I miss you Freddie......

Is this the real life
Is this just fantasy
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Freddie Mercury


5 September 1946 - 24 November 1991

Freddie Mercury meant a lot to me growing up, as a teenager, he was my Idol. I loved opera and Freddie! Queen was my first concert, Freddie's musical talent along with his voice range was the best by far. He was a true talent!


Pictured with Montserrat Caballé the greatest soprano of all times!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mercury

The Tales of Hoffman

An Unfinished Tale...

Indeed, a tale of tales! Enjoyed the opening night (Saturday, November 7, 2009) of "Tales of Hoffman" at the Elle Caulkins Opera Colorado. It's my first time seeing this production, a production that showed an amazing talent, not only by the principles, but an amazing chorus, stage director, and production.


Overview Inspired by the tales of the German Romantic poet E.T.A. Hoffmann, the opera tours a dramatic dreamscape populated with beautiful courtesans, magical portraits and fantastical automatons. The lush music fuels the visual style of the stage design inspired by 19th century couture and Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher. This innovative production brings to life Offenbach's vivid fantasy of a poet obsessed with four remarkable women – and the four villains bent on his destruction.Stage Director Renaud DoucetSet and Costume Design André BarbeConductor Emmanuel Joel-Hornak This production is a co-production between Opera Colorado, Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Boston Lyric Opera.

Me and Julian Gavin, tenor- at Elle Caulkins Opera House
http://www.operacolorado.org/operas/hoffmann/

Nice To Meet You; Pass the Purell

Read an article on USA TODAY and couldn't help to comment on it.

Nice to meet you; Pass the Purell is the headline and not far fetched and it's something that I will do without hesitation. Or better yet, shouldn't we incorporate the "bow" rather than the typical "handshake"? I lived in Asia for 3 years and would not be awkward in reverting to the bow, it comes natural for me (I must say, I'm doing it now, and of course, been looked at "funny"). Could we blame "them"?

Now, let's be frank here, H1N1 hasn't killed any more (so far) than the typical Influenza Type A for instance, so, is it the possibility of a "pandemic" in question and feared here? Nevertheless, none of us have stopped going on with our lives, though some establishments (mostly medical facilities, I think) have taken precautions, some doctor's offices have pulled their magazines and toys from the waiting room (actually I am glad they have done that and would be even happier if they discontinue for good), I never liked the idea of touching items in the waiting room that other people (who could possibly be contagious) anyways.

Something that really bothers me and I don't seem to ever understand: Why do "early learning centers" where toddlers, teachers and parents walk about the classroom floors with their "street shoes" on, the same floor these toddlers play on. What's wrong with that picture? I think everyone should remove their shoes when inside the classroom where activities are on the floor, i.e., playing with toys, sitting on the floor to read and laying on the floor, though in a mat, I've seen kids with their faces on the floor while sleeping. They do it in certain Asian cultures!

Yes, pass the sanitizer, sneeze into your elbow and remove your shoes! Oh yes, wash your hands!!!

Rio wins right to host the 2016 Olympics

I am totally ecstatic with the win of the bid to host the 2016 Olympics! This was a very emotional moment for me, as it made me feel nostalgic of my home country. "President Lula" gave a very passionate speech and indeed confirming the theme (at least according to my book) of the the next Olympics in Rio: Live with Passion! Indeed, he showed what a passionate Brazilian citizen can be! Just goes to show you, the influence Brazil has gained-- they truly are a rising global power- in my opinion at least!

Here's some links to some of the online news:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/sports/03olympics.html?_r=1&WT.mc_id=fb_nyt644&WT.mc_ev=click

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091002/ap_on_sp_ol/oly2016_bids

http://globoesporte.globo.com/Esportes/Noticias/Olimpiadas/0,,MUL1327272-17698,00-RIO%20TRANSFORMA%20O%20SONHO%20OLIMPICO%20EM%20REALIDADE%20E%20CONQUISTA%20OS%20JOGOS%20DE.html

Sympathy for Caster Semenya: Hermaphrodites Are People Too

by John Devereux



Imagine for a moment that you’re eighteen years old and the entire world is wondering if you’re a man, woman, or something in between. Helpful people have tried to remove the uncertainty by giving you a feminizing makeover. Welcome to Caster Semenya’s life.
Semenya’s prowess at the women’s 800 meters, combined with her muscular physique and curiously male demeanor have made the world wonder about her true sex. It has now been leaked by track and field officials that Caster Semenya has been declared a “hermaphrodite”.
In order to compete in track and field she has been forced to submit to an intrusive investigation of her chromosomal make-up and the structure of her reproductive organs. How would you feel in her shoes? Humiliated, embarrassed, downtrodden, ready to crawl into the nearest hole and never come back, I warrant. Can we show a little sensitivity and understanding in this difficult situation? After all, nobody is accusing Caster Semenya of cheating. She has been raised as a girl, considers herself to be a girl, and for all intents and purposes is a girl.

Is Caster Semenya a Hermaphrodite?
Technically a hermaphrodite is someone or something with both male and female reproductive organs. Hermaphrodism in humans is rare, but far from unknown. According to a Developmental Biology textbook by Scott F. Gilbert, human hermaphrodites typically have a sex organ that is somewhere between a penis and a clitoris. Some hermaphrodites have both a penis and large breasts.
Babies born with ambiguous sex organs are typically assigned a gender by doctors based on the size of the organ. Smaller equals female while larger equals male. Surgical procedures may be performed to “normalize” the organ. Some biologists consider gender to be part of a continuum rather than a binary situation.
The question is not, then, whether Caster Semenya is a man or a woman. She is perhaps somewhere in between. Since her gender identity has always been female, should she be allowed to competed in athletic competitions as a woman?
The answer is not so cut and dried. Semenya’s testosterone level has tested within allowed limits for female athletes. Who is to say than, that she should not be considered a woman? The question, I suppose, is whether it’s fair to other female competitors of unambiguous gender to force them to compete against a person whose unusual genetic make-up may give her a significant advantage. After all, the segmentation of competitors by sex is meant to level the playing field for female athletes.
Adding to the controversy is the fact that Caster Sememya is a black woman from South Africa, a country without a great history of success by black athletes in international competitions. During the apartheid era, South African athletes were long banned from international events. Now that the majority black population has political control over the country, they are understandably touchy about efforts to draw in to question the achievements of one of their own. Mutters about “racism” have been heard.
I suspect that Caster Semenya will be barred from future competitions, but I don’t see how anyone can be happy about it. Fairness is a hard thing to come by in this world, but there’s nothing very “fair” about excluding someone who doesn’t fit our conception about what a “normal” human being is. Here's the link to the original posting by John Devereux: TBD

Brazil Independence

I wonder what it would be if Brazil and Portugal were still a monarchy...on the contrary of many of you, I think such an early independence wasn't such a great idea after all. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_I_of_Brazil

Basic Hindi

I've decided to learn Hindi! Don't be shocked, but I am at the moment fascinated with the idea! I have learned so far (and likely the only phrases I'll ever be able to retain) a few simple phrases that surprises a Hindi speaker, every single time, I attempt to "show of"! I have learned with "Caminho das Indias" a telenovela from Brazil. It's remarkably done, the details of the culture of Rajasthan is very close to it's original principles. Check it here and see it for yourself, of course the protagonists are all beautiful as it's in Bollywood. http://caminhodasindias.globo.com/

My review after a comment from a German visitor at a University in Pernambuco, Brazil

Não muito animador o comentário de Boris Goger, que trabalha com desenvolvimento de software em Munique, a respeito da sua visita a uma Universidade brasileira. ( the original post translation from English to Portuguese was done by Adriana Beal from Desafios em IT http://2wtx.com/adriana/blog/)

Comment by Boris Geler:

Last week I visited UFRPE- Federal University of Pernambuco in Recife, an incredible place. It's possible to feel the energy of the place and immediately understand that the people in this university is really wanting to study. But in the other hand, I was also chocked. The ambiance is bad. The buildings don't have the appearance of an university, and the computers that you find in the labs are super old. But...obviously that doesn't prompt the people to be unhappy studying there. If you've seen that, you would never think that the conditions in Germany are not sufficient. Cool!

Translated to Portuguese by Adriana Beal:

Semana passada visitei a UFRPE – Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, em Recife. Um lugar incrível. É possível sentir a energia do lugar e entender imediatamente que as pessoas nessa universidade realmente querem estudar.
Mas por outro lado, eu também fiquei chocado. O ambiente é ruim. Os prédios não parecem com uma universidade, e os computadores que se vê nos laboratórios são super antigos. Mas… obviamente isso não faz as pessoas deixarem de estar felizes por estudar. Se você visse aquilo, você não iria nunca pensar que não tem condições de estudo boas o suficiente na Alemanha. Legal!

My reply:

Though I don't think the German visitor really meant any harm...

Brazil seems to always have the feel of "Love and Hate" relationship with foreigners. I write in English with the hope that the Germans or any other nations get to read this. I agree, Brazil is a lovely country (the love relationship) and a third world country (the hate relationship), but the majority of these foreigners who which tend to define Brazil as lovely are the ones who comes with the view of easy women and beautiful beaches and forget really that Brazilians are very talented and resourceful, after all, they accomplish so much with so little (of course, not talking about the corrupted politicians) who does give Brazil a "bad rep". Do "they" forget that Brazil has been self-sustained for fossil fuels for decades? Do they know that Brazilian, Dr. Eduardo do Couto e Silva is a particle physicist and Deputy Manager of Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope's (GLAST) (who's born and raised in Brazil) to being the Vice-director of the famous telescope lab at Stanford University? Perhaps we could go on and on...the fact of the matter is that the politicians in Brazil need to have the audacity of becoming a honest servant for a change (stop using the people's money to pay for your lavish lifestyles) and who knows, we may catch up with having "finally" what the people deserve, BASIC NEEDS, and yes, current hardware/software and I bet, it will be money left over for a little building remodeling to please the eyes of these "foreigners".

Peace!

The life and death of Arshile Gorky...a sudden urge to remember!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arshile_Gorky

'Timberbrit': Opera Tackles The Trials Of Britney

Mellissa Hughes — pictured on a recent music-video shoot in Brooklyn, N.Y. — plays Britney Spears in Timberbrit, an experimental opera by composer Jacob Cooper.

What a relief to know that "THIS" is not on our Colorado Opera upcoming season (thanks Greg), or EVER season. Listening to this gave me chills, no, not the chills we are accustomed to in Lucia, Rigoletto, Tosca, etc. it was a chill of disgust! Composer Jacob Cooper I suppose is following his dream (and maybe a crush on the pop singer), but if he needs content for the next composition, please Jacob, give me a ring, I have plenty of material for you. The only prolonged death scene I could see here, would me my own.
By Paula Kechichian

The article below is by Claire Happel:

August 4, 2009 - Opera has a long history of over-the-top spectacle and melodramatic plots. Composer Jacob Cooper decided to embrace that excess, creating a contemporary opera that imagines the tragic end of one particularly tempestuous pop diva.
The work is called Timberbrit — as in Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. It's a tragic tale that imagines Spears' last concert, in the final hours of her life. Timberlake returns after a long absence to win back Spears' love, but in the end she chooses the audience's love above all else.
Cooper began work on the opera by experimenting with a technique called time-stretching. Using digital audio software, he slowed down Spears' songs — and suddenly the light pop tunes seemed hauntingly tragic. Phrases like "Hit me baby one more time" took on an entirely different and more weighted meaning.
Cooper then collaborated with his performers to create new pieces of music inspired by those slowed-down hits, and writer Yuka Igarashi crafted fresh lyrics using the vernacular of Spears' songs — tears, love, dreams, innocence.
As a doctoral student at Yale, Cooper has looked at the psychological aspects of how traditional operas stretch time during death scenes — the way a dying character in Rigoletto or Boris Godunov, say, will pause to sing a 10-minute aria. Not realistic perhaps, but it packs a punch.
Cooper has expanded on that distinctive musical tradition by creating an entire opera enveloped by a fatal slowness of action. The idea is that in Timberbrit, Spears' prolonged destruction amplifies the tragedy of her downfall.
The opera premiered in New York City as a semistaged production in 2008 and is currently being developed into a fully staged version.
Meanwhile, the cast and crew of Timberbrit recently shot a music video of Cooper's song "Worst Fantasy," inspired by Spears' "Toxic." In keeping with the opera's process, the videographers started with a slowed-down, stretched-out recording of the original, then manipulated it and built on it to create something new.
The result: a distillation of Spears' music videos and public meltdowns that forces viewers to take a second look at both pop-star lives and the way the public devours them.
This piece was originally produced for NPR's Intern Edition by Claire Happel and Sarah Metcalf.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111495732

Sushi Fix!!! We all need them sometimes, I certainly know I do!

By MARCIA DUNN

Space Shuttle Endeavour lands at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Friday July 31, 2009. Endeavour's seven member crew are returning from a mission to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, Pool)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts returned to Earth on Friday, completing a long but successful construction job that boosted the size and power of the international space station.
They ended up swamped with sushi.
Endeavour's smooth and punctual arrival, after more than two weeks in orbit, set off a steady stream of congratulations and an ecstatic welcoming reception for Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to return from a long space journey. His station mission lasted 4 1/2 months.
At his request, sushi awaited him. But it was more than Wakata had anticipated. He was overloaded with sushi as Kennedy Space Center workers dropped off the delicacy at crew quarters.
Looking remarkably fit for someone still getting used to gravity, Wakata said four hours after touchdown that he had yet to eat any sushi because of all the medical testing. But he was going to splurge as soon as the crew news conference ended.
"I feel great," he told journalists who jammed an auditorium, most of them Japanese. "When the hatch opened, I really smelled the grass of the ground, and just glad to be back home."
The president of the Japanese Space Agency, among the first to greet Wakata, said the astronaut would be accommodated properly when he returns to Japan in a few months.
"He said he did his best," said President Keiji Tachikawa. The official said he was surprised to see Wakata walking so soon after landing.
The astronauts left behind on the space station said they missed Wakata, even though they were happy with his replacement.
"We certainly miss being there, but there's no place like home," said shuttle commander Mark Polansky. He looked thrilled as he shook hands with senior managers and walked around his spaceship. "What a fantastic mission," he said.
While visiting the space station, Polansky and his crew put on a new addition to Japan's $1 billion lab, installed fresh batteries, and stockpiled some big spare parts. They accomplished all of their major objectives and were part of the biggest gathering ever in space: Counting the six station residents, the crowd totaled 13.
The shuttle flight lasted 16 days and spanned 6.5 million miles, one of NASA's longest. It wrapped up a 138-day trip for Wakata, who moved into the space station in March. He swapped places with American Timothy Kopra, who rode up on Endeavour.
Before leaving orbit, Wakata said he was yearning for some sushi for his first meal back on the planet and a soak in a hot spring once he's back in Japan. At the top of his list, though, was reuniting with his German wife and their 11-year-old son, who were on hand at the space center for the homecoming. About 50 Japanese, in all, gathered at the landing site.
Wakata made it back just in time for his 46th birthday on Saturday. He said he was looking forward to lots of sushi and good birthday cake, to which Polansky asked, "And you've invited your whole crew, right?"
"Yes - can you handle raw fish?" Wakata said, laughing.
It is Japanese custom to bring souvenirs back from a long trip. When asked by journalists if Wakata did, Tachikawa said the astronaut returned with new ideas and impressions about space.
Endeavour's other astronauts carried out five spacewalks - tying a record for a single flight - and helped their station colleagues when a toilet flooded and an air purifier overheated. The commode, one of three on the linked shuttle and station, was fixed in a day. But the air-cleansing system remained out of order Friday.
Another highlight: The astronauts got to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first manned moon landing with their own spacewalk.
Japan's Kibo lab - which means Hope - received a front porch for outdoor experiments during Endeavour's visit. An X-ray telescope and space environment monitor were installed on the porch, along with communication equipment.
The mission concluded work on the lab - the largest one at the orbiting outpost - that took more than a year and three shuttle flights. Wakata said seeing Kibo completed was the highlight of his mission.
Next up for the Japanese will be the debut launch in September of an unmanned cargo ship.
As for NASA, seven shuttle flights remain to finish the space station, now 83 percent complete with nearly 700,000 pounds of mass. The next launch, by Discovery, is targeted for the end of August.
___
On the Net:
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission(underscore)pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Mulher sob medida

Colunistas > Danuza Leão

Mulher sob medida

As mulheres são capazes de fazer loucuras para emagrecer. Quantas eu já fiz para ficar um palito... Mas tem sentido? O primeiro dos meus sacrifícios foi óbvio: deixar de comer as delícias deste mundo. Resisti bravamente a todos os pasteizinhos fritos na hora com uma cervejinha, a uma empada quentinha, saindo do forno, a um brigadeiro derretendo na boca. Quando penso, vejo o absurdo.Dá para, em nome de uma magreza – que inventaram que é obrigação –, abrir mão do enorme prazer que é comer? Aliás, quando foi que começou essa mania? Se você for a qualquer museu do mundo, os quadros exibem mulheres gordas, e não conheço um homem – fora os que trabalham com moda – que não dê valor a um bumbum grande, para passar a mão com ar de dono, ou a uns peitos fartos (mas que sejam obra da natureza). E nem estamos falando das telas de Botero.De onde veio essa invenção? Acho que os costureiros fizeram uma reunião secreta para decretar como devem ser as mulheres só para infernizar nossa vida. Pessoalmente, não conheço nenhum homem que deseje levar Kate Moss para a cama; em compensação, pergunte a qualquer um o que acha da Jennifer Lopez.Houve um tempo em que eu quase desmaiava na rua de tanta fome. Bebia só água o dia inteiro, à noite tomava uma sopa de alface sem sal e era muito infeliz. Depois de várias semanas de jejum quase absoluto, botei na boca metade de uma bolacha de água e sal. Pensei que fosse morrer de tanta felicidade. Mantinha uma balança no quarto e me pesava três vezes por dia. Que tempos aqueles!O pior é que mulher não tem personalidade. É para ficar magra? Então vamos lá. Ponha quatro almoçando juntas e elas só têm três assuntos: dieta, ginástica e homem (falta de). Isso comendo uma salada temperada com limão. Assim passei vários anos, mas numa bela manhã acordei pensando que a vida podia ser um pouco melhor. Fui a uma confeitaria, pedi um chocolate quente com creme, bolo de laranja, torradas com queijo ralado e vi que a felicidade existia. Decidi que ia ser gordinha, porém feliz. E os quilos foram chegando.

Quotes on Kisses

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. ~Albert Einstein

A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. ~Ingrid Bergman

A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That's basic spelling that every woman ought to know. ~Mistinguett (Jeanne Bourgeois), Theatre Arts, December 1955

Is not a kiss the very autograph of love? ~Henry Finck

A kiss, when all is said, what is it? A rosy dot placed on the "i" in loving;'Tis a secret told to the mouth instead of to the ear.~Edmond Rostand

Kissing is a means of getting two people so close together that they can't see anything wrong with each other. ~Rene Yasenek

How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said. ~Victor Hugo

Soul meets soul on lovers' lips. ~Percy Bysshe Shelley, Prometheus

UnboundA kiss that speaks volumes is seldom a first edition. ~Clare Whiting

I am in favor of preserving the French habit of kissing ladies' hands - after all, one must start somewhere. ~Sacha Guitry

I kissed my first girl and smoked my first cigarette on the same day. I haven't had time for tobacco since. ~Arturo Toscanini

Always kiss your children goodnight, even if they're already asleep. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

kisses are a better fatethan wisdom.~e.e. cummings

If you are ever in doubt as to whether to kiss a pretty girl, always give her the benefit of the doubt. ~Thomas Carlyle

A man snatches the first kiss, pleads for the second, demands the third, takes the fourth, accepts the fifth - and endures all the rest. ~Helen Rowland

Love's first snow-drop, virgin kiss. ~Robert Burns

'Twas not my lips you kissed but my soul~Judy Garland

What of soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop? ~Robert Browning

Once he drew With one long kiss my whole soul thro'My lips, as sunlight drinketh dew.~Alfred Lord Tennyson

People who throw kisses are mighty hopelessly lazy. ~Bob Hope

A kiss without a hug is like a flower without the fragrance. ~Proverb

A kiss is just a pleasant reminder that two heads are better than one. ~Author Unknown

Were kisses all the joys in bed, One woman would another wed.~William Shakespeare, Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music, IV What lies lurk in kisses. ~Heinrich Heine

Happiness is like a kiss - it feels best when you give it to someone else. ~Author Unknown

The soul that can speak through the eyes can also kiss with a gaze. ~Gustavo Adolfo Becquer