I finally bit the bullet and shelled out for a renewal of my subscription to The Economist. Unfortunately, my subscription does not take effect until the Nov. 4th edition, and the idea that my wish to read the economist online would be instantly gratified with my Mastercard was not instant enough for my American desire for truly instant gratification.
The Portuguese translation of Tom Sawyer I bought last week (is that sacrilege? buying a copy of a Mark Twain novel that has been intentionally translated out of its language of genius which I can read easily into another language?) sat forlorn on my windowsill all weekend. Because, on Saturday, I spent several hours successfully locating two Oct. editions of the Economist in a bookstore downtown. I have spent much of my time since then catching myself up on the news that the rest of the world has already processed and reacted to. No matter: it is a delightful indulgence. Mark Twain will just have to wait until I make it through the second one.
here are two photos from my trek to find The Economist: the first from the Praça da Liberdade where a teenage couple on a park bench indulged me by taking my photo, the second of some very bright and lovely colonial architecture on the way to Savassi from the Praça.
Other:
Lula does it again! Brazil chooses to keep their president.
Protection for American farmers and....condom manufacturers?
I think I would like to hear some statistics on effectiveness and quality--this would be my primary motivator for product choice, in this case. Job preservation comes second.
Yesterday while walking around the lake I saw a couple of amusing things:
one: a couple using what appeared to be an emergency gas bag to fill the gas tank of their VW beetle. Now, it seems to me, that a plastic bag is not a very safe way to store an emergency gas supply. Even if it were ethanol, wouldn't a plastic bag be corroded by either of these two? Somebody help me out.
two: a group of guys on bikes who had been fishing were leaving with their stock of fish, their nets, and their bamboo poles. Somehow, the net of the guy on the bike in the lead attaches itself to the bike of the guy behind, nearly causing a bike (not to mention the subsequent traffic) collision. Fishing net is not the easiest thing to untangle from the spokes and brake cables of a bike, and five minutes later when I pass again, the whole group is still struggling to untangle bike 1 from bike 2. Sigh, the complications of alternative transportation.....
I have a three-stall organic market on Saturdays that is a block from my house!!!!!! Swwweeetttt.
P.S.--Here I have been thinking that Heineken is the only readily available imported beer in Brazilian grocery stores--then, I read the label. Heineken is tricky--they do some brewing in Brazil. No wonder it is only slightly more expensive than its 'brazilian' counterparts.
3 comments:
you're so hot, finer than frog hair as they say here in the south!!!
It would be really fun to compare the text in Portuguese with Twain's colloquial English and see how it translates literally. I'd love to know how the translator approximates the Missouri twang. And Aurora's right about you and the frog hair ;^), speaking of colloquialisms!
they kept gas in a freakin' plastic bag??? hello epa and osha violators. good lord, thats asking for a bomb. hell, i would recommend that if they're that desperate for a gas can, they should just pour the shit in a milk container, its gotta be better. or a pillowcase...or even drink it and pee it out into the car....hehehe, ok i only wrote that to make you laugh mia.
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