearly wants their pound of flesh, but to them, I propose this: You can have either satisfy your bloodlust, or the guilty parties can repay their debts to society. You cannot have both. <br />
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The relative ease at which typically law-abiding people are capable of committing criminal acts when thrust in certain situations would suggest that this is much less of a black and white issue than the purveyors of social media justice are making it out to be. This is not to excuse any of them, as most the people left the area as soon as the game was over. But I ask, if 65% of people are able to deliver a fatal electric shock to a complete stranger, how culpable are people in this situations, and what is an appropriate way for the judiciary system to deal with them? In this case, maybe a philosophy degree might have more use than a law degree.<br />
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Again, this is not an excuse for these people. This was a shameful act against the people who have worked hard to make the city the way it is, whether it be the business owners, tax payers, or the public services (ie: police, firefighters, ambulatory services), and things like this should never be allowed to occur again. However, I'm not really for living in a police state, and the years following the last hockey riot, Vancouver got dubbed as a "no fun city."<br />
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As people are trying to make sense of the whole Vancouver riot, there are lots of theories, whether it's herd instinct and the bystander effect, piss-poor parenting, our narcissistic and materialistic world view, failure to establish a sense of responsibility and morals among a frustrated youth, strong identification with our hockey team, or whatever. Or maybe there are just some people out there who want to see the world burn and know how easily the razor thin veneer of civilization can shatter.<br />
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If the same types of people came to our next big event (like the off-hand chance that the Canucks make it to the 2012 finals), it's not likely that we'll be seeing a repeat of the Vancouver Riot, given how fresh the memories are. But if it's another 17 years until another SCF, people will definitely have forgotten and a new generation of youth will be ready to riot as soon as a car is overturned.<br />
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One way we can prevent this is if we have better education about this, to remind the people what happens when people act as passive observers, and how susceptible people are to influence. As part of the judgments handed down towards participants in the riots, if their sentences include community service, it should be mandatory that they give talks to local high schools to tell of their experiences, especially as to how it relates to the online shaming campaigns. An active effort to educate people about the bystander effect and actually promote the idea of standing up for what's right might help, or at least stem some of the damage caused by things like this.<br />
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But these are just ideas. Anyone know who can implement this?Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-84853410902494105052011-06-20T19:21:00.000-07:002011-06-20T19:21:09.730-07:00Stanley Cup Playoffs, a post mortemWith the sheer amount of press that the Vancouver Riots of 2011 have generated, entire books could be written deconstructing the event, trying to find causes, and ways to prevent it from happening again. But as it is, all I have an opinion (about as informed as I can make it) and a blog, rather than a background in sociology, psychology, and media studies.<br />
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Having indirectly lived through the Stanley Cup Riots in 1994 (I didn’t hear about the riots until the next day), experienced the glory of Canada Olympic Hockey gold in 2010, and escaped the chaos of the Stanley Cup riots just this week (and being unable to stop watching the internet video stream for 4 hours straight as soon as I got home), I have to say that the relationship between Vancouver and hockey has been pretty bizarre. <br />
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Even though I’m a casual fan of the Canucks (lack of cable subscription and insufficient budget to watch a game live), the Stanley Cup playoffs have been a fairly welcome distraction to my life (and an unwelcome subtraction from my wallet!) over the past two months. I do like a good hockey game and there have been a lot of good (and not so good) examples of that over the past two months of following the Canucks. But, it has given a lot of people something to talk about, for better or for worse.<br />
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Having been following the Canucks in 1994 during their run to the Stanley Cup Finals, I remember some really exciting games and friendly rivalries between teams and fans (especially during the series vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs). But, not being old enough to understand a lot of things about people in general, I simply took it as was and just enjoyed it, and like many was disappointed when the Canucks were unable to capture the cup back then, and was pretty flabbergasted by the rioting that followed. Flash forward 17 years, where I have a (slightly) better understanding of things in general and we now have instant on-demand access to information, news, and social media. <br />
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Over the course of the four rounds (Chicago, Nashville, San Jose, Boston), I’ve noticed distinctly changes of the behavior among the players, fans, and the media. Obviously, fans moods and the tone of the press will vary depending on the success of their team, although I’m just wondering if we’re actually emulating player behavior or being influenced a lot more than we realize.<br />
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The Chicago series was a particular nail biter, with the Canucks blowing a three-game lead before taking game 7. This particular series was seasoned with memories of the Canucks’ elimination by Chicago last year, punctuated with criticisms of “dirty” hits and plays from both the media and fans. <br />
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Nashville and San Jose were comparatively uneventful (outside of a flashing incident involving a particularly fetching Canucks fan and the Sharks penalty box), with Vancouver fans freely travelling back and forth between cities with no incident. At the same time, these were the more enjoyable games of the series, regardless of the outcome.<br />
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And then there was the Boston Bruins series. For whatever reasons, this was a particularly ugly series for the players, the fans, and the media. There were multiple reports of fan abuse from both sides (Lucic’s grandparents being pelted with foodstuffs at the Rogers Arena, Canucks fans being assaulted and urinated upon in the TD arena), while the game on the ice was punctuated with controversial hits and plays (Aaron Rome on Nathan Horton resulting in a suspension, Johnny Boychuck on Mason Raymond resulting in no suspension, biting incidents, etc.), all the media is fanning the flames with ugly depictions of the fans and the opposing players, while Boston fans troll the Vancouver media message boards to further fan the flames. <br />
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Team rivalry can make for a more exciting series, especially when it is mostly in good fun, but when it becomes ugly like this, it defies explanation. I don’t know if it’s a function of cultural differences between Vancouver and Boston (reportedly, Montreal Canadiens fans faced similar abuse from Boston fans early in the playoffs), but isn’t this going a little bit too far? Even with the mean-streets reputation of New York (pre-9/11), the 1994 Stanley Cup series weren’t nearly this heated.<br />
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And then the riots happened. <br />
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Sure, I was disappointed when the Canucks entered the third period without a single goal, so I made a point of leaving mid-way, partly to beat the rush of the crowd, but mostly as a precautionary measure, given memories of the riot in 1994. Upon leaving the downtown area via Skytrain and waiting for the bus to take me home, I engaged in small-talk with another passenger who informed me that a car was flipped over in the downtown area. Upon arriving at home, I logged onto the internet and was glued to the screen for 4 hours as the chaos unfolded, so engrossed that I failed to realize that my friends were trapped downtown with nowhere to go (to which I submit my public apology to Kat, Barry, Nicole, Sabrina, and Crystal for not checking in on them until the next morning).<br />
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Given the complex nature of mob psychology, it’s impossible to blame any one individual or cause. Among the many cited:<br />
<ul><li>Complacency due to the peaceful atmosphere of the Vancouver Olympics in 2010</li>
<li>Putting up large screens in the downtown area, flooding the areas past capacity</li>
<li>Police failing to act in an appropriate manner</li>
<li>Known anarchists who came with riot equipment (weapons, gas masks, etc.) specifically with the intent of inciting a riot</li>
<li>Curiosity seekers who were giving the actual rioters an audience and making it more difficult for the police to separate them</li>
<li>The narcissism of social media inspiring kids to pose on top of overturned cars and in front of burning objects, giving tacit approval to the rioting</li>
<li>The Canucks for promoting an atmosphere of violence and losing in the first place</li>
<li>Lackadaisical parenting for allowing “good kids” to get caught up in the riot</li>
<li>Our culture of stupid idiots emulating their heroes from <i>Jersey Shore</i> and <i>Jackass</i>.</li>
</ul>Not being a firsthand witness to the destruction, my experience pales in comparison to those who were trapped in the downtown area, although I was still sickened by the destruction and the reactions from the crowd, either for participating or encouraging the destruction. My only solace was the knowledge that this entire event was being recorded by many, even by the participants themselves.<br />
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Then came the reactions. Around the world, Vancouver was reduced to a laughing stock, losing the glory and reputation from hosting the Olympic games just one year ago. Those anticipating a weak response from the judicial system utilized the social media to help bring those responsible to justice, while the names of certain individuals are dragged through the mud. Meanwhile, the cleanup effort was being organized while the city still burned, while people continue to debate as to what caused this, and more importantly, how to stop this from happening again. <br />
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My immediate reaction was horror and embarrassment. Of all the things to riot over, this was by far the most frivolous. There was no political statement to be made, and the loss of the Canucks provided sufficient fuel for the anarchists that came specifically to stir up trouble. Video evidence shows rioters treating the wanton destruction like a party. <br />
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Somehow, I’m reminded of Pleasure Island (or “Land of Toys”, if you follow the book), the cursed island from <i>Pinocchio</i> where the fun-seeking boys abandoning school work are transformed into donkeys, causing them to rampage and destroy the island attractions. I suspect the creators of MTV’s <i>Jackass </i>didn’t have that analogy in mind when creating the show.<br />
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Overall, I’m angered, much like the bulk of the population of Vancouver. In large numbers, people just stood by and watched, even when they were told to leave. Individual heroes attempted to guard storefronts and keep the city out of the hands of rioters and looters, with no backup, causing several of them to be severely injured. Our culture of passive involvement and fear of being sued is one of the many contributing factors to this riot, but is one that I hope we have a better chance of fixing than the Canucks’ power play.<br />
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While I may have done the “right” thing by leaving early, making it so the police would have one less person to worry about, part of me still wishes I was standing alongside the lone heroes, or at least riling up the crowd to stand alongside them instead of just standing by and watching. Indeed, Robert MacKay, the individual guarding the Bay storefront, was viciously assaulted and beaten by about 15 different people for doing the right thing, with very little backup. If at least 20 people were backing him up, it would be an entirely different story. <br />
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In order to keep this from happening again, we will need constant reminders of this event. In the unlikely event that the Canucks make another appearance in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, I doubt that the riot will be a repeat event, given how fresh the memories will be by then. Over the past 17 years, memories have faded and many lessons from 1994 were forgotten.<br />
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I do not want to see this again. The riot brought out the worst in all of us, ranging from the participants in the riot who got caught up in the moment to the online shaming campaign that resulted in death threats towards confessed rioters. It also brought out the best in some of us, specifically those who came together to stop the damage and clean up. And it also revealed a dark side of Vancouver, which is always the case when we have any sort of catastrophe. Why is it that we can’t learn unless horrible things happen?<br />
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In the hopes that we don’t see this again, here’s what I’d really like to see:<br />
<ul><li>A public education campaign through the Vancouver Canucks to encourage fans to stay well behaved regardless of the game’s outcome.</li>
<li>Given the intentions of an organized group of thugs, the people of Vancouver must also be similarly organized. The message must get out that in the event of trouble, the people who are there to watch the game must either leave or band together to defend the city, and only stop to take photos if you are among those that have banded together to defend the city. Too few heroes emerged among the chaos and too many people were standing around and observing, continuing to fuel the chaos.</li>
<li>Those accused of rioting must be involved in any public education campaign. The faces and names of those involved have been dragged through the mud, costing them their futures, their friends, and their jobs. People need to be reminded that no matter where you are, you will be caught, and in the event that the judicial system is weak, the public will ensure that you pay for it, and either way, your life as you know it will be ruined. This will also allow for some level of redemption for those, as well as allow for the city to heal.</li>
</ul>Much I am for the like the chances of a Canucks Stanley Cup victory, I am “forever faithful” that the city will learn from its mistakes, but only time will tell. Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-85556992503671957922011-03-02T22:51:00.003-08:002011-03-03T06:21:03.877-08:00Letting boys be...girls? (citations probably needed)<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param><param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/AliCarr-Chellman_2010X-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/AliChellman-Carr-2010X.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=1053&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=ali_carr_chellman_gaming_to_re_engage_boys_in_learning;year=2010;theme=how_we_learn;theme=bold_predictions_stern_warnings;theme=media_that_matters;theme=women_reshaping_the_world;theme=a_taste_of_tedx;theme=design_like_you_give_a_damn;event=TEDxPSU;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/AliCarr-Chellman_2010X-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/AliChellman-Carr-2010X.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=1053&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=ali_carr_chellman_gaming_to_re_engage_boys_in_learning;year=2010;theme=how_we_learn;theme=bold_predictions_stern_warnings;theme=media_that_matters;theme=women_reshaping_the_world;theme=a_taste_of_tedx;theme=design_like_you_give_a_damn;event=TEDxPSU;"></embed></object> </div>Over the past few days, I've read some come across some pretty interesting things on the internet that have really got the brain churning regarding the topic of growing up as a guy in today's society. Among them:<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/03/01/barbara-kay-theres-no-place-for-the-state-in-the-sperm-of-the-nation/"><i>National Post</i> blogger Barbara Kay responds</a> to the study that indicates that men are largely unwilling to donate their sperm for free, and that there should be government intervention. Kay disagrees. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/ali_carr_chellman_gaming_to_re_engage_boys_in_learning.html">Ali Carr-Chellman gives an interesting talk featured on TED</a> in which she discusses how the modern school system has failed young boys and how video games can actually be a positive thing in re-engaging them in learning.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/03/01/1564553/6th-graders-expelled-for-fight.html#storylink=omni_popular">A group of Washington state middle schoolers were recently expelled</a> for organizing their own Fight Club. Obviously, somebody broke the first and second rule of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B002M2T1RM?ie=UTF8&tag=prodofanundef-20&linkCode=as2&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=B002M2T1RM">Fight Club</a></i>.</li>
</ul>The second and third brought out some memories of elementary school (not always good ones) and the first one brought to light a potentially damaging mentality that may explain the challenges that modern boys (and to a lesser extent girls) face as they are growing up today and what they can look forward to.<br />
<br />
Carr-Chellman's talk about the modern school system sounded like a accurate recollection of my elementary school days, even though they are many, many years apart. As she describes, there is not much that young boys can relate to in the modern classroom. She argues that the dearth of male teachers (and other male role models), draconian enforcement of zero tolerance policies, and being made to express themselves about things that are simply not relevant to them have driven them away from academics into a world ruled by Orcs and Elves.<br />
<br />
That was my childhood. I wasn't particularly good at sports, so relating to my peers was difficult. Reading was made into a chore, so rather than disappearing into books, my world was a virtual one. It would probably account for a lot of my current level of social skill and why I'm not as good with talking to people as I'd like (especially members of the opposite sex), but whatever. It's done. But, what I had back then that boys do not have was the ability to express myself in writing. This probably explains why I do what I do.<br />
<br />
During my formative years (and for those who I knew back then can attest), I wrote some pretty horrible stuff. Not necessarily poorly written (although some of it likely was), but the kind of stuff that would get kids in a lot of trouble today. One collaborative fiction assignment I was particularly proud of initiating was a story about Barney the Purple Dinosaur being captured by a team of scientists that used gene splicing to turn him into a blood-thirsty killing machine and the ensuing massacre that took place. After the story was handed to one classmate to continue, he immediately "ended" it, evidently too disgusted to continue the story. A female classmate got a hold of it and the violence and bloodshed continued on paper. I felt slightly vindicated after that.<br />
<br />
Another classmate initiated a story which depicted me attempting to kill the English teacher's cat. And yes, I probably had way too much fun continuing the blood and carnage and making it even more violent (I actually compared an exploding skull to the microwaving of a raw egg). The teacher in question actually read that one and nobody got in trouble for it. In the wake of the Columbine massacre, the result today would've been suspension and a meeting with the school counselor. <br />
<br />
As to the increased attention given towards the unhealthy amount of time that boys are spending on video games, it's entirely possible that these worlds are the only thing that allows them to get their aggressive tendencies out. Over the years, political correctness and the need to be nice to people who aren't particularly nice to us has made for a lot of frustration without any healthy means of dealing with it. During my childhood, it was bad enough dealing with bullies, as I was given the constant message that it was wrong to hit back and sure enough, I didn't. And of course, telling on bullies will make the problem worse, so that didn't happen either. Not being equipped to deal with it, I took my bruises which I still remember, and probably affects me today (although I'm working on that).<br />
<br />
It's worse for kids now, when retaliatory actions, even when in self-defense, will land the victim in more trouble than the bully, leaving the "weaker" boys (note the use of quotation marks) in an environment where they don't feel like they belong. Forget about "play"fighting (which was grounds for punishment when I was in elementary school). Nowadays, if a child brings an action figure to school carrying an accessory that no sane person would perceive as a deadly weapon, that child faces disciplinary action.<br />
<br />
The fight club incident in Washington state is indicative of the problem and represents a very significant opportunity. The reality is that most boys do have tendencies towards aggression. Mine didn't manifest physically, but it was still there. But simply ignoring them will not make them go away, and it needs to be channeled in a positive way. We've evolved past the age where there would be maximum benefit for it on a regular basis (we don't have to hunt for buffalo anymore, we just go to the grocery store, and there's no way that checkout lines require that much aggression in order to survive), but it should be realized that "aggression" is not necessarily synonymous with "violence."<br />
<br />
As barbaric as it might sound to our PC sensibilities, an after school fight club could have some potential benefits to it, provided that it's done within a controlled (read: supervised) and safer environment. After essentially being reduced to caged animals in the classroom and not being allowed to be "boys", there's a lot of pent up frustration and aggression that's built up. If it's released in an environment like this, boys can get their physical activity (a must in the light of cuts to physical education programs) and also just as important, they learn to stand up for themselves. And as much as these "nice guys" are pleasant to have around, the world is relentlessly cruel to them. They will miss out on countless opportunities, they will have their hearts broken countless times over, they will never have respect, and they will never reach their full potential.<br />
<br />
But given the pacification of people today (and the fear of lawsuits), it's extremely unlikely that something like that would ever be sanctioned by parents or educators, which is unfortunate. Parents will always want to protect their kids, and now with GPS tracking devices and the ability to (ab)use the legal system, they can do that. But that's also doing a significant disservice, and it's ultimately futile, as kids will get hurt. It's part of growing up. The only thing a parent can (and should) actually do is equip them so they can protect themselves.<br />
<br />
This generally isn't happening either. This is a world where men are becoming increasingly obsolete, regardless of what the glass ceiling might say about income disparity. Certain male roles (e.g.: hunting down buffalo) have been outmoded by industrialism, and as Barbara Kay's editorial indicates, largely suggests that to a certain degree, men have been reduced to providers of sperm. Indeed, with fathers increasingly out of the picture (working extremely long hours to support the family or being reduced to weekend parents after the custody battle left the children in care of the mother), boys are going to be left behind a lot more until the problem is recognized and dealt with, or we pull our collective heads from our asses and realize that it's not about us, but for our children's futures.<br />
<br />
And for the women that say that there are no good guys left? You're exactly right. And there is a reason for it.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-37510214017882393012011-03-01T08:07:00.002-08:002011-03-01T09:22:25.170-08:00Comparing Apples and Android-anges<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/toquinha1977/5336234683/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="A friendly letter to Steve Jobs by Toquinha1977, on Flickr"><img alt="A friendly letter to Steve Jobs" height="375" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5165/5336234683_7e0001da6f.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"ATTN: Steve Jobs. Suck it! Your pal, A. Droid Sent from an Android device"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The competition between smartphone manufacturers is a particular interest. With smartphone functionality approaching that of a personal home computer at a fraction of the size, it's no surprise that smartphone sales have outpaced PC sales for the first time late last year (of course, there are other factors, such as the replacement rate and upfront costs of a computer vs. a smartphone). Smartphones have also become a lot like home computers in that consumers have largely been "encouraged" to pick a side. And, much like the Windows/Mac rivalry, Android/iPhone also have their respective cult followings.<br />
<br />
Flashback, 2009. I was in the market for a new laptop computer and I had a certain amount of money I was willing to spend. I asked for recommendations on my Facebook wall and was greeted with, "Get a Macbook if you don't want a virus-ridden piece of junk." While I've been a Windows PC user for over 20 years, I don't completely disagree with this very common perception from Mac users. Microsoft constantly updates Windows as security exploits are discovered, and indeed, the vast majority of viruses and malware are written specifically for Windows systems. However, those with that perception also conveniently ignore the fact that Mac OS makes up less than 10% of the total market share, whereas the last three versions of Windows make up a total of over 85%. If you're the type of person that would want to cause the most damage, you'd go for the biggest target.<br />
<br />
But as for "better"? I generally argue that there is no such thing as a "better" system, rather a "more suitable" system. I use a Mac at work and a PC at home and I get good use out of both. My Windows 7 PC takes care of my everyday stuff like games, browsing, and Adobe Creative Suite reasonably well (I'm still running CS2), while I've become accustomed to doing graphic design realted stuff with my work Mac. And contrary to what the Mac pundits say, programs DO crash on a Mac, arguably just as often as PC. I do not notice an appreciable improvement in performance or stability when going from PC to Mac, so for my money, I'm still pretty content with my PC, at least for my usage patterns. If I choose to go into serious video editing, I could probably consider a Mac (Final Cut Pro is a lot better than Adobe Premiere, or at least the versions I've used). But given that Adobe CS is available on Mac AND Windows, I'll stick with Windows for now.<br />
<br />
Back on topic. I tried to keep fanboyism at bay when choosing a new phone, as my choice largely boiled down to iPhone, Android, or Blackberry. All three platforms have a lot going for them - Blackberry has wide adoption for business use and has their own dedicated messaging network, Apple for their large marketplace of applications, Android for wide variety of hardware. Nokia was briefly a consideration, mostly due to the fact that the last four phones I owned were Nokia, although given their reduced presence in the North American market and lack of decent products, brand loyalty suddenly ceased to be an issue.<br />
<br />
Between the various phone types, I ended up with the HTC Desire Z (the phone that's pictured above, which the Android mascot is using to send a little "friendly" gesture to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs). Among my many reasons for picking this phone in general...<br />
<ul><li>Key features missing from iPhone 4: physical keyboard, expandable memory, replaceable battery. The last one is important, because you don't have the option of swapping out the battery in a pinch. If it dies, it dies. </li>
<li>Key features missing from Blackberry: <i>comfortable</i> physical keyboard. </li>
<li>Virtually unlimited customizeability</li>
<li>The fact that just about everyone else has an iPhone, which is a little bit funny to me considering that the stereotype of Apple users is that they are trying to be individuals. By all getting the same phone. </li>
<li>Price. Buying an iPhone with a similar configuration will be $150+ more. And that's if I can actually get one.</li>
</ul>After getting my phone unlocked for my network (originally purchased under Bell, unlocked for Fido) and working out all the kinks, so far I'm pretty satisfied with my phone, but also realize that there are some drawbacks to being on the Android system.<br />
<br />
While Android is open source, it essentially ceases to be that after phone manufacturers get their hands on it. Phone manufacturers and carriers put on a customized version of the user interface, which heavily contributes to the fragmentation issue. Because the phone is running a customized version of Android, getting an update to the next version of the operating system has to go through the phone manufacturer first, THEN your carrier. With the multiple versions of the UI across different manufacturers and models, you can expect to wait a really long time for your upgrades, if at all. HTC supposedly has the best track record for upgrading their phones (average wait to upgrade phones running Android 2.1 to 2.2 was 2 months), the latest version of Android (2.3) won't be officially available until the Summer.<br />
<br />
This is akin to one of the issues faced by PC users when it comes to software compatibility, which is something touted by reasons to switch to Mac. With the infinite possible hardware configurations of Windows-based PCs, there will be a chance that your setup will not be 100% compatible with the latest game or the productivity suite. This doesn't happen on Macs, at least not as often.<br />
<br />
Overall, I am pretty happy with my phone, although my biggest gripes are to do with Bell than with Android or HTC, which has prompted me to consider rooting the phone (similar to jailbreaking an iPhone), although not for the purpose of installing unauthorized apps, but for getting rid of the preinstalled apps that I will never use. Unlike a Windows PC that comes preinstalled with demos and programs that you can get rid of at your leisure, the applications that come preinstalled on a smartphone require a bit of tinkering that will end up voiding the warranty. After a while, though, I kind of just ignore the apps I don't use anyway.<br />
<br />
And about battery life, it will always depend on your usage patterns. I know of people who can go for several days without recharging a Blackberry even with heavy use, whereas I can usually get max two days out of my phone (less if I'm playing a lot of <i>Angry Birds</i>, as the display accounts for most of the battery consumption). While Android has gotten flack for high battery drain, iPhone users can experience the same.<br />
<br />
In the end, don't believe the hype. Pick the phone that suits YOUR needs, not just because everyone else has one.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-5059070070579200982011-02-17T17:41:00.005-08:002011-02-18T07:08:56.106-08:00The Beiber and the Damage Done<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">As an unrepentant info junkie, I’m on Google News a lot. With the media’s obsession with celebrities, certain names usually come up, such as Lady Gaga, Charlie Sheen, and now Justin Beiber. And as an info junkie, I’ll casually browse through whatever is there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I’ve long since passed the age when certain entertainers raise my ire, although in my younger days, the likes of the New Kids on the Block and the Spice Girls would have me plugging my ears and leaving the room. Nowadays, I’ve gotten pretty ambivalent to the latest pop sensations, although I do lament only hearing a small segment of Justin Beiber’s “One Time” in a video promo and having it stuck in my head ever since. Regardless, it’s not worth the energy to get worked up over or blogging about, even more so since I’m well past the age when <i>Rolling Stone</i> was relevant.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I will get worked up about this month’s <i>Rolling Stone</i> interview with “the Beib,” however. In the interview, the 16 year old pop star is asked questions regarding politics (loves Canadian healthcare, jokingly says that America is evil), sex (believes that love should preclude sex, fair enough), and rape and abortion.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Given the incendiary nature of the topic when spoken about by <i>anyone</i> of note, the top news sites calling out the fact that Beiber admitted to being against abortion, even in the cases of sexual assault...that is, in the headlines, completely stripping away any context.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Toronto</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"> Sun:</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> </span><a href="http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/celebrities/2011/02/16/17302021-wenn-story.html" target="_blank"><span class="titletext"><u>Bieber weighs in on abortion</u></span></a><span lang="EN-US"><br />
<i>MSNBC</i>: </span><a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41624745/ns/today-entertainment/" target="_blank"><span class="titletext"><u>Justin Bieber: 'I really don't believe in abortion'</u></span></a><br />
<i>Washington Post</i>: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/16/AR2011021606080.html" target="_blank"><span class="titletext"><u>Jonathan Capehart: Justin Bieber's tough love on abortion</u></span></a><br />
<i>Ear Sucker</i>: <a href="http://earsucker.com/2011/02/17/justin-bieber-really-doesnt-like-abortion/" target="_blank"><span class="titletext"><u>Justin Bieber really doesn't like abortion</u></span></a></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><i>New York Daily News</i>: <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2011/02/16/2011-02-16_justin_bieber_in_rolling_stone_i_dont_think_you_should_have_sex_with_anyone_unle.html">Justin Bieber in Rolling Stone: Abortion is 'killing a baby' - even in cases of rape</a></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><i>Macleans.c</i>a - <a href="http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/02/16/justin-bieber-says-you-got-raped-for-a-reason-ladies/" target="_blank"><span class="titletext"><u>Justin Bieber says you got raped for a reason, ladies</u></span></a><span lang="EN"><br />
<i>New York Magazine</i> - </span><a href="http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/02/justin_bieber_abortion.html" target="_blank"><span class="titletext"><u>Here Is the Abortion Conversation Justin Bieber Will Be Apologizing for Tomorrow</u></span></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Hoo-boy. Why not ask a 16-year old born-and-raised Christian celebrity his opinion on same-sex unions while you’re at it? Oh wait, they did.</span><span lang="EN"><i> </i></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN"><i>Lez Get Real</i> - </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://lezgetreal.com/2011/02/justin-bieber-thinks-gay-is-a-decision-and-rape-happens-for-a-reason/" target="_blank"><span class="titletext"><u>Justin Bieber Thinks Gay is a Decision and Rape “Happens For a Reason”</u></span></a><i><br />
On Top Magazine:</i> </span><a href="http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=7592&MediaType=1&Category=22" target="_blank"><span class="titletext"><u>Justin Bieber Says Being Gay Is A Choice</u></span></a><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;"> </span></i></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">The public has great interest in the rise of a celebrity, especially when they come from very humble roots, such as the case with Beiber, who got his start on YouTube and was "discovered." Unfortunately, the public has greater interest in the celebrity's fall, which is much greater when a celebrity has a generally "clean" image. This is not so much as a defense of a young pop star as it's more of an indictment of the media, most of whom have chosen to take an incomplete quote as published and use it out of context. It's not even the first time. </span></div><h2 style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.5pt;"> </span></h2><h2 style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.5pt;"> </span></span></h2><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">Nearer towards the end of the Beatles' existence as a band, John Lennon was asked an interview question about the relevance of religion in young people's lives. His response, "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I'll be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first—rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">When published in the Evening Standard, no one said anything. When a fan magazine Playbook got a hold of it and only published a part of it on the cover, that's when the protests started, complete with burnings of Beatles merchandise.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">That was almost 50 years ago. It seems that interviewers for non-tabloid publications have (de-)evolved towards using ambush type questions to get a response, in this case, asking a young pop idol his views on homosexuality and abortion. When indicating his pro-life stance, the interviewer pressed further, asking if it's even in the case of sexual assault.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">The exact quote: "Um. Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that." When published, an "editorial error" managed to remove the second sentence, "I don't know how that would be a reason." </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">Within context and thinking from a cool head, it's a fairly neutral statement, but if it's reduced to a headline like "Justin Beiber says you got raped for a reason, ladies", it's going to trigger knee-jerk reactions and protests. And, it's quite possible that as a guy that has never had to go through the moral dilemma of undergoing an abortion following a sexual assault, I'm not going to have the same incendiary response as someone who has.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">How incendiary? While the pro-choice camp hasn’t gone as far as the pro-life camp (eg: pro-life extremists shooting abortion providers), the one incident that sticks out in my head was when there was a pro-life display that was put up in a public area at UBC in 1999, and was promptly vandalized by a group of pro-choice activists. Without passing judgment, do a woman’s reproductive rights trump freedom of expression? Is a display showing images of aborted fetuses offensive enough that it is a viable threat to laws protecting reproductive rights, and should therefore be destroyed, as it would fall into the same category as slander or libel? I can’t answer that.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">This also begs the question: why was a minor even asked such a question? While he's hardly a blank slate and presumably aware enough to know when it's something he has little authority to comment on (as he said, he "wouldn't t be able to judge that"), he hardly has the life experience or knowledge to weigh in on a controversial topic that can't be viewed in black and white terms. Apparently, his media handler and publicist were nowhere to be found when those questions were asked, as they would’ve realized what effects such quotes would have, and that they would definitely be taken out of context.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">Even the phrase, “</span><span lang="EN-US">It's everyone's own decision to do that. It doesn't affect me and shouldn't affect anyone else” in regards to homosexuality should have been taken as neutral. But someone with enough media power will be offended by it to comment and reinterpret it as “Justin Beiber says being gay is a choice.” Of course, one would think that the important words were </span><span lang="EN-US">the part about “doesn’t affect me and shouldn’t affect anyone else.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Rolling Stone editor Vanessa Grigoriadis defended the line of questioning, tweeting, </span>“A 16 year old kid, to be 17 in a couple weeks, who has control over a large population should be asked all questions." Fair enough. But, given that most celebrities in the media will have handlers and media control to filter any sort of controversial questions, it comes across as predatory, even more so considering that he's only 16, and his handlers weren't nearby when those questions were asked. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I'll admit. When I was 16, I leaned towards the pro-life camp. I was part of the Catholic school system and with constant bombardment of pro-life rhetoric on a regular basis, there isn't a lot of room for any other point of view, especially at that age. After a few years in college, my view softened considerably. But most importantly, I realize that I will never fully understand the topic fully, so I know enough not to make black and white statements like "abortion is murder" or "reproductive rights trump all". To an extent, Beiber probably understands it too, given his qualifying statements.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Under the circumstances, Beiber probably answered the questions the best he could without media coaching, although the questions shouldn't have even been asked in the first place, at least not without the presence of his media handlers. Because in the meantime, a character was just assassinated.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">No, I don't like the music, and if I can finally get "One More Time" unstuck from my head, I would actually be a lot happier. And yes, freedom of the press is important. But at what point does that breach journalistic ethics?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">While I'm at it...we have about 48 hours to "<a href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/canada_fair_and_balanced/?copy">save Canadian journalism.</a>"</div>Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-60391260067297001772010-12-17T17:35:00.001-08:002010-12-17T17:36:21.104-08:00On Slacktivism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyou1nVygzMSLeiU_krNjgbbt66UfuEdBXo77cWxcM_Q7vmq_d_e8jBqV1fLwtTsC_4hh7Agj62yYAoJ86_J51QmhpZrZYCbA4jyfb1Sx4rcQxrOnKqXQgCo5EXdk7rPfZGjLi/s1600/Facebook-Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyou1nVygzMSLeiU_krNjgbbt66UfuEdBXo77cWxcM_Q7vmq_d_e8jBqV1fLwtTsC_4hh7Agj62yYAoJ86_J51QmhpZrZYCbA4jyfb1Sx4rcQxrOnKqXQgCo5EXdk7rPfZGjLi/s200/Facebook-Logo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Given my lack of followers, an 8 month hiatus from blogging probably wouldn’t have been noticed that much (laziness, got addicted to <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B001VJ4DHK?ie=UTF8&tag=prodofanundef-20&linkCode=as2&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=B001VJ4DHK">Mass Effect 2</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003S3R478?ie=UTF8&tag=prodofanundef-20&linkCode=as2&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=B003S3R478">Fallout: New Vegas</a>). I actually have had a few things to write about, but just didn’t get around to putting them down. This starts now as I’m now down for 2-3 weeks with a knee injury (level 1 LCL sprain), which means most of my evenings are free for the next bit.<br />
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Slacktivism (derived from the words “slacker” and “activism”) describes the practice of supporting causes with minimal effort. Wikipedia’s page includes examples such as Livestrong bracelets, signing online petitions, and e-mail chain letters (eg: send this e-mail on and Canadian Cancer Society will donate $1 to research for each person that sends it). I remember one in particular involving an online trivia game which donated rice to developing countries the more you played.<br />
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While some campaigns do give portion of proceeds to specific beneficiaries (portions of proceeds from Livestrong bracelets go to cancer research), others have questionable (or at least difficult to measure) effectiveness, and will even have certain organizations actually attempting to distance themselves from such campaigns.<br />
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With Facebook, awareness campaigns have a lot more potential to go viral, especially with the vast worldwide user base and the ease at which one can change their status and profile picture. When memes go viral, they become harder to ignore regardless of the size of your friends list, as a larger percentage of your FB contacts will be participating. The most recent one had FB users changing their profile picture to an image from a cartoon show and changing your FB status to read, “Change your FB picture to a cartoon from your childhood. The goal is not to see a human face on FB until Monday (Dec 6th) Join the fight against child abuse & copy and paste to your status!” <br />
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There are two other FB awareness campaigns that come to mind, in which women posted the colour of their bras with no context whatsoever (eg: “Jane Doe: black”; “Ellen Wong: beige”; etc.), the other in which women posted where they like to leave their purses (eg: “Jane Doe: I like it on the floor”; “Ellen Wong: I like it on the couch”). These were organized without any direct ties to any non-profit organization, and without context, were generally confounding to those that had idea what was going on. And, if you were a guy who just thought everyone was posting their favourite colours and it that might be fun to join in, pretty embarrassing too.<br />
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This is reminiscent of those commercials for birth control pills where young women identified themselves with the product (“I’m Alesse!”), and then some clueless young male gets pointed and laughed at when he asks, “What’s Alesse?” Canadian advertising standards for prescription drugs aside (notice that Canadian drug ads will never say what it does or what it is used for), for a birth control pill ad, it’s probably okay, given the extremely low probability that a man would purchase it for himself. And yes, men generally aren’t directly affected by breast cancer, but to completely alienate a potential source of support is short-sighted and counterproductive.<br />
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The “I like it on the…” campaign also <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/can-a-facebook-status-do-anything-to-fight-cancer/article1748057/">raised questions the overall effectiveness of such campaigns</a>. While they are generally harmless, there are drawbacks. One common criticism about such low-effort campaigns is that they instill the sense that the participant is accomplishing far more than they actually are. Worse yet, there is a possibility that performing such acts will be offset by living less charitably. This has been seen in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/24/ethicalliving.recycling">studies of individuals that feel environmentally lifestyles</a> (recycling, reducing car use) justify more polluting lifestyle choices (taking long-haul flights). <br />
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Given the fact that the level of impact of FB status updates is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to measure, on the surface, these campaigns will have negligible impact compared something requiring continuous and sustained action, such as <a href="http://ca.movember.com/">Movember</a> or <a href="http://www.runforthecure.com/">CIBC’s Run for the Cure</a>. As it is, the argument has also been made that donating to charities also has less impact than we believe, given the percentage of money spent on promotion and administration (but that’s a discussion for another time).<br />
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I’m probably just as guilty as most. I participated in Movember by growing my mustache to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer research. Since this was done as part of an organized effort (complete with corporate sponsorship, advertising, and association with charitable organizations), the impact was at least somewhat measurable (the campaign has had its most successful year to date), but all in all, what did I really do? I conveniently forgot to shave for about a month and somehow got people to contribute $255 to prostate cancer research. <br />
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This brings us back to cartoon characters on Facebook. Obviously, a child abuser won’t see the error of their ways once they see a picture of a cartoon character, and given its lack of ties to any organization, any positive impact will be very difficult (if not impossible) to measure. And out of the dozens of people I know who participated, only a few actually questioned whether or not they were doing anything to prevent violence against children. <br />
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However, one standout actually took the opportunity to call attention to a specific charity that benefited child abuse victims, and indicated that she got some support out of it. Not to be outdone, as a mini-social experiment, I joined the bandwagon and posted a challenge to my FB contacts, offering to match donations to anyone who donated to <a href="http://www.boostforkids.org/">Boost for Kids</a>, so that anyone participating in the FB meme could actually say then did something to prevent child abuse. <br />
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Out of about a hundred or so FB contacts who were participating in the meme, I got two responses (one who donated to Children’s Help Line, the other who donated to Boost for Kids and is still waiting for her donation to be accepted), which largely confirms my suspicions. But, on the other hand, some children’s charities did report an increase in donations, <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/92537/child-abuse-facebook-meme-childrens-charities/">which some media outlets attributed to the FB meme</a>.<br />
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As a whole, the FB community as a whole has probably accomplished something positive, and that probably is something to feel good about. That is, until you find out that by participating, you may have actually contributed to exploitation of minors, given that metals that make up the electronic components in your computer (tantalum, tungsten, tin, gold) may have been sourced from <a href="http://www.enoughproject.org/files/publications/corporate_action-1.pdf">the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the sale of minerals directly funds violent armed conflict</a>. This results in coerced labour, sexual violence, and death by famine, all inflicted on children.<br />
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But let me qualify this by saying that my intent is not to criticize anyone who participates in FB awareness memes or to minimize the positive impacts of such actions. Given the complexities of life in modern industrialized society, it is impossible to live everyday life without causing suffering or pain. As it is, we start causing suffering and pain very soon after we’re conceived. <br />
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It is important that we actively question the world we live in and at least think about why we do the things we do. Is it enough to change the world on its own? Probably not. But active participation on a viral scale is always infinitely more effective than slacktivism.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-3026132435344687242010-04-07T12:47:00.000-07:002010-04-07T12:47:08.095-07:00QWIJIBO<em>As the 21st century began, human evolution was at a turning point. Natural selection, the process by which the strongest, the smartest, the fastest, reproduced in greater numbers than the rest, a process which had once favored the noblest traits of man, now began to favor different traits. Most science fiction of the day predicted a future that was more civilized and more intelligent. But as time went on, things seemed to be heading in the opposite direction. A dumbing down. How did this happen? Evolution does not necessarily reward intelligence. With no natural predators to thin the herd, it began to simply reward those who reproduced the most, and left the intelligent to become an endangered species. </em>-from <em>Idiocracy</em><br />
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In a world where Faith Based Initiatives are allowed to run the government, functional illiterates are permitted to graduate high school, and kids get beaten up for being “smart,” is this yet another sign of things foretold by <em>Idiocracy</em>?<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/06/scrabble-chess-monopoly-blame">The British press</a> has recently reported that a new edition of Scrabble called “Scrabble Trickster” will now allow the use of proper nouns, spelling of words backwards, and possibly placing words anywhere on the grid without being connected to existing words. As it stands, this is only a UK phenomenon, with Hasbro (Scrabble's owner in North America) assuring North Americans that there are no plans to change Scrabble. This is a relief, as removing the challenge from Scrabble will largely defeat any sort of intellectual value the game has. <br />
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Being a casual Scrabble player (mostly online), I’ve gone against players with varying skill levels and managed to learn a bunch of new words in the process. But, as much as I wouldn’t drop any money on a game like Trickster, I can see why there would be a market for that. While technology has made lives easier, it’s also made people a lot “dumber.” <br />
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Today, spell checkers will automatically correct spelling mistakes, which renders learning proper spelling and grammar useless. Calculators in schools are so wide-spread that basic math skills are deteriorating everywhere. And given the diminishing resources allocated towards public learning institutions such as libraries and schools, people go to the easiest and most accessible source of information possible, usually pop culture spoon-fed by the corporate machine. It very much appears that the playing field has been leveled to cater to the lowest common denominator.<br />
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Supposedly, the objective of the variant was to allow for more casual players and younger players to play. Given that there’s already a junior edition of Scrabble, this may not be necessary, although many non-juniors, the game is not very accessible. Indeed, those with large vocabularies will have an advantage, which gives Scrabble a reputation as being a game for the intellectual elite (although that’s probably more for Chess and Go). <br />
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But, to calm the frustrations of those playing against a particularly gifted Scrabble player, I offer this: despite the advantage of a large knowledge vocabulary, being able to rack up good scores in Scrabble is about as reliable indicator of intelligence as IQ tests (read: they aren’t). And in all fairness, there are already many words acceptible in the official Scrabble dictionary that don't seem to belong, such as "za" (colloquial abbreviation for "pizza"), the three 4-letter words that you can't say on television, and interjections such as "oi," "aye," "eh," and "yo," while the word "zen" is not allowed (but "qi" is). <br />
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Given that Trixster is a different game altogether (the new abilities are granted by random cards, which will incur penalties such as sacrificing a tile), it's not necessarily an attempt to dismantle the Ivory Tower and bring down the intellectual elite. As it stands, you can put down high scoring yet obscure words such as "precieux" and it'll be in the Scrabble dictionary, even if you have no idea what it means (it means "precious" by the way). I suspect that my opponent used a word generator. <br />
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If you want to make the game for really smart people, introduce a challenge rule in which you must first use the word in a sentence (within context, not "'Precieux' is a difficult word to define") as well as define it before going to the dictionary.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-41799519910848469682009-12-31T15:57:00.003-08:002009-12-31T18:15:59.986-08:00In With the NewDISCLAIMER: This blog post talks about the extremely touchy subject of parenthood. This disclaimer is in place as a preemptive strike as anyone who is childless that expresses their opinions on the matter will usually be greeted with responses with "Well, you're not a parent!" and the like. True, I'm not a parent for various reasons (which will be noted below). But, if anything I understand that parenthood has a huge host of responsibilities that should not be taken lightly. If you are a parent, you may feel that this post is directed at you. It is not. The purpose of this is not to judge or condemn, rather than to make a comment about civilization in general.<br /><br />Parenthood is not necessarily the most topical of subjects, especially on New Year's Eve. I could stretch it, saying that birth and childhood represents the new, with promise, but the bottom line is that this post is motivated by an incident that happened recently at work.<br /><br />Without disclosing details that will get fired or alienated my coworkers, the short version was that several of my officemates temporarily added "babysitter" to our list of job descriptions as one of our associates was required to come in for business matters, but had their offspring in tow. This is generally not a problem, as my coworkers who bring their children are cognizant of the fact that it's a place of work and not a daycare centre. However, this did not happen in this case, as within minutes, the child became bored and began harassing my officemates.<br /><br />In an attempt to keep the kid occupied enough to concentrate on work, I show him one of my Rubik's Cubes, which I solve for him (all the while he's calling me "slowpoke", despite his inability to solve it on his own). He wants to see another one that I keep on my desk, which is extremely similar, but I decline, given the monetary value attached to it. He then defiantly says that as soon as my back is turned, he will take it. He then sees the bag of cough drops on my desk and requests one. I'm reluctant, given that it's actual medication, and with my attempt to understand the child's limited vocabulary, I decline saying that "It's only for people who are sick."<br /><br />Given this child's willingness to steal and the fact that he looks healthy, I have no reason to believe him when he says that he is sick, so I agree to give him one on the condition that his parent allows it. He manages to secure permission, but given the fact that the parent is busy, I don't feel that the explanation that it's for "people that are sick" is sufficiently understood by the parent, so I still decline (the package clearly states, "keep out of reach of children"). As a substitution, I provide a lollipop (leftover from Halloween), which he takes without so much as a "thank you."<br /><br />Probably not the worst behaved kid I've encountered, but his lack of manners, overt willingness to openly steal, and failure to comply with his parent's instructions have me reaching for the word "crotch fruit" to describe him (a derisive term used by childless individuals that have a lot of contempt and resentment towards children in general).<br /><br />I'm not going to delve on the probable complexities of his family life. If anything, a "traditional family" (ie: parents of opposite gender, married, and living in the same household) is not a guarantee of raising a child into a productive member of society. I've seen extreme opposites on both sides - single parents who raised (and are still raising) kids on their way to becoming productive members of society, and married couples that are raising kids destined to be drains on society. But, it does speak to the level of responsibility that parenthood entails, which is dismissed way too many in today's society.<br /><br />This leads to an interesting dichotomy, where despite the level of work, money, and time required to turn a newborn infant into a productive member of society, it is considerably easier to make a baby than it is to secure a student loan, obtain a mortgage, or get a job. While the latter three considerable damage to one's credit rating if mismanaged, they pale in comparison to the potentially unlimited amount of damage caused by a child with lackadaisical upbringing. This is also irregardless of things like class and income, as even well-off families (at least financially) are capable of raising kids that grow up to be Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.<br /><br />While parenthood isn't an idea I have written off completely, it comes with a lot of consideration. I could very well choose to be the deadbeat dad, but personal ethics and the fact that financial support (at the very least) is required by law keep that from being an option. Economics, genetics (what crappy genes will they inherit?), and the very course-of-life altering nature of parenthood in general are other considerations. Also is the fact that we're already at a world population of 6.7 billion, which the planet is barely able to sustain even with a steady supply of fossil fuels.<br /><br />This is why the decision for parenthood really needs to be taken a lot more seriously than it is now, and given the inability for the general population to think for itself, makes it considerably more difficult. Government intervention is always a possibility, but is always going to be subject to controversy as it will be seen with interference with human reproductive rights. Then there's also the religious point of view, which has been associated with a notion of "Go Forth and Multiply," which makes the idea of government intervention even less of a desirable idea.<br /><br />And then there's the consideration of what state-ordered family planning may entail. Those against the idea will point out theoretical situations where reproduction ends up becoming a commodity or a right only entitled to the wealthy. This is something that's entirely possible if the right to bear children is bestowed based on worthiness, genetics, or projected income, which could lead to a nightmarish future in which eugenics becomes the norm.<br /><br />China's one-child policy is one attempt at averting a population crisis, although it is subject to a lot of flaws. Wealthy couples are more than willing to pay out fines for the privilege of a larger family, while those who are sticking to the one-child policy generally lean to raising young boys (via selective abortion), which has the potential to turn future China into a sausage party.<br /><br />Given the complexities of parenthood, the overdeveloped sense of entitlement that can come with parenthood is entirely misplaced, especially when the larger picture is considered. Even the notion of "Go Forth and Multiply" is completely outdated today, as the Bible was written at a time when life expectancies didn't even reach 40 years of age and infant deaths were commonplace, and exceeding the carrying capacity of the planet wasn't ever a consideration.<br /><br />On a smaller scale, the sense of entitlement is just as worrisome. While the prospects of having a night out at the movies ruined because of a kid with bad ADHD just won't shut the hell up is annoying, it's trivial in comparison to the larger costs on society. Raising a child that ends up being a drain on society will mean everyone else has to work harder so that the said individual will have a comparable standard of living to those that have to work for it. Considering that the current and future generations now face the prospect of having living standards below what their parents had, this makes it that much harder.<br /><br />Yes, parenthood is hard. Yes, I'm not a parent myself, so I have no idea what it's like to carry the thing for 9 months and take care of it for 18+ years. Yes, I'm aware of the fact that you have to work three jobs and your spouse is living in a different country. Irregardless of any of that, it doesn't make ill-behaved children something that can be simply dismissed with any sort of excuse or justification. Just remember that you will be responsible for bailing that child out from prison and you'll have to answer to the society when your child goes on a high school shooting rampage.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-69483337509738022552009-12-20T18:44:00.000-08:002009-12-20T18:46:11.287-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, post mortemI’m currently killing about 2 hours in the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport, somewhat wired after having to chug down a can of Brazilian Coca-Cola at the security checkpoint. AGAIN. Still no free internet, so uploading photos and blogs will have to wait another 6 hours when I’m back in Vancouver. I looked out the window and there is frost on the cars outside. I shudder to think of what it’s like back home. I’m-a-guessing pretty frickin’ cold.<br /><br />The past two weeks have been a very worthwhile experience, with memories that will last until I become senile. With beaches, warm weather, interesting people, and good Capoeira training, the trip will stay with me as long as I have the mental capacity to recall this.<br /><br />Best things about the trip:<br /> -Almost constant beautiful weather, making the fact that we’re in “rainy season” pretty ironic.<br /> -A completely different cultural experience than what we see and do back home<br /> -Time spent relaxing on the beach<br /> -All of the new friends that have been made<br /> -Developing a better appreciation for the way life is back home after the visit to the favelas<br /> -Great food almost everywhere we went<br /> -A different perspective about Capoeira training<br /> -Picking up parts of a foreign language and expanding my horizons<br /> -The non-commercialized aspect of Porto de Galinhas, with nary a Starbucks or McDonald’s in sight<br /> -Receiving the mini-celebrity treatment at Batizados<br /><br />Worst things about the trip:<br /> - The “laid back” mentality of northern Brazil often resulting in lackadaisical customer service and forcing changes in plans, resulting in a lot of wasted time<br /> -The day we were forced to pay for lunch by people who we knew that came to the table, ordered, ate, and then left<br /> -Frighteningly unsanitary conditions of some of the places we visited, making some of us really glad that we took the necessary precautions<br /> -The Brazilian public infrastructure resulting in road trips rougher than the plane ride over Miami.<br /> -Being forced to spend 3 hours looking for a hospital because someone decided to handle a stray cat<br /> -Having last minute changes to plans due to businesses giving away reservations to other parties or groups<br /><br />Survival tips for those looking to do the Brazilian experience with Aché Brasil next year:<br /><br />General travel and planning:<br />-Get everything done EARLY. Because the trip is done in high season, ticket prices will be very volatile and can price quotes can change within hours. Additionally, visas and passports take a long time to process, while vaccinations take about a month to protect you fully.<br />-Items purchased after completing security checkpoints in the airport are typically meant to be consumed. I got burned by this twice when attempting to bring a can of Brazilian Coca-Cola home, but because it wasn’t in the checked luggage, I had to chug it at the security check point.<br /> -They really do not mess around when it comes to carrying liquids. I have been forced to part with two cans of Coke, a bottle of sunscreen, and a tube of insect repellent because they were not in checked luggage. If the bottle was originally more than 100 mL, even if it obviously has less than 100 mL in it (i.e.: partially emptied), they will confiscate it.<br /><br />Stuff to bring:<br /> -Brazil’s household electrical pumps out 220 volts. Most of your electronic doo-dads will utilize 110 volts, although a lot of electronics will be able to accept voltage ranges. While you may be able to obtain an adaptor while here, it’s better that you bring your own. Check the voltage ratings on your electronics. If it ONLY accepts 110 volts, you will need a step-down voltage converter as well, or else the device is not going to work or you’re going to fry it.<br /> -Depending on what you plan to be doing, you can usually pack very light in terms of clothing. I brought about 10 pairs of socks, but I ended up going barefoot in sandals the entire time. Since you’ll likely be wearing a swimsuit a lot of the time, you can forgo a lot of clothing. During the two week stay, I wore the same pair of cargo shorts the entire time.<br /> -Sunscreen is very expensive in Porto de Galinhas. Bring your own and make sure it’s in your checked luggage.<br /><br />Brazilian culture:<br /> -Learn as much Portuguese as possible before coming. As much as Porto de Galinhas is very touristy, it’s not commercialized to the point that all of the locals are bilingual.<br /> -If you bungle the Portuguese language, accept the fact that they are laughing AT you, not WITH you. Besides, when’s the last time you laughed at someone bungling English? Deal with it.<br /> -Despite the racial diversity of Brazil, in the more northern districts (Pernambuco, Natal, Paraiba), Asians are extremely rare. If you are Asian, you WILL be stared at, they will assume that you’re Japanese (even if you’re not), you know Kung Fu, and that you’re all related. All the Japanese people are in Sao Paulo, not Pernambuco. Deal with it.<br /> -There are certain social aspects that are far beyond your control, which will result in what appears to be very lackadaisical customer service attempts to screw over the gringo tourists. This is more culturally based and is standard practice. Businesses will often say “yes” and “agree” to do things when they in fact have no intention of doing so, or will even give up your reservations to someone who is paying them more (and yes, they keep your money anyway). Customer service standards that would otherwise cause bad word to spread around and resulting lost business are the norm here. Why? It’s a tourist town and it’s not like they’re going to see you again any time soon, and it’s not like some other gringo tourist isn’t going to replace you when you’re gone. Deal with it.<br /><br />Climate and health:<br /> -DO NOT DRINK THE WATER FROM THE TAP. You should be consuming at least 1.5 litres of water per day.<br /> -To minimize mosquito bites, wear long sleeves and pants to bed and leave the door closed. Kill all mosquitoes that make their way into your room.<br /> -If you’re on a low-sodium diet, you will be SOL. The Brazilians like a lot of salt on their meat. This may be beneficial as it could help retain fluids and stave off dehydration, however. But remember to keep drinking water.<br /> -DO NOT HANDLE STRAY ANIMALS. This should be a no-brainer, but someone on our group caused us to lose 3 hours trying to find a hospital for a rabies shot.<br /> -Get a minimum of 30 SPF sunscreen and remember to reapply as necessary. Some with fairer skin types will need a much higher protection level.<br /><br />Safety:<br /> -Nobody had any major problems, but the standard rules do apply. Avoid wandering around at night alone, do not keep all your money on you or flash your money around, leave your passport in your room and carry around a photo copy.<br /> -Cops in Brazil are bastards and for good reason. They are vastly underpaid, face danger constantly, and have very itchy trigger fingers. During the trip, no major incidents happened, mostly because Porto de Galinhas is relatively safe. However, one of the group was accused of stealing prior to our arrival and had a shotgun pointed at his head.<br /><br />Budgeting:<br /> -I ended up spending less than 350 R$ on food during the two weeks, but budget for 450 R$. Remember that exchange rates are very volatile, however.<br /> -Things will generally be more expensive in Porto de Galinhas than in surrounding areas such as Olinda and Recife. A bottle of water averages around 2 R$ in Porto, and about 30% less in the supermarkets in Olinda and Recife. Stock up and purchase in bulk whenever possible.<br /> -Bar fridge purchases are stupidly expensive. Everybody should know this by now, but a few in our group did not. Remember to replenish the inventory before you leave. Also take the inventory the second you check in.<br /> -DO NOT WASTE MONEY ON LAUNDRY SERVICES. Several students on this year’s trip relied on the laundry service which was purported to be next day service, but ended up being delayed to the point that they were not ready when a Batizado was held.<br /><br />Merchandise and souvenirs<br /> -Avoid places that have no price tags on things. Vendors may apply arbitrary pricing based on how much of a tourist you come across (i.e.: “the gringo tax”).<br /><br />Activities:<br /> -As much as Capoeira is a large part of our lives, surprisingly, it is largely looked down upon and is often viewed as a “poor man’s sport.” Capoeira rodas are best performed with Mestre’s approval and when all students have full Capoeira uniforms.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-62810473391588494082009-12-20T18:40:00.001-08:002009-12-20T18:44:14.173-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 14 (sabado, decembro 19)Mosquito bite count:<br />-Hands: 4 / Arms: 7 / Shoulders: 4 / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 1<br /><br />Today is where I fly home and hope like hell that the berimbaus purchased do not get confiscated by customs. We put a clear coat of lacquer on all of the biribas and cabacas the previous day, save for the one that I specifically purchased on Francois’ behalf. <br /><br />Morning was spent with last minute scrambling to get the room cleaned out, perform all last minute idiot checks, and exchange contact information with some of the friends we’ve made so I can practice my Portuguese and they can practice their English. We also ensure that our bar fridge inventory matches their numbers, which we corrected yesterday when despite the fact that we only had 5 bottles of water to begin with, they were supposed to have 6. Camara and Safadinho do not have that foresight and are hit with a 75 R$ bar fridge invoice. <br /><br />Mestre was on the horn with the transport company most of the night to make absolutely damn sure that they were on hand to pick us up from the Pousada. Jacare and Saphodinho left the Pousada to stay in Recife; Charme was able to get a last minute flight to Rio; Zulu (AKA the Other Vince), Jaguar, and Acai caught an 11AM flight to Miami; and Canela and I are now on a 4PM flight to Sao Paulo, where I will kill a few hours before flying out to Dallas Ft. Worth and meet up with Zulu, Jaguar, and Açai.<br /><br />And of course, despite all best efforts, the transport van was STILL late, although given their complete failure to show up at all yesterday, half an hour late is pretty darn good. <br /><br />As Canela and I are taking the later flight, we had several hours to kill in the Recife airport, which is dangerous when there is a lot of really cool crap to buy. Realizing that I left a few people off the list when shopping for trinkets and kitsch in Porto de Galinhas, I finally start exercising the credit card that had gone unused for the past two weeks as I relied on Brazilian cash. <br /><br />Thankfully not finding a McDonald’s in the Recife airport, I end up at Bob’s, where I eat what may be the best airport fast food hamburger I have ever eaten in my life. Canela opts for Subway. As I’m eating it and I make my way through the last bites, I’m realizing that for once, the burger actually looked smaller in the photo. <br /><br />I also take the next step in my attempt to improve my Portuguese by purchasing a copy of <span style="font-style: italic;">Besouro</span>, a novel based on the life of the famous Capoeirista Besouro Manganga, which also inspired a film that just came out this year.<br /><br />This book is written entirely in Portuguese, which will mean it will take at least 10 times as long as the average book for me to read, although I anticipate that it will go faster as I slowly increase my vocabulary. I have a quick conversation with the bookstore clerk with his limited English, telling him that I don’t know that much Portuguese, but I’m interested in reading it due to my interest in Capoeira. He asks if I know any Portuguese at all, to which I respond, “Um pequeno.” He then spouts a few random Portuguese greetings, “Bom dia…obrigado…” I then add in, “Onde é o banheiro”, which provokes laughter behind the clerks behind the counter.<br /><br />Canela and I are flying on TAM Linhas on an A321, which is smaller than the planes that took us on the way in, but somehow more comfortable. And they just served us a hot ham and cheese sandwich. This beats the pants off of the chintzy cookies and boxed drink we got on the American Airlines flight from Salvador to Recife.<br /><br />Landing in Sao Paulo, Canela makes her connection to Chicago and I’m making my brief stop before heading out to Dallas. We wander around for about an hour as this is a very large and busy airport. The airport is akin to a rat maze and I’ve lost confidence in my ability to find my way after airport staff gives directions. Canela suggests that the airport was designed in the 1970s to counter protests and gatherings, which is why navigation is very complex. After about fifteen minutes of searching, we end up at the American Airlines counter where I have to exchange boarding passes and Canela has to re-check in.<br /><br />The unfortunate thing is that this is not a really direct connection, as I have to pass through airline security AGAIN. I end up having to swallow the entire can of Brazilian Coke (intended as a gift to the Coke-addicted girlfriend) at the security checkpoint, forcing me to purchase a replacement before the gate. The price is a whopping 5 R$, which translates to roughly $3-4 CDN. Back in the Recife airport, it cost 3,50 R$. It didn’t even cost that much in the bar fridge back at the Pousada.<br /><br />Without stepping outside of the Sao Paulo airport, I have a very limited impression of the city, although I have finally found the Brazilian-Japanese population, so I’m not going to be attracting stares. And yes, stuff is much more expensive here. And there’s STILL no free internet. I will wait until I get to Dallas-Ft. Worth and check there.<br /><br />With this, I say boa viagem to Brazil and step on the plane.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-86818536222120666672009-12-20T18:36:00.001-08:002009-12-20T18:40:00.017-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 14 (quinta-feira, decembro 18)Mosquito bite count:<br />-Hands: 4 / Arms: 7 / Shoulders: 4 / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 1<br /><br />Mestre knows that I’m putting together a blog and has half-jokingly asked for approval, to which I responded, “I don’t remember signing a non-disclosure agreement.” And really, given my responsibilities as a writer, I have to call it as I see it, with as much balance and fairness as possible. But, in the interest of maintaining positive ties and whatnot, names will be withheld when appropriate and discussion of sensitive topics will be kept to a minimum.<br /><br />With my last night here in Brazil, I can sum up my entire experience in three words: “Abandon all expectations.” This can be both good and bad at the same time, and in retrospect, it’s been mostly good, even with the not so great experiences. And there have been days when I’ve been feeling like absolute crud, but largely the positive experiences more than made up for them.<br /><br />For example, most of today ended up being a minor write-off. We were scheduled to go to the mud pits for a therapeutic mud bath, which I was really looking forward to, but the transportation company isn’t exactly coming through on agreements. Previously, it was agreed that the van would be available to pick us up at 11:00AM, but when they aren’t there, they suddenly have no recollection of this appointment, or that the van needs to be repaired, or something. From my experience so far, it’s more than likely they rented it out to someone who paid more, but they’re just not willing to admit it.<br /><br />While cultural dynamics can be fascinating for sociological study and international relations, they’re a pain in the ass from a customer service point of view. The Other Vince and I have been compiling a list of businesses in Brazil that we cannot trust, but given that in some certain respect, pretty much all of the businesses categories fall under there, it’s not so much that certain businesses can’t be trusted, rather that it’s the general mentality of the culture in general. For a person that depends on full disclosure and transparency (and comes close to having anxiety attacks when these things are not there), this is not the kind of thing that I like to deal with on a regular basis.<br /><br />As it stands, the end result of this is that we have to hire another van and driver, sending an old beat up VW minibus which doesn’t have all the seatbelts. By the time we pass through Ipojuca and get to the mud flats, they closed early, leaving behind a very unfriendly looking guard dog behind. And of course, no one has any idea what’s going on and asking for help from the locals gets us nowhere.<br /><br />With me looking forward to finishing up a non-relaxing vacation with a therapeutic mud bath, this is less than welcome news, which has actually gotten me pretty bummed out. And considering that the number of hours wasted waiting could’ve been spent at the beach or doing something else, a lot of people are definitely not happy with the van company.<br /><br />But, the feeling doesn’t last all that long, as we end up going to a favela (“shantytown”) to deliver gifts to underprivileged locals. This gives me enough perspective. These people, while they have less, are generally happy, even though their lives are harder. They are literally dirt poor, often making less than a few dollars per day. And they are extremely grateful for the gifts we give them. Meanwhile, we have everything we want, but want more, become disconnected with the people around us, take psychoactive meds to remain calm, shut ourselves out from the outside world because we’re addicted to our 24 hour high speed internet, shopping, eBay, and pornography.<br /><br />For us, these gifts are mostly cast-offs and leftovers. While Kayla did procure new items (stationery, toiletries, etc.), the bulk of the items are old clothes and toys that we have no longer deemed useful. While these people have benefited from our materialistic attachments and our disposable culture of excess, seeing the way people live really makes stuff less worth complaining about, at least in our lives. Heck, my contribution was a few Rubik’s Cubes which I “retired” just because I own so damn many of them. This barely set me back $20.<br /><br />However, this leads to a fun moment where I get the photo I want…I staged a photo where I’m racing one of the favela kids with Rubik’s Cube solving, and then he ends up beating me. I got what I wanted out of it and I did my good deed of the day, and on top of that, I made somebody smile.<br /><br />And later, I do confront our non-Capoeira practicing group member to explain myself for last night and why I may have been upset. Indeed, I indicate to her that I’m not so much as looking for an apology as for an understanding of the consequences of not acting according to childhood lessons, while assuring her that after blowing off steam, I’m actually okay with it. Still mildly annoyed, but at least not pissed off about it.<br /><br />We ended up back at Churasso Gaucho, an all-you-can-eat meat buffet, which the Other Vince describes as “like Samba’s, but the waiters don’t ignore you.” I forgo desert, although the bill swells slightly as we have to pay for the live musician (they neglect to tell us this before we sit down and eat). But, on the plus side, I have finally heard a live rendition of “Garota de Ipanema” (“The Girl from Ipanema”), which I haven’t heard in my entire time here. That’s kinda like going to NYC and never hearing Sinatra’s “New York, New York”.<br /><br />As we leave, the Other Vince and I ask Acai to help us locate suitable gifts for our significant others back home. Given that shopping for clothes is generally an anxiety-inducing experience, we rely on her expertise and buy what she tells us. We run into Mestre and Christianne, who are saying that they are going to “Go for coffee.” This has the Other Vince and me laughing uncontrollably. We end up explaining the joke to Mestre, who is visibly unimpressed, while Christianne finds it funny.<br /><br />The night is finished off when we go to the town looking to dance the night away. We run into Diago, one of the locals who works as a tour guide, whom we previously met during one of our Capoeira rodas. Since his English is significantly better than my Portuguese, he recommends one place called Santeria, which Jacare explains is a name of a religion. I only know it as a song by Sublime.<br /><br />The club session starts out with a live band playing Forro music, for which I’m wishing that I paid more attention in salsa class (Charme explains that the only differences are the footwork). Things start more moving towards familiar territory after the band finishes their set and the DJ steps in to play electronic music and remixed top 40 favourites. “Kung Fu Fighting” begins pumping through the speakers and I do my worst Bruce Lee impression possible, much to the amusement of my peers.<br /><br />I make my leave in the wee hours of the morning, intent on getting some sleep before an exhausting flight. The girlfriend isn’t feeling very good and could use some cheering up. I hope I picked something that she’d like.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-30733195169297155122009-12-20T18:26:00.001-08:002009-12-20T18:26:46.331-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 13 (quarta-feira, decembro 17)Mosquito bite count:<br />-Hands: 4 / Arms: 7 (+1) / Shoulders: 4 / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 1 (+1)<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 2…maybe (first incident is completely healed, feeling a little sensitive on the face and forehead)<br /><br />WARNING: AIRING OF DIRTY LAUNDRY. I’m not a big fan of airing dirty laundry in a public forum like Blogger or Facebook (where this blog is posted). Air dirty in public and everyone will know the colour of your underwear. However, this is also to serve as a public service announcement (because knowing is half the battle. YO JOE!). Names will not be mentioned to protect the remaining shreds of dignity, although everyone who was there will know exactly who this refers to. This will be the only mercy that will be shown in this blog. This will be honest, raw, and harsh, but it will be fair.<br /><br /><rant>Parts of this blog were written down outside various medical clinics between Natal and Paraiba. The non-Capoeira practicing member of the group has dragged us here because against all of the basic life survival lessons that they teach children (e.g.: don’t stick metal objects into electric outlets, don’t accept rides from strangers, don’t swallow liquids with the “Mr. Yuck” sticker on it), she hand-fed a stray cat which then bit her. So yes, she’s trying to find a rabies shot.<br /><br />Look people. They teach you not to handle stray animals when you’re a kid. The basic life survival lessons go double when you’re in a foreign country, triple when medical facilities are hard to find and may or may not be adequate. And surely enough, after hours of searching, we STILL haven’t fount a rabies shot.<br /><br />While the previous day had me on edge, this incident has officially gotten me pissed off. I accept that there are certain risks associated with traveling abroad, but you do whatever it is that you can to minimize them. This is especially the case in a group trip. If one person gets an intestinal parasite and has to make a bathroom trip every fifteen minutes, the trip will become that much less fun as the van has to make stops every fifteen minutes.<br /><br />Even as a Capoeirista, I run the risk of serious physical injury every time I step in to train or play against an advanced student, but I know how to minimize the risk. Always play in a respectful manner, don’t provoke an aggressive game if you can’t back it up, protect your face, warm up before training, and if it hurts, don’t push it. As Capoeira training has been one of the primary reasons for me to be here, and if someone gets hurt and we have to go all over town to find suitable medical facilities to reset a broken nose, I’m not going to hold it personally because this is not always preventable or predictable.<br /><br />Evidently, this didn’t happen for our possibly-rabies infected travel companion, as this was something that was completely preventable. Even more insulting is the lack of anything resembling an apology, although she “thanked” us for accompanying her to all these medical facilities. Guess what, we don’t leave anyone behind and this was not a choice for us, and even if it were a choice, we still would’ve done it. And when presented with the question of whether or not she’s going to do it again, she says that she will, justifying it by saying that the cat was really cute and she couldn’t help herself.<br /><br />This is a facepalm moment which further cements my perception that she’d be the first to die if we were in a horror film. I’m not looking forward to spending any amount of time with her, which is a shame because I was hoping to go partying on my last night here (tomorrow night), and she’s likely to accompany us. If she’s willing to pet a stray animal just because it’s cute, part of me expects her to let common sense to go flying out the window and accept a spiked drink from a stranger, which will mean the group of us will be involved in the search for her (or her body), will be required to make witness statements, and then be subsequently forced to miss our flights home as a result.<br /><br />At least the general air of resentment and rage in the van has prompted her to vow to not touch stray animals again.</rant><br /><br />Not counting the search for the rabies shot, this would’ve been a pretty good day. We woke up and found that our belongings were not rifled through and no one shot at the front desk person. The toilet takes a long time to fill up, but at least we don’t have to sleep in a run down neighbourhood.<br /><br />We drove to the beach where we alternate between lounging and swimming. The waves are high enough to make me long for a surfboard, but we opt for body surfing instead. The throat burns with sea water and I hit one wave hard enough to knock my goggles askew.<br /><br />We end up going on an exhilarating dune buggy tour of the Natal sand dunes. The exhilaration is due to the element of danger – and I’m the only one that actually bothers with a seatbelt (which incidentally isn’t working properly). We make several stops for photos, many of which will be part of my screensaver at work.<br /><br />We come back for Capoeira class on the beach, taught by rotating instructors including Instrutore Parata and Contra Mestre Pequeno. Movements are relatively basic, either to accommodate the large range in ranks or to accommodate us soft Canadians. I’m thinking it’s more of the latter.<br /><br />Upon completion of class, we hop in the van for another part of the beach for lunch. Beers are continuously piled up in front of us while we wait for the catch of the day prepared to perfection. With drinks, we pay 15R$ each. We all eat our fill while we are swarmed by stray cats, circling like vultures, waiting for us to drop something. We all have the foresight to not handle or feed them.<br /><br />A small group of us make our way through the nearby residential area to visit Mestre’s relatives. Again highlighting how good we have it, doors are secured witih padlocks and the walls and floors are bare. Many of the locals make their living by fishing, and while business is good now, it’s entirely seasonal. Mestre helps out his extended family wherever possible, and half jokingly laments that he has no money left every time he goes to Brazil. With the number of friends and family that Mestre has here, this is not surprising.<br /><br />Mestre’s relatives share some mangoes with us, which I hope ripen before I leave Brazil (can’t take it with me). This is when we all hop in the van and find out about the need for a rabies shot. Considering that we’re 6 hours away from our accommodations in Porto de Galinhas, the trips to medical care facilities will add on another 3 hours at the very least.<br /><br />We don’t end up getting home until 3AM. This had better not mess up scheduling, or I’m going to be even more pissed.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-19864227052319451802009-12-20T18:23:00.003-08:002009-12-20T18:26:03.124-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 12 (tertia-feira, decembro 16)Mosquito bite count: (unchanged)<br />-Hands: 4 / Arms: 6 / Shoulders: 4 / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 1 (completely healed)<br /><br />For the first time on this trip, I’m actually stressed out. Here I am, already very out of my element with a significant language barrier and undergoing massive culture shock, and only starting to figure out the local area, and I’m in a hotel in Natal where the front desk person actually needs a Kevlar vest. How did I end up here? <br /><br />Immediately following breakfast, we were rushed to get on the bus for a 6-hour road trip from Porto to Natal, with one stop in the Recife airport and another stop to eat and get gas. The trip is cushioned with earplugs for the bulk of the trip as I’m feeling more anti-social than usual. I make it through half of <span style="font-style: italic;">Ender’s Game</span> as in my haste to leave, I forgot my iPod charger. I also find out the hard way that my DS charger requires a step down converter before it will work here.<br /><br />As much as I keep trying to remind myself of the class differences between Canada and Brazil, the bus trip through some of the more run-down areas of Natal has left some of us on edge. Christianne felt it was amusing to tell us that we’d be staying in some of the run-down neighbourhoods and the group would be split up. One non-Capoeira practicing member of the group uses the words “shit-hole” to describe the neighbourhood. It’s people like her who are usually the first to die in the horror movies that put Americans in foreign locales.<br /><br />Lunch happens with Mestre’s extended family, where we are told we are staying. Despite the obvious class differences, we are treated with the utmost of hospitality with good food and drink. We’re still a little put off at the prospect of spending the night however. The Other Vince vows to follow the advice of Mestre Bimba, the founder of modern Capoeira Regional, who was said to sleep with one eye open. Gripping your pillow tight. Exit light, enter night, grain of sand.<br /><br />After lunch, we end up at a public school, which is actually well maintained, a contrast to some of the neighbourhoods we have seen. This is the venue for the local Batizado. Compared to previous Batizados at Xexue and Olinda, the children students are less well-off, evidenced by the fact that they don’t all have official Aché Brasil uniforms. We attempt to soften the edge with some charitable donations of gifts that we’ve collected at the Vancouver academy.<br /><br />We get the minor celebrity treatment and the kids are happy to see us, although I still get the feeling that they’ve never seen an Asian before, as one kid takes to pull on the corner of his eyes to imitate stereotypical Asian slanted eyes. I haven’t had anybody do that to my face since I was 8 years old, probably the approximate age of the kid who did that. I try not to be offended by this, although I am a little bit surprised, especially given the ethnic diversity that is seen in Brazil. But at least they don’t throw fruit at the van when we leave.<br /><br />Batizado goes well and is much better organized than the Olinda Batizado, mostly owing to the fact that this was not a last-minute location change, and therefore the bathroom wasn’t as scary, although the fact that I had to use the girls’ change room while Kayla stood guard and the stall was missing half of a door does stand out. The Canadian students all end up doing Capoeira solos to warm up the crowd, but with inadequate warm-up, I know better than to cut loose with the high-risk moves.<br /><br />However, we do not represent as well as we can, as half of the Canadian students are without proper Capoeira uniforms. While the locals do have an excuse, the only excuse we have is that we trusted the local laundry service which promised next day service. We surrendered our laundry on Monday and were supposed to have it on Tuesday. Guess what happened.<br /><br />During the drive to God-only-knows-where (presumably where we’ll be staying), we are told that because Natal shares its name with the Christmas holiday in Portuguese (Feliz Natal), the city is completely decked out in Christmas decorations and lights. This leads to some of us singing Christmas carols, with the two Vinces allowing holiday cynicism to take hold – the Other Vince makes a point of changing the line “Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight” in “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” to “Won’t you shoot my wife tonight,” whereas I rant on the excesses of Christmas consumerism.<br /><br />I mention that I’m doing a Buy-Nothing Christmas with family, mostly owing to the amount of money spent in order for this trip to happen. Our resident non-Capoeira practicing member of the group finds it unfathomable that we could’ve blown so much in savings all at once. She also received the trip as a graduation present. Without mentioning dollar figures, I list off the expenses that come with living on one’s own and sound really frickin’ old in the process.<br /><br />We finally end up at the hotel, where I notice that the front desk clerk is wearing body armour. I haven’t decided if this is worse than staying at Mestre’s family or not, but at least we are very close to the beach and have a beautiful view. The photos taken will end up as my screensaver at work.<br /><br />Dinner takes place at an Italian restaurant, consisting of thin-crust pizza and Caparinha (an alcoholic beverage containing Pitu, a local liquor derived from sugar cane). The pizza helps with the hypoglycaemia while the Caparinha takes the edge off.<br /><br />The generally lackadaisical approach to customer service has me asking Christianne how they can get away with this. I’m told that this is largely due to the completely laid back attitude to just about everything. She tells me that it’s not so much the case in areas such as Sao Paulo, which is heavily industrialized, but also heavily commercialized (ie: Starbucks and McDonald’s all over the place). All I know is that back home, this is a quick way to ensure that repeat business does not happen. If I hand in the type of customer service that we’re getting here back home, I will get fired.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-58009395061940158752009-12-20T18:23:00.001-08:002009-12-20T18:23:53.053-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 11 (segunda-feira, decembro 15)Mosquito bite count:<br />-Hands: 4 / Arms: 6 (+1) / Shoulders: 4 / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 1 (completely healed)<br /><br />Immediately following breakfast, I walked with the group to the beach where we took a boat tour to a coral reef. And of course, after putting on all of our sunscreen and whatnot, there was a sudden downpour. Considering that we were going to be swimming a bit later, this wouldn’t have been a big deal, but sunscreen was getting in my eyes. As soon as it stopped, we started randomly quoting “I’m On a Boat.”<br /><br />When we got on the coral reef, we were given a small packet of food for the fish. We had a bit too much fun feeding them, evidenced by the amount of fish crap that we were swimming in. Getting swarmed by fish was actually sort of neat, and of course there was the requisite stuffing of fish food in someone’s swim trunks. <br /><br />After a fairly large lunch, we started the berimbau workshop. This ended up dragging on for hours, starting at roughly the afternoon and still going on until 10PM. Creating a full berimbau is an extremely tedious process. A brief run down:<br /><br /> -Peeling off all of the bark<br /> -Cutting the length down to the equivalent of 7 hand lengths (stretched thumb to pinky)<br /> -Using a glass blade to remove the remaining bark and smoothing out the surface and the knots in the wood<br /> -Sanding down the surface<br /> -Cutting, emptying, and sanding down a gourd<br /> -putting holes in the gourd and attaching a string<br /> -Cutting a notch in the berimbau for the aramé to loop around<br /> -Nailing a square of leather to the top of the berimbau<br /> -Cutting an appropriate length of wire and twisting the loops in it<br /> -Tying string to the arame<br /> -Stringing the berimbau properly<br /><br />Given the extremely limited number of available tools, this takes a lot longer than it should. We end up improvising glass blades made of a broken bottle and surprisingly, nobody cuts themselves on the glass. This may appear to be fairly ghetto, but it actually effective at levelling out the surface. I now have a much better appreciation on what is necessary to make a berimbau and can actually see how the prices can be justified.<br /><br />As complete newbies, our Berimbau assembly technique has become a great source of comedy for Jaruna, one of the workers at the Pousada who is also a Capoeira student, and obviously, they aid a lot more help than we were hoping for. My berimbau is somewhat complete, although I do need to do some more sanding. The wood is extremely stiff and difficult to flex. However, this is my berimbau. There are many like it, but this one is my own.<br /><br />This drags on long enough that by the time some of us are finished, we’re all extremely tired, hungry, and getting cranky (low blood sugar and all). The night is finished off at an all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbecue which is much cheaper than eating at Samba’s in Vancouver. <br /><br />The language barriers are slowly lowering as Saphadinho makes a crack at Charme’s expense. Charme requests “frango de queijo” (“chicken with cheese”), but Saphadinho makes an off-hand crack, “You mean, ‘Frango de Homems?” (slang term for gay male). Charme responds with an extended middle finger, but the waiter takes the joke even further by sending over another member of the wait staff.<br /><br />The second hapless waiter is completely oblivious to the fact that he just got punked and politely asks if there’s anything else he can do. As we do so, the first waiter is killing himself laughing behind the counter, so much so that he needs his apron to mop up the tears because he’s laughing too hard. <br /><br />The hypoglycaemia has now been replaced with a need for a post meal coma.<br /><br />Next: Natal.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-87660000109595019642009-12-20T18:22:00.000-08:002009-12-20T18:23:08.963-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 10 (segunda-feira, decembro 14)Mosquito bite count: (unchanged)<br /> -Hands: 4 / Arms: 5 / Shoulders: 4 / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 1 (first one is completely healed)<br /><br />Okay, minor change of plans. Berimbau workshop is deferred for another day due to the lack of available mass transportation to move 8 of us at once. Instead, today is chill day.<br /><br />During breakfast, I am greeted by a slightly panicked Julia. Based on my limited understanding of Portuguese, she’s having problems with memory or the monitor…or something, I’m not sure. After finishing breakfast, I go to the computer to diagnose the problem with Julia in tow. I turn on the PC, and then I turn on the monitor. Julia’s eyes widen in amazement as it’s working just fine. I didn’t even do anything. Other Vince makes it pretty clear that he’s not impressed.<br /><br />After breakfast, I replenish my money supply, having finally managed to burn through 290 R$ (about $200 CDN) over the course of more than a week (not bad, all things considered). Given that I’m in a resort town, I go against hitting currency exchange (low rates guaranteed) and I hit up the ATM. I bite the 10 R$ “convenience fee” but get enough to last the week. I also restock on water.<br /><br />The Other Vince has been feeling sick since yesterday, owing to an extremely bumpy car ride to Olinda and breakfast that didn’t go down too well. He’s feeling better today, though. Luckily, we’ve all been doing “okay,” and the medical mishaps have been minimal. I’ve lucked out in terms of injury and gastrointestinal upset, getting only mosquito bites and sunburn and one quick bout of the runs.<br /><br />But for chill-day, it was exactly as expected. We went straight to the beach, chilled out there, had a few drinks, and then went to lunch. Dragao and Iuna headed to Recife before heading back to Vancouver tomorrow so they wanted to make the most of it. Dragao failed to heed Mestre’s warning about rubbernecking the beautiful women on the beach, which usually results in hitting one’s head on the beach umbrella. I’m not sure if this is due to actual rubbernecking of beauties at the beach, but he has a nice scratch on his forehead as a painful reminder.<br /><br />Maybe I have been well trained by the girlfriend, or maybe my expectations were way too built up, but I’m having difficulty locating the super-hot Brazilian women. Sure, they’re there, and there is nary a one-piece bathing suit in sight, but the ratio of super-beautiful women to average-fugly looking women isn’t necessarily greater than going to the beach back home in summer. This may also be buffered by the number of bodies that are NOT ready for the beach, which I’m trying really hard not to notice.<br /><br />Relaxing at the beach is requisite when in Brazil. When here, one must learn the language, or at least enough to tell the vendors to go away. We had a vendor shield in the form of a beach blanket that keeps beach vendors at a distance, but the rising tide makes this impossible. On cue, we have two guitarists come by to harass us, who refuse to leave unless paid. We all pony up 1 R$ each.<br /><br />Lunch was at Porto Mix, this place that served pretty much everything from pizza to Brazilian barbecue. They also had Japanese food, although it’s not quite like the stuff back home. The Other Vince chanced it on maki tuna rolls while I went for yakisoba. Overall, it’s okay and total I spend is 20 R$, which includes an acai berry smoothie.<br /><br />We end up back at the pousada where we then head back to the beach for Capoeira training with Instrutore Pisao. The sand makes for better cushioning, although the last move he shows us before sundown is very difficult (somewhat akin to an s-dobrado into an au malandro). <br /><br />After class, the Other Vince and I check the internet back at the pousada (they gave us off-hours internet access in exchange for fixing their computer). We quickly check Google News to see how things are back home. Some of the negative aspects of the trip had me missing home a little bit, but then I saw the report for 20 cm of snow to dump on Vancouver, followed by freezing rain. That feeling of homesickness immediately subsided, for I remembered that I just came back from the beach. Then that post-beach elation subsided when I realized that I’m only here for four more days after tonight.<br /><br />Over dinner, Canela, Charme, the Other Vince, and I talked about the trip, what we liked and could’ve had better. Ice cream in just about every flavour available was welcome as desert.<br /><br />Tomorrow, we should be having our berimbau workshop (for real this time). A day or two after, we’re visiting Natal for an overnight stay.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-24110455184591273702009-12-20T18:17:00.002-08:002009-12-20T18:22:03.600-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 9 (domingo, decembro 13)Mosquito bite count: (unchanged)<br /> -Hands: 4 / Arms: 5 / Shoulders: 4 / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 1 (completely healed, now peeling)<br /><br />I can say with absolute confidence that Brazil is not a tourist destination for the germ phobic or those with constant hand-washing OCD. While this may be less applicable for areas such as Rio de Janeiro (which more caters to English-speaking gringos Americano), the non-TP accepting toilets, Kafka-esque public washrooms, and prevalence of winged bloodsuckers and creepy crawlies will have the OCD types substituting hand sanitizer with bleach.<br /><br />Batizado day in Olinda had us training with both Mestre Eclilson (it was also his birthday today) and Mestre Derli. For this location, we ended up in a public theatre auditorium which was in a bit of a state of disrepair. We ended up cleaning up the floor with our feet, hands, and uniforms, which further cements how much I really don’t want to complain when the academy back home gets messy. The unfortunate bathroom facilities are even worse, causing one of our group to develop a sudden case of shy bladder until more suitable facilities can be located. In his words, "I took one look at the toilet, and my penis said NOOOOOOOOO!"<br /><br />It may be more of a function of the weather and inadequate ventilation rather than our level of exertion, as I was dripping with sweat after and during classes. I was able to stave off dehydration with a litre of Guarana soda and 1.5 litres of water, made possible with the really cheap supermercado that was up the street. I was about ready to stock up for home, given that 1.5 litres of water is about 50% more expensive in Porto (1,29 R$ at the Olinda supermercado vs. 2 R$ in Porto), but they were shut down early, as were all the other businesses except for restaurants.<br /><br />Lunch took place at a local restaurant that promised both Brazilian and Chinese cuisine. Having spent many a dollar at the restaurants in Richmond, I know what real Chinese food is supposed to be like, so my expectations were extremely low. Given that I was hungry, it was still adequate, although I would avoid a place like this if it was back home. <br /><br />Batizado was a little more long and tedious this time around in comparison to the Batizado in Palmares. Many major landmarks were achieved however. Kayla received her first belt and apelido (“Jaguar”), while Contra Mestre Gordo and Professore Pit Bull were promoted to their next ranks (Mestre and Conra Mestre, respectively). We also made a few interesting contacts and a few friends.<br /><br />The ceremony dragged on long enough that a small group of us had to head out to find a snack (preferably ice cream), but we ended up getting caught up in a drum parade. We still haven’t found out what the special occasion is, but it would explain why half of the businesses are shuttered. It may be for the Brazilian equivalent of the Day of the Dead, but I don’t see any decorations to that effect.<br /><br />Overall, this Batizado is a disappointment compared to the one in Palmares, not only given the horrifying bathroom facilities and dirty floors, but the level of disorganization. Apparently, the original venue was changed at the last minute due to the group being bumped in favour of another. Supposedly, Brazil is a candidate for being an economic superpower. I don’t know if I want them in charge.<br /><br />We end up at a pizza place for dinner and spend 10 R$, while Mestre’s extended family brings in birthday cake for Mestre. Para bens pra vocé, Mestre Eclilson. Before we leave, I take a photo of the locally produced liquid zero-calorie sweetener. The photo on the package has a provocative image of a woman drinking coffee while a man holds her from behind. The name of the product is “Assugrin.” I am so buying a bottle to take home when I get the chance.<br /><br />With this being the month of December, businesses are gearing up for Christmas, although it’s easy for me to forget that, given that it’s summery weather here. Coming from Canada, I tend to associate Christmas with cold weather, the North Pole, snow, winter wonderland, and Bing Crosby (“I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”). I feel really, really bad for the local Brazilians that are tasked with dressing up like Padre Noel, given that they didn’t adapt the non-secular Christmas icon for warm weather (i.e.: Santa Claus still dresses up in the thick, fleecy, and furry Santa suit even in the sun). <br /><br />The van ride home is uneventful as half of us are asleep through it. I’m crashing early tonight too. Next up: Berimbau workshop.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-90963548068491565332009-12-20T18:14:00.001-08:002009-12-20T18:17:50.369-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 8 (sabado, decembro 12)Mosquito bite count: (unchanged)<br /> -Hands: 4 / Arms: 5 / Shoulders: 4 / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 1 (completely healed, now waiting to peel)<br /><br />The various spurts of Internet goodness have indicated that things at home are going as well as can be...when I left, things were kinda going to hell in the apartment (mouse infestation), but to hopefully soften the blow, I made sure that there would be a gift waiting for the girlfriend on her birthday. I know this won’t make up for the mouse infestation that was there when I left, but I have to try.<br /><br />The only infestation I am dealing with is mosquitoes and tiny ants which are just about everywhere. Last night while chewing on sugar cane, I discovered ants made their way to it, so to protect my precious sugar cane, I tossed in the bar fridge. Now I’m chewing on ant-free sugar cane while spitting the fibres out into a bag while blogging. Life is good. <br /><br />On the other hand, I’m just wondering if I’m getting a negative return on energy investment, as I have chewed through about 4 inches of sugar cane in the past half hour, which is less than a teaspoon of sugar. The mosquito bites on my arms have radiated redness to the surrounding area, which has made my arm slightly puffy.<br /><br />Today has been relax day, where we had no set agenda (i.e.: no 2-hour road trip to Olinda or Palmares), except for music class with Professore Pit Bull. Lots of lazy going on here, with us just walking to town in search of a beach towel, but the language barrier makes stuff difficult. We still haven’t found a suitable beach towel.<br /><br />We had pizza lunch with Julia, one of the Pousada hostesses. We’ve unofficially given her the Capoeira nickname <span style="font-style: italic;">Bacalhau </span>(“cod”), based on the number of times she’s attempted to get us to pronounce that word properly (“Bola… ba… ba… BA… BA… KA… LEEYAO”). While she attempts to teach us Portuguese, we attempt to share English as well.<br /><br />After lunch, Julia was going to help me find a beach towel, but not in the stores we came across (“Tudo não tem!”). While the women in the group were checking out a place for wraps and sarongs, Julia suggested that I buy a gift for the girlfriend at home. I understand enough to realize that she is trying to get me to tell her which dress size. I have to go with the typical guy response: <span style="font-style: italic;">Eu não sei</span> (“I don’t know”). She then goes onto compare various sizes, pointing at me, indicating <span style="font-style: italic;">esbelto </span>(slender) and The Other Vince as <span style="font-style: italic;">mas forte</span> (not so slender).<br /><br />I’m not sure if in Brazil there are consequences for buying gifts of clothing for wives and girlfriends of the wrong size, but I attempt to explain it. “<span style="font-style: italic;">Eu compra ‘mas forte’ pra minha namorada…</span>” I start. I then point to myself and make a choking and punching gesture. Maybe it’s easier to say, “Ela me mata.”<br /><br />After an emergency run to the Pousada restroom (not actual traveller’s diarrhoea, as far as I can tell), we hit the beach. I come to an area where some of our friends have already rented some chairs and umbrellas. This is handy, as this allows me to check my bag with some of our Pousada neighbours. The Other Vince stays out in the water while I alternate between poorly-motivated Capoeira movements and jumping in the water. <br /><br />I am greeted with another reminder of business practices in Brazil when Kirk, one of our travel companions, has the misfortune of getting stuck with a bill for chairs that were supposed to have been paid for. The problem of the language barrier rears its ugly head yet again, which leads to our young adoptee to attempt to diffuse the situation with his additional two months in Brazil (and therefore better understanding of Portuguese and Brazilian culture).<br /><br />Realizing that he’s not going to win this battle any time soon, Kirk produces 20 R$, muttering, “They need it more than I do,” and dropping it on the ground in front of the vendor before storming off. The vendor says words to the effect of, “You don’t rip people off in Brazil.” After yesterday’s lunch incident, this is somewhat ironic.<br /><br />The odd cultural differences have gotten The Other Vince and I saying f***-it to the Brazilian public infrastructure and we have decided to flush the TP down the toilet, partly on the advice of one of the English speaking tourists we ran into last night. This is us exacting our karmic retribution for being forced to pay for lunch. <br /><br />Today Mestre went off to pick up Mestre Derli, a Capoeira mestre who spent time in the actual <span style="font-style: italic;">Cidade de Deus</span> (“City of God,” a notorious favela which was immortalized in the film of the same name). I met him at our previous Batizados and have had several classes with him.<br /><br />We were supposed to have roda in the public square, but the general lack of organization (i.e.: put together by the lower belted students including myself) means that the likelihood of it occurring is put into question, up until the point that we find some other group members. Not the best roda by usual standards, partly because it’s completely casual (no one is in full uniform, only a few instruments), also because Mestre wasn’t here, but we manage to attract enough attention that some of the locals want to play, and we even get a tourist from Australia to come out as well.<br /><br />Tomorrow is Batizado day in Olinda and we’re leaving as soon as we’re done breakfast. <br /><br />Food report: we were told to budget approximately 45 R$ per day, and other Vince and I have consistently kept our food costs at under 35 R$ per day on average (even including when we got stuck with a padded lunch bill yesterday). We finally breached that today with pizza at lunch (9 R$ each) and steak dinner (31 R$).Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-13658747324103488722009-12-20T18:12:00.001-08:002009-12-20T18:14:34.393-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 7 (sesta-feira, decembro 11)Mosquito bite count:<br /> -Hands: 4 / Arms: 5 (+4) / Shoulders: 4 (+2) / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 (+2) / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 1 (completely healed, waiting for it to peel)<br /><br />It’s like my computer has been with a Brazilian prostitute, as my computer is now up cybercreek without a paddle. I’m now unable to connect to the internet, so this post will have to be put up retroactively. For whatever reasons, nothing is working properly on my computer, the antivirus programs have been disabled, and I can’t even install any new programs. Microsoft Word is only usable program right now. <br /><br />They’re asking me to compile all of the photos onto DVD, but now that’s looking impossible, as doing so would produce a DVD more virus ridden than Paris Hilton. I don’t know where it came from, whether it was from the two people that viewed files on my computer or the internet connection key. I strongly suspect that it was Dragão.<br /><br />Today started out pretty well, all things considered. Class was held out in Riberão, where we went to what looked like what used to be an airplane hangar. Bathroom facilities were non-existent, so I ended up using the great outdoors as the urinal (at least I’ve long since gotten over my fear of that). Class was taught by Contra Mestre Jean, who previously operated an independent Capoeira grupo, but joined Aché Brasil. <br /><br />We saw a lot of students that we met in the previous week and I’m slowly learning everyone’s names, although it’s really tough. I like that they’re making an honest effort to make us feel welcome (attempts at English are always fun), although the use of the interpreter (read: Camara) is always important.<br /><br />The class in Riberão was pretty good, although relatively short compared to the roda that followed. Despite the disparity in skill levels, I feel like I can hold my own, although it’s still intimidating when you got some guys who are really skilled and some guys who are really strong. Maculele was especially great to watch as they actually broke out the real machetes for that. I mimed slicing off a hand to Contra Mestre Pequeno, much to his amusement.<br /> <br />Regardless, it’s an incredibly energetic roda, probably one of the biggest ones we’ve been to so far. Some incredible acrobatics, strong games, and I’m liking meeting all of the people. My Portuguese is slowly improving bit by bit, although it’ll be a while until I’m considered fluent. <br /><br />A highlight was hanging out with our favourite resident Capoeira man-whore, Superhomem. Attempting to explain him to an outsider is kind of tough, as he’s someone who’s extremely obnoxious and abrasive, speaks broken English, is not someone you’d bring to a proper function (like a funeral), and yet somehow, he has incredible luck with women. Basically, if you gave Borat incredible martial arts skills, tattoos, and rogue-ish charm, you’d have Superhomem. I haven’t decided if we’re actually laughing “at” or laughing “with” him, as just about everything he says provokes a reaction.<br /><br />With his broken English, Superhomem told us about the problems he’s had with the language. “When I first learn English, I had someone ask me if I wanted to go for coffee, but I only heard ‘Go fo’ coff.’” Why does he want me to go f*** off?" Always a good time with Superhomem.<br /><br />Then I spontaneously had my first off-day of this vacation. We ended up at this one restaurant with some really good food, but much to the disappointment of the eight of us who shown up first, we realized that the table filled up by another eight people (native Brazilians) who ordered more food, and left us with the bill. I bring this to the attention of Camara, who shrugs and merely says “That’s probably going to happen.”<br /><br />The drive back to the Pousada also involved a stop off at a sugar cane plantation. This is where I received some extra bites on my arms and face. Just about everyone got bitten, and the ones I have are several times larger than the ones I received earlier in the week. Two on my arm have swollen to the size of dollar coins. We later end up at a public market, but hey guess what. We spent all of our money at dinner treating the Brazilians to lunch. <br /><br />And then I come back to the Pousada only to find that my computer no longer works properly. I can’t even open Control Panel. Getting stuck with a bill and getting my computer screwed up have actually managed to get me mildly upset and now I’m starting to miss home. And unfortunately, there’s absolutely jack all I can do about it because I can’t even get on the internet to diagnose the problem, although I’m attempting to run Windows Defender and scan in safe mode. But, at least the sugar cane was nice.<br /><br />Icing on the cake comes when the Other Vince and I head out into town to grab some snackage. We run into our travel companions to find a few of them drunk and our young adoptee getting pretty angry at them for being completely drunk. Babysitting drunks has never been my idea of a good time and sometimes it really sucks being the responsible adult. Given that this is one of three things that have gotten me ticked off today, I’m feeling particularly antisocial. However, I did get an apology from Dragao, and I did make a pre-emptive strike apology if it turns out that my computer doesn’t have a virus.<br /><br />Tomorrow is our day off from training. The only thing this computer is being used for is as a paper weight and a word processor.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-60660195416888519242009-12-20T18:11:00.000-08:002009-12-20T18:12:06.809-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 6 (quinta-feira, decembro 10)Mosquito bite count (unchanged since yesterday):<br /> -Hands: 4 / Arms: 1 / Shoulders: 2 / Chest: 1 / Face: 6 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 1 (previous sunburn almost completely healed with no noticeable tenderness on my shoulders)<br /><br />Over breakfast, Other Vince and I were discussing Asian stereotypes and one of my goals to do a short film comedy with that theme. One scene would involve the Asian stereotype about being especially gifted with fixing computers. As luck would have it, the Pousada employees were having complaints about the way the computer was running, so Mestre asked if I could do something about it.<br /><br />The lack of maintenance and care is extremely evident to my (not really) slanted Asian eyes as well as those of Other Vince. I start by removing the add-on toolbars and pop-up generators while Other Vince and I switch off tag-team style and start searching for legitimate software cleaners (AdAware, Spybot S&D). We then realize that no one has emptied the Internet Explorer cache or the Recycle Bin. Ever. Given that software is going to take longer to install and take effect than realized, we end up missing a significant chunk of Contra Mestre Parana’s class (tourism building). <br /><br />As it is, a computer with this level of neglect becomes an all-day project to fix when the wireless internet is coming through a 3G connection. Our day starts looking like setting up a specific computer task (downloading program, running virus scan, etc.), letting it run, then going off to do something else (hang out at beach, eat, train Capoeira). As I write this (1:31AM local time), it’s running Defrag. We’ll check it first thing in the morning, and thus further reinforce the Asian stereotype.<br /><br />To ensure that this does not happen again, we had Mestre act as translator while we attempted to advise the staff on ways to avoid picking up viruses, malware, and Trojan horses. I still suspect that someone will have to do this again same time next year.<br /><br />Training today was relatively light-weight compared to yesterday (partly because we were fixing the computer rather than training the first class). An hour or two after lunch, we took the trip out to Instrutore Matraka’s academy in Recife where we did a class for music and maculele. I’m noticing that I’m still having issues with properly stringing up berimbau consistently (it’s been a month or two since I last did it) whereas the teachers get it right the first time. But, at least the heat makes the wood easier to bend.<br /><br />Matraka’s class was followed by roda and mini-class taught by Professore Kiko. Kiko is quick and agile, and seems to have a smile that does not go away, and was described by members of my group as one of the happiest instructors we’ve had. <br /><br />Overall, I’m enjoying the instruction we’re getting from the various teachers we have here. All of them have made an effort to make us feel welcome, have displayed a lot of patience, try to have fun with us and even take an interest in the things we like and pick up a little English. Instrutore Matraka, for all of his humour and jest (like jokingly threatening to throw my Rubik’s Cube across the room after being unable to solve it), is a very emotional guy, coming to tears when acknowledging Mestre coming all the way to visit the academy and students.<br /><br />Stuff like this is why I get a little bothered when our resident adoptee gives attitude towards instructors and even Mestre. On this trip, I have witnessed two incidents where our resident adoptee has done exactly that. Those of us who have been here in Brazil for a shorter period of time are pretty put off by his behaviour, although the locals don’t seem to be bothered by it...although it’s pretty clear that he hasn’t gotten away with it.<br /><br />Today’s incident involved the young charge swearing under his breath (but loud enough for Mestre to hear) and storming out after not being allowed to skip out on Instrutore Matraka’s class. As soon as he’s out of earshot, I go up to Mestre and say, “We’ll straighten him out.”<br /><br />Mestre’s response was, “We’ll do it in the roda.” I was more thinking of a heart-to-heart talk myself, but obviously they do things differently here. Given that the young charge has been in Brazil for a few months already, he probably has a better idea of what’s going on than I do, although his attitude doesn’t always indicate that. I have seen him toss trash in the streets, which he dismissively justifies with, “someone else will pick it up.”<br /><br />In a certain sense he’s right, although I’ve done my best to adopt a “leave the place nicer looking than when you leave” policy, where he says the way it’s done here, for everything you clean up, someone else will just leave a bigger mess. And in some respects, it is. It’s pretty rare when I can find a place to properly recycle bottles and cans (Kayla says, “It feels wrong!” Other Vince calls this cognitive dissonance).<br /><br />Simply put, I don’t know how things work here and I sometimes feel like I’m better off not knowing. Capoeira is incredibly rife with politics and group dynamics change constantly.<br /><br />And another comment on the major differences between training in Vancouver and training here. We are consistently violating fire safety codes everywhere we train (or at least we would be if they were worth enforcing) by filling rooms beyond capacity, but it goes to show that Capoeira can be done everywhere. And we HAVE been training Capoeira in some pretty random locations, some of which look fairly run down.<br /><br />While I have had classes that felt much more intense back home, the perception may be based on the fact that it is harder to train in colder weather and we generally can’t train as often as we like due to various obligations (read: WORK). Either that, or the local instructors all know we are lightweights that need constant water breaks (“Não bebe agua!”). <br /><br />Some of the skill and talent of most of the Capoeira students here is breathtaking and amazing. I’ve especially enjoyed games with one student (green/blue cordão) named Choque. He’s less than 5’ tall, looks small enough to throw Fastball Special style, and has a particularly twitchy style of play, but has energy and body control to spare. That, and he’s been picking up a few random words in English, which he’s been passing on to the other students. Unfortunately, the words they’re picking up aren’t the kind used in polite conversation.<br /><br />The friendly and carefree attitude is a contrast to the rundown locations that we’ve been training, including where we had Professor Kiko’s roda. We would’ve totally violated fire safety regulations by being there, considering that the training space was less than that of a high school classroom. And the place looks old and poorly maintained. But, a fancy training facility is NOT a requisite for solid martial arts skill, and the skill I have seen is evidence of that.<br /><br />Food report: breakfast and lunch at the Pousada, dinner (X-Tudo burger and acerola juice) was at a truck stop/gas station. We all stopped to eat and get gas. This proved to be some of the worst service I received so far as they managed to forget about me, so I ended up eating my burger on the bus because it came so late. The place was also a haven for mosquitoes, two of which I crushed.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-82706374380141530002009-12-20T15:35:00.000-08:002009-12-20T15:36:23.549-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 5 (quarta-feira, decembro 9)Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 5 (quarta-feira, decembro 9)<br /><br />Mosquito bite count (unchanged since yesterday):<br /> -Hands: 4 / Arms: 1 / Shoulders: 2 / Chest: 1 / Face: 6 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 1 (little time spent out in the sun today, mostly healed, although putting on the backpack sorta hurts a little, not peeling yet)<br /><br />Today was probably one of the more tiring days on this trip so far, and it’s only Wendesday. A very short time after breakfast, morning class was taught by Contra Mestre China (yes, like the country), and then a short break followed by lunch, which was almost immediately followed by a road trip to Varga for a class taught by Professore Ratinho, a break for food, and then off to Olinda for Professore Pit Bull’s academy for class. And Dragão wants for us to wake up at 7:00 AM for morning training on the beach before we have breakfast. Uh, how about no.<br /><br />Contra Mestre China has taken to nicknaming me Bruce Lee. This is somewhat flattering, as he is often considered by most to be among the martial arts greats. But I don’t know if it’s due to a passing resemblance and an extremely low body fat percentage, or because all Asians look the same. Other Vince got called Jackie Chan once, and even has the unofficial Capoeira apelido “Bolo” (after the actor who played the baddie in Bloodsport), bestowed upon him several years back.<br /><br />For his morning class, Mestre allowed us to train in non-uniform clothes as to avoid dirtying our uniforms for the other academies. We went back to the community square in town where we train fairly often. The weather was hot enough that the guys went shirtless. Unfortunately, the large amount of sweat generated by all of the guys also meant a certain amount of suction was generated when we were on our backs doing leg lifts for abdominal strengthening. The end result was a constant farting sound that made it so no one could concentrate.<br /><br />Second class resulted in a lot of driving around. We ended up at one gym facility and found that the class was actually bumped in favour of a yoga class. A frickin’ yoga class. Mestre (maybe half-jokingly) commented that Capoeira isn’t as important to them, so they allowed a yoga class to displace the pre-booked time that we set aside. This confirms my suspicious about how business is sometimes done here, or at least in terms of customer service standards. Providers of customer service are more than willing to sacrifice one customer to please a new customer that is offering more money. <br /><br />Somehow, I’m not surprised…this reminds me of the time the Vancouver academy imported uniform pants from Brazil and had the order screwed up (the logos were placed incorrectly), yet the printer still wanted full payment for their mistake. <br /><br />We end up at another gym and are able to have class, but it’s in a very small space, but thankfully sufficient for our purposes. We are all sweating buckets by the end and even Camara admits that it was one of the more intense classes he’s had to take since his arrival.<br /><br />Short dinner break, and we hop in the van to Olinda to Professore Pit Bull’s academy (rented space at another gym). This is where my shirt gets the dirtiest, as there is a sufficient amount of rusted metal around (thank goodness for my tetanus shot) that leaning on any surface in the gym will result in stains that aren’t coming out (that, and the sunscreen washed off onto the shirt, leaving it orange). I have sweated several litres of water due to the heat and large number of bodies packed in the space. Upon completion of the class, I proceed to wring my shirt out on the sidewalk, generating maybe a quarter cup of water. I haven’t decided if I’ll get in trouble or not with the Mestre if I post the video of me doing that on YouTube.<br /><br />Overall, the class is enjoyable, although the large number of attending students from multiple academies makes getting in the roda very difficult, as rank means that one cannot just cut in with anyone without showing disrespect. <br /><br />All this training has left my uniform extremely dirty with minimal laundry services available (we’ve taken to washing our clothes with shampoo and in the shower). I will probably have to purchase an entirely new uniform by the time this trip is complete, although I may have to wait until the very last day. <br /><br />Overall, I’m finding the instructors easy to get along with and they’re all offering a lot of great perspective and insight into Capoeira. I can’t really comment on certain aspects (mostly due to cultural differences), but they’ve shown a lot of patience and have a lot to offer. <br /><br />In a lot of respects, this has been the least relaxing vacation I have been on, but on the plus side, I definitely won’t be out of shape when I come back (although the long-ass plane ride might change that), and I have something resembling a tan after a few days here. It’s beginning to take a toll on my body, however. My left hip is starting to do something odd, as well as my right ankle. I’m not even the oldest person on this trip either.<br /><br />Food report: really cheap eats. R$5 for dinner, R$15 for lunch, and R$3,60 for two mangoes and a can of guarana soda.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-6939837756311280252009-12-20T15:30:00.000-08:002009-12-20T15:35:15.910-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 4 (terça-feira, decembro 8)Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 4 (terça-feira, decembro 8)<br /><br />Mosquito bite count (revised):<br /> -Hands: 4 / Arms: 1 / Shoulders: 2 / Chest: 1 / Face: 6 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 1 (some redness on upper shoulders, but not painful to the touch)<br /><br />The more time I spend in Brazil, the more I realize that we have it way too easy in Canada and are spoiled in many respects. In Canada, classes are easier, we train on smooth surfaces made of laminate tile, and sometimes we have the opportunity to slack off. Those luxuries are gone here. For the past few days, we have trained on some pretty weird surfaces, with the last night being on brick road, today being on ceramic tile and later on cobblestone. But, relative to the fact that we actually are on vacation and are doing a lot of really interesting things, we could be doing worse.<br /><br />The road trip to Olinda was long (involved passing through Recife, then driving for another half hour). Camara was gracious enough to keep the whistle blowing to a minimum, although the bulk of the trip was spent playing with Rubik’s Cubes and watching Up on the iPod. <br /><br />We ended up at a market square where we met a street vendor who was attempting to sell us a berimbau pendant, although I am on a mission for one made of sterling silver and the ones he had were made of bamboo and other materials. Being one of the few locals that speak English, it was somewhat refreshing to hear (that, and he seems to like Canada more than the US). And I still can’t seem to find a souvenir deck of playing cards.<br /><br />We were then followed by a couple of guitar players who then started singing about Capoeira (I’m just guessing…that word came up a few times and it was the only word I could understand). Mestre said they wanted money. Considering that the airport staff will expect a tip if they wheel your bags to the bus, I’m not surprised.<br /><br />I finally got to sample agua de coco for the first time, immediately followed up by tapioca with guava jam (it’s a bit of a grilled sandwich made from toasted tapioca). This bit of downtime was nice, but it’s pretty fleeting as we’re training Capoeira at least twice a day now. However, I could think of worse things that I could be doing.<br /><br />We ended up on the grounds in front of a church, where we were taught by Instrutore Jean, who gave us a lesson in the importance of paying attention and trying to remember. I’m really getting the feeling that the instructors are taking it easy on us here. After Camara, I am the highest ranked Canadian academy student (cordão azul escuro) on this trip (although this will change once Dragão arrives tomorrow, as he has the same belt), so if I screw up, I take the whole class with me. <br /><br />We were taught 4 separate sequences which we were supposed to perform. After Monitor Camara was asked to stand aside (so we can’t follow him), I essentially had to lead the class in all the sequences. This was fine up until sequence 3, at which point I performed sequence 4 instead. Instrutore Jean had me do the requisite disciplinary push-ups and sit-ups and gave a speech (in Portuguese) reminding me of my rank (relative to the other students) and that in Brazil, things are going to be harder. As I’m doing my pushups, I say, “Yes, I can see that.” Camara translates, much to the bemusement of the instructor.<br /><br />At one point, I was seriously contemplating asking Mestre to hold onto my belt for the duration of the Brazil trip, given the responsibilities that come with a higher rank. Higher rank does come with respect which has been earned, but it must be maintained. Slacking off and forgetting movements that a green belt could do is not behaviour becoming of a high-belted student. But, given that Mestre has his reasons for assigning rank, it would probably not be the wisest to go against his judgement. <br /><br />The responsibility does tend to make one feel a little more important, though. We are tasked with looking out for each other, especially for the younger or less experienced students. One of the youngest students has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, but I know enough not to take the stuff he does personally. Sure, he’s a bit of a punk kid (which we’ve told him up front), but he has become unofficially “adopted” by the academy, so it’s kind of up to us to straighten him out. It’s still upsetting to see him act out, though. I only hope he gets straightened up before he becomes a real problem, for his sake.<br /><br />Quick food report: today was a cheaper eat day than yesterday. 7 R$ towards pizza, 6 R$ for snacks, and 8 R$ for a “X-Tudo” burger (has everything…beef patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sausage, ham, egg, onions…) and ice cream. Yesterday, it was about 30 R$ for lunch alone, although that included a lot of steak. I like steak.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-86504678666514002622009-12-20T15:29:00.002-08:002009-12-20T15:30:35.979-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 3.5 (segunda-feira, decembro 7)Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 3.5 (segunda-feira, decembro 7)<br /><br />Mosquito bite count (revised):<br /> -Hands: 3 / Arms: 1 / Shoulders: 2 / Chest: 1 / Face: 4 / Neck: 2<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 1 (upper shoulders, mild redness, slightly sensitive but not painful to the touch)<br /><br />It’s finally dawning on me how unspoiled Porto de Galinhas is in terms of tourism. The bulk of the tourists are other Brazilians and finding anyone who speaks any English is an exercise in futility. We are looking like complete gringos (even us Asians) as we are forced to consult with whatever Portuguese dictionary is on hand when we are looking for stuff. “<span style="font-style: italic;">Tem cartas de baralho pra lembrança?</span>” (“Do you have souvenir playing cards?”) Apparently, the preferred term is “<span style="font-style: italic;">cartas de jogo</span>.”<br /><br />This is somewhat refreshing, as I’m getting a more authentic tourist experience than I would with some plastic wrapped tour in frequently visited areas such as Cancun or Rio De Janeiro. But on the other hand, it reminds me about how little of the outside world I know and it’s a very humbling experience. And we have a tendency to laugh at people when they butcher English too. Looks like the shoe’s on the other foot now.<br /><br />It’s even more hammered in by distressing feeling of “One of these is not like the other.” Despite the large number of ethnic Japanese living in Brazil, I don’t know where they are, although we did see some Asian tourists. And while Mestre did warn the Other Vince and me that we’d be mistaken for Japanese (despite the fact that I look less Asian than most Asians), it’s still a shock when some random local kid walks up to us and goes, “<span style="font-style: italic;">Vou é Japonês?</span>” and then bursts out laughing when I respond, “<span style="font-style: italic;">Não, e sou chinês.</span>” Either I pronounced it wrong or an Asian person in Brazil is that much of an alien thing to them. The lack of fluency in Portuguese is hampering my efforts to blend in. <br /><br />Thankfully, our senior student/instructor Camara has been our unofficial tour guide and translator. This is extremely helpful as we would otherwise not know what is good to eat or what the Brazilian instructors are trying to say to us. He is someone we typically look up to for instruction and advice. And then we are sometimes reminded that he’s actually younger than a lot of the less-advanced students.<br /><br />The evening was spent taking a class taught by Professore Pitbull in the middle of the public square, which was followed by a roda. As we were finishing, a street vendor was selling this whistle that made this annoying “WAH-WAHH” sound. Camara, all excited, wanted the Other Vince and me to also purchase one of these whistles. We refused, not wanting to blow 10 R$ on something so frivolous and annoying. Camara then threatened to play with the whistle during tomorrow’s road trip to Olinda, but wouldn’t if we all bought a whistle. We still refused.<br /><br />As we walked away in search of something to eat, we met up with another touring student, Açai. Camara comes up to us in a group, trying to get money from her. As a mom, we figured she’d know better, so Other Vince and I are doing our best to make sure that she does NOT relinquish any money to him. Possibly because we were sort of freaking out, we may or may not told her WHY it was a bad idea to give him any money, because she relented, reasoning that Camara was going to pay her back with interest.<br /><br />Tomorrow’s road trip will to Olinda be buffered with a combination of Gravol, iPods cranked to the max, earplugs, and any other method of distraction.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537169.post-2682683790247433862009-12-20T15:29:00.001-08:002009-12-20T15:29:37.082-08:00Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 3 (segunda feira, decembro 7)Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 3 (segunda feira, decembro 7)<br /><br />Mosquito bite count:<br /> -Hands: 3 / Arms: 1 / Shoulders: 1 / Chest: 1 / Face: 2 / Neck: 1<br /> -Back: 0 / Legs: 0<br /><br />Sunburn incident count: 0<br /><br />I’m suspecting that due to my Chinese background, I’m more susceptible to mosquito bites than everyone else. Because you know how it is when you eat Chinese…an hour later you gotta do it again. I don’t seem to have any bites from last night, more from the previous night when I didn’t wear a long sleeved shirt to bed. Either that, or because my roomie left the A/C off for parts of the night. <br /><br />Today was definitely a laid back day compared to the previous day. Even our Capoeira training was pretty lax, much of which involved taking us to a public square type area for Contra Mestre Brasil to give us a Q&A lecture on Capoeira Angola.<br /><br />Oops, spoke too soon. Kayla just popped her head in the window and we’re training. NOW. As in, 7PM at night.<br /><br />I really should’ve put the insect repellent in my checked luggage.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16731416704354614875noreply@blogger.com0