No blog Para Inglês Ler, da jornalista Flávia Guerra, tem notícias muito legais sobre o cinema brasileiro visto lá fora. Como o Linha de Passe, último longa do Waltinho com a Daniela Thomas, que está causando burburinho e ganhando mais publicidade que o novo do Guy Ritchie, Rock’n’rolla; notícias do filme do Jean Charles; e também uma discussão em torno da violência brasileira, debatido dentro de um curso de documentário que passava Ônibus 174 para os alunos.

Não acho que Linha de Passe e Última Parada 174 seja novos filmes para o filão de “cinema de favela”, mas nunca tivemos tanto contexto para discutir essa visão da violência.

Flávia Guerra conta que no curso foi mostrado um trecho do documentário de José Padilha mostrando o seqüestrador pedindo para refém fingir desespero em frente às câmeras – uma negociação direta, um trato. A professora então pergunta:

“Há algum brasileiro na sala? Se sim, me expliquem: "É comum assim no Brasil que a vítima negocie com o seqüestrador, com o ladräo, com o bandido? Vocês, brasileiros, entendem sempre que por trás de um criminoso há sempre uma história de vida que o leva até o ponto em que chega?"

Talvez isso explique porque não quis esmurrar a criança que tentou me roubar e me furando com um caco de garrafa quebrada.

The church: Castle Rock Community Church, 1529 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans
Denomination: Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA)
The date & time: Sunday, August 31, 10:00am

The building: It's an old, two-story building that doesn't look like it's originally a church. 
The church: Mostly under 40, but all ages represented. About 60/40 black/white with a couple of others. Variety of socioeconomic backgrounds.
The neighborhood:  It used to be a nice shopping district but became a "bad" neighborhood. 
The cast: Pastor John F. Gerhardt, Worship Director Tre Pennington (he was the song leader playing keyboard), two drummers, two female singers, one main actor with supporting cast of about 12 for the skit, plus someone in the congregation was called on to pray
What was the name of the service? Sunday Worship Service
How full was the building? Seating for 120 was mostly full.
Did anyone welcome you personally? A few people greeted us as we came in. The pastor came by and greeted us briefly after the service.
Was your pew comfortable? Cushioned chairs were just fine.
How would you describe the pre-service atmosphere? Most people seemed to arrive just at the start of worship, with a sudden energetic influx of motion and conversation.
What were the exact opening words of the service? Good morning.
What books did the congregation use during the service? None. There was a bulletin handed out with the order of worship and upcoming events. 
What musical instruments were played? Keyboard, hand drums, drum set, soprano and alto sax
Did anything distract you? A delightful, beautiful, happy baby just in front of me. I was really tempted to ask if I could hold him.
Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or what? Very enthusiastic and authentic.
Exactly how long was the sermon? Including about 8-10 minutes of skits, it was 37 minutes.
On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher? 9. 
In a nutshell, what was the sermon about? Wear the clothes of patience, generosity, love, etc, not anger, slander, bitterness, etc. "That don't look good on you!" The skit component was a fashion show with a very talented talk show host, "Tyrell Banks."
Which part of the service was like being in heaven? Seeing my friend be touched by the sermon.
And which part was like being in... er... the other place? None.
What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost? We ran into a couple we knew and had lunch with them. 
How would you describe the after-service coffee? It was outside, and there were kids running around shooting hoops and eating donuts. I don't know if there was actually coffee? There was a cooler of something.
How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)? 6. The EFCA's theology might be a problem for me in the long term, but the worship really resonated for me, and they are active in ministry to the community.
Did the service make you feel glad to be a Christian? Yes. I heard both new and familiar music, and I felt both affirmed and challenged.
What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time? The sermon's refrain, "That don't look good on you." 
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?) Contemporary with a gospel influence. They did an interactive bit with "All Around" that felt improvised and fun.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?) Very pastoral, practical, challenging, and interactive. Not intellectual at all, so go somewhere else if you want to hear about shades of meaning in the original Greek. A bit long, but it worked!
What's the childcare like? There were several volunteers in the nursery, which was full of toys and eventually kids. We were a few minutes early and beat the nursery workers there.
What's your favorite thing? What would you change? I love the number and quality of people involved in leading worship. 
Can I wear jeans? Yes.
Theology? Evangelical/conservative (biblical inerrency, premilennial). Here's their denominational statement of faith.
Clear congregational identity and purpose? Yes. Just read their website or the banners in the building, or listen to a sermon.
Role of women in leadership? Not apparent. I just emailed the pastor to ask and will update when I hear back.
Use of gender neutral language? Not apparent.
Midweek opportunities/other worship options? Two youth groups and an adult Bible study.

Questions were written by Ship of Fools, Can I Wear Jeans?, and Allie.

L'inverno sta arrivando. Me ne sono accorta stamattina, quando mi sono svegliata e ho messo il naso fuori dalla finestra. Me ne sono accorta ancora di più ieri sera, quando gustando un po' di Goo Goo Dolls mi è sembrato di essere catapultata indietro nel tempo, quando una canzone faceva da sottofondo ai miei pomeriggi riempiti da libri e quaderni nei quali era più facile trovare il senso e (ri)specchiarcisi dentro, come accade quando guardi negli occhi qualcuno a cui vuoi bene. Come già detto, la mia non è nostalgia. L'ho sentita Slide, e l'ho ascoltata bene. Una canzone colonna sonora dei miei inverni passati. Non di questo che viene, perchè in questo che viene ci sarà spazio per altro; per altre canzoni e per altri sogni. Un inverno che è sinonimo di impegni che si (ri)presentano puntuali ogni anno, seppur ogni anno diversi, nelle forme e nei colori. L'inverno torna, e la sua carica stamattina l'ha suonata forte e chiaro con l'uscita degli orari all'università, e la mia espressione nuovamente sbigottita davanti a turni allucinanti e improbabili, la stessa faccia triste che si rinnova quando l'attesa di qualcosa di meglio naufraga succube di una pantomima stile pesce d'aprile. Perchè lo sai che tanto non cambia. Perchè lo sai che pure quest'anno sarà persino peggio di tutta l'acqua che ti beccherai in scooter, quando tornando a casa giusto in tempo per l'ora di cena, ti continuerai a domandare perchè. E se davvero ne valga la pena.

L'inverno arriva portando con se' nuovi desideri, facendo sprofondare in una delle sue pozzanghere i desideri di prima, rimasti congelati chissà dove, magari in mezzo al traffico selvaggio di queste parti, in attesa che decidessi di riaccompagnarli a casa con me, o di lasciarli liberi per sempre. Non ho tutte le risposte che mi occorrono, ad oggi. Ma ora che butto uno sguardo sul desktop e il gadget del meteo indica sorprendentemente 14° qui e 15° lì, non ho più molti dubbi. L'inverno mi piace, e lì è senz'altro migliore che qui.

Semplicemente compagna di viaggio. Colonna sonora.

Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls 

Foto: © www.googoodolls.com

Stasera questo blog non mi piace. Stasera sogno quel tramonto nord-europeo, e su quel ponte mi ci immagino davvero. Ci andrò prima o poi. E la luna mi parlerà di te.

Stasera già lo so, non riuscirò a prender sonno.

We all are losing sleep watching the Beijing 2008 Olympics. With coverage all night long, who can shut their eyes during an exciting team table tennis match? And of course we all watched Michael Phelps break every world record and win 8 gold medals, becoming the best Olympian EVER.

And why would you miss the women's all-around gymnastic finals, wondering if Nastia Liukin or Shawn Johnson was going to get the gold?

America is a group of insomniacs lately. Dr. Nancy Snyderman has some tips for fellow Olympaholics:

1. Stay hydrated.

2. Tell yourself you only need four hours of sleep - really.

3. Wear sunglasses to hide red eyes.

4. Crank up your iPod and listen to anything Michael Phelps does.

5. Skip work (you're never going to see an Olympics like this again anyway.)

But remember. If you do fall asleep, you may dream about the beautiful male swimmers. Aaron Peirsol may join me in dreamland any time.

Until tomorrow, signing off.

I want to help the girls that make the WRONG decisions when it comes to buying shoes. I have chosen some shoes that i love because of various reasons.

Safety Shoes

If you have the money problem, no need to buy the newest fashion shoes that kinda look like the once in the magazines and on tv but you found them in a cheap store where they make the shoes out of plastic and bad quality. The result of that is that they dont last long, they are not nice to wear, you will start avoiding them or keep on torturing yourself. There is another way to go though. Dont buy the newest fashion shoes, go classic. The model that will never be out of fashion. That way you can buy a fairly unexpensive shoe that is comfortable, solid, in fashion all-around-shoe that you can keep for a long time and wear in all occasions. But of course, one shoe doesn´t cover it all, this is just the one you have to have in your closet as a safety shoe.

These are two of my "Safety Shoes"

Shoes like these you can wear to jeans, short-to-knee skirts, shorts, the classic "Breakfast at Tiffanys dresses" pretty much everything and they can be very professional looking at work too, because they are discrete.

Dress to impress

Who doesnt love to party now! It is a lifestyle for many under 35 and over 16. The once under 15 with the home partys and kids throwing up in the sink is not the fun kind. It is the "WOHOHOHOO IM DRUNK!!" kind and where is the fun in that..? What i like to do before i party is to have pre drink, dress up in something i have never worn before, do my makeup and hair and sit down and choose shoes! This is the time to bring out the bling shoe, the one that catches the eye, makes your head pierce the clouds and knock over 5 models on your way to the VIP area. This is the time for the shoe that makes you the ruler of the clubs if you know how to use them.

The Dress to impress shoe

If your party shoe is a real attention stealer, dont use a too wooahooie dress because that can take it over the top. Either use an amazing dress and the safety shoe, or the dress to impress shoe and your hardcore charm and attitude. These shoes dont have to be as expensive if you want to save money because they are not made to last for years only one or two seasons and you are not suppose to wear them everytime either, try using different shoes every time. Even if people dont know that you wear different shoes it still makes you feel more confident if someone actually does notice, for example maybe your friends. They are not just for partys though, they can be worn at anytime but it isn't always easy if they are 4 inches high.

Party Shoes

I found some very eye catching shoes that are really "Dress to Impress"

Click for larger image

All of these shoes are great for a night out, but as i said before, they are usable for much more than that.

Solid   Classy   Expensive  Comfortable  Notisable - Every day shoes that last.

click for larger image

Shoes that you can wear all day long and not kill your feet in. The reason behind them being so comfortable is the thick sole that makes your feet kind of roll when you walk and you dont feel when there are small pebbles on the ground or other just an uneven sidewalk.

The absolute favorite all around shoe! 

Have these shoes or die trying

Shawn Johnson's floor routine in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which moved her to her to second place, winning her the Silver medal.

Stella Stella

Nasia Liukin's floor routine that pushed her to win a Gold medal in the women's individual gymnastics competition.

Stella Stella

Stella Stella

Congratulations to Nastia Liukin for winning the coveted Olympic All-Around Champion title!  She was rock solid throughout the competition, and her near-perfect vault in the first rotation basically put her on the path to the gold right away.  Add to that some questionable judging for Shawn Johnson's beam routine (more on that later), and a very well deserved gold medal for Liukin is the result.

Highlights of the female competition, both individual and team:

(1) Liukin's uneven bars routine. The pirouettes that she does on the top of the high bar are both artistic and (apparently) difficult, and when she sticks the landing, that routine gets her a very high score, often in the high 16s. I'm guessing we'll see a lot more female gymnasts pumping difficulty into their uneven bars routines because that seems to be where a lot of points are easily obtained.  Especially if they're judged the same way they were this year (again, more on that later).

(2) He Kexin's uneven bars routine (Chinese gymnast). She may not be 16, but her uneven bars routine is phenomenal. That release move she has at the very beginning, where she flips then twists to catch the bar BACKWARDS... even in slow motion, it just doesn't seem possible.  It really is too bad that she fell in the qualifications, because she deserves to be in the event finals.

(3) Ksenia Semenova's floor exercise. Now the fact that I can pull that name out doesn't mean that I follow gymnastics - only that I watched the all-around on television and finally got a chance to see another team besides the US and China perform.  Those Russians really did choke away a bronze medal, based on what they showed during the all-around.  I don't know why, but Semenova's routine just had more artistic aspects (not that that matters) and a very sharp feel to her tumbling (which probably really really matters).

Now, the judging.

As a guy who plays lots of tennis and basketball, and who grew up playing baseball and soccer, and who is a devoted fan of the MLB and NFL, I think the one thing about professional and competitive sports that is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY is fairness and validity in how the games are decided.  Every run is one run.  Every layup is two points.  Every touchdown is six points.  We know what a double fault is. The ball just need to cross the threshold to be a TD.  Etc, etc, etc...

But there was a major problem in these olympics with the judging of the gymnastics.  Namely, the scoring was absolutely ARBITRARY, and that is a big big problem that must be fixed. Again, obviously, I am not a gymnastics aficionado.  I really don't know much about the technicalities, except what I see on television and what Tim Daggert tells me. But there simply are times when an absolutely perfect vault (according to Tim Daggert) gets a 9.45 on the execution, meaning the judges found 0.55 in deductions!  Or you see two gymnasts on the beam get the same scores for two completely different qualities of routines. This happened time and time again, with no clear definition of what constituted a deduction, aside from the big ones like stepping out of bounds or failing to hold a handstand.

I think this hurt Shawn Johnson a little, but again, Nastia Liukin won the gold running away anyway.  So congratulations to her again!

Now, let's go Tyson Gay!

I was so disappointed the other day when the US came away with the silver, but last night I did a little dance, a happy dance. Why? Because, after such a long, arduous road, Nastia Liukin won that gold medal she's been dreaming of all her life, and because Shawn came in right behind her in second. Not only that, but the bronze medalist, Yang Yilin, has beautiful gymnastics and it was a dream podium for me. I would have loved to see Semyenova (what a surprise!) or Pavlova or Jiang on the podium, too, but I really wanted to see the Americans get first and second. I got my wish!

So here are my own personal "quick hits" as it happened.

8:00     Holy crap. It doesn’t start until after 11:00? I’m going to be asleep before it even begins. How am I gonna be able to stay awake until the end? Yikes.

10:40   Dear Tim, Al, and Elfi, there are other gymnasts in the world. Yours, Elizabeth. At least they briefly mentioned Yang Yilin and Jiang Yuyuan.  DearNBC, Bela is barely coherent. Please limit the amount of his blabbering I have to listen to. I’m not saying he’s wrong, I’m just saying he’s a little bombastic. Sincerely, Elizabeth

11:12   Finally, they switch over to gymnastics. Long wait. I’m not asleep though. Nastia’s in the podium training pink, Shawn is in the red mesh-shoulder number that was in those leaked photos. They’re the same leo, actually, in different colors. And finally, the Chinese are wearing a different leo. I like Yang’s better than Jiang’s. The commentators seem to be totally convinced that Shawn and Nastia are the only ones in contention. I hope they show a few routines other than the Americans. Yilin, Nastia, and Shawn all looked good warming up. Looks like Yang just fell on her warm up, but I wouldn’t see very well.

11:17   Here goes Yang. DTY. Good, a bit hunched over. 15.175. Nastia now. Go Nastia. WOW! Stuck cold. 15.025. Boo to that, but it’s because of the A score. Good vault for Shawn, about the same as the last few days.

11:22   Slower to get the score out. Oh no! I’m not liking this. It looked like they might devalue Shawn’s vault. 15.825. Jiang. Fell on the Amanar. Ouch, count her out. It was probably a good idea to go for the big vault, though. 14.825.

11:24   Argh. Why show this swimming semifinal? We know Phelps is going to move on. See, he won it.

11:33   Good to see some more routines. Good for Nistor! Big score.

11:39   They’re going on about Nastia’s vault score, but it wasn’t too far out of line. Maybe a little low, but so was Shawn’s vault. NOT a travesty. Bob Costas: “the Romanian girl”. She has a name. Nastia’s first, I’m knotted with nervousness for her. Way to keep that Pak in the right place. Too bad about the step, but it’ll be a big score. 16.650.

11:44   Shawn stuck it! That was the best routine Shawn could have done, I think. She’s very happy, good for her! The Americans gals are hitting. Ugh! That score is too low! 15.275.

11:47   Roar for a Chinese girl. Jiang. Very nice. 15.875. The American scores were too low. Yeah, Romanis took the btonze, but we never saw any of their routines on NBC. Nistor is very messy.

11:52   Semyenova! Awesome. Definitely in the mix, gold threat on bars. 16.475. Uh, what is with the opera music!! Another great routine, this one from Yang. I’d love to see her medal (I want one of the Americans to win, though). 16.725. A little too high, I think. Not too bad, though

12:00   It’s Friday. TGIF. Yang=31.9, Nastia=31.675, Johnson=31.1. The others? Who knows.

12:04   The standings: Yang, Nasita, Nistor, semyenova, Johnson, Jiang. Here goes beam, Shawn first. Yikes! Wobble. Good leg-up full turn, small step on the landing. Too bad, because this is going to be close. 16.05, nice.

12:09   Jiang bobbles. Shaky routine. It’ll probably get a 16, the way scoring is going.  15.425, TOO DAMN HIGH. The Chinese have been getting gifts from the judges all week long! This is not fair.

12:12   Not a bad routine from Nistor, low score though. Show Semyenova! Stop showing them sitting there are show some gymnastics. Oh, Pirates in the background. Nice. They are showing Semyenova. Maybe . . . wait wait wait for Pavlova’s score. Upped to 15.975.

12:17   I’m rooting for Semyenova here. Go girl. Good job. 15.925.

12:21   Yang’s a rock so far. Bobble. Full turn and aerial combo. A few problems, but again it’s going to be a big score again because the judges are being ridiculous. 15.75????????? WHAT?

12:25   Nastia kicked ass on beam. She needs to get a way higher score than Yang, up into the 16’s easily. Stupid judges, Yang’s score was way way too high. Okay, 16.125, probably should be a bit bigger. That puts her in the lead. She got full B-score. Shawn in third by .6, Yang in second by .150. This is turning into a GREAT fight!

12:29   It’s getting really late. I’m so tired. Bela again. Well, he’s making sense so far.

12:32   Nastia looked shaky in warm ups. Here’s Jiang. I love her routine, she’s adorable. (*cough* 14 years old *cough*). Such a beautiful gymnast, I’m sad about the low landings and fall out of the turn. Not a good night for her, I’m afraid. 14.775

12:36   Yes! Pavs! Woohoo! She can medal, too, I’d like that. Great dlo, second pass was good, too. Third, too. So pretty. I’m proud of all the pretty gymnasts. Great double pike to end! Amazing, best routine of the night. I agree with Elfi, a lot like Lily Pod. Classic. 15.050

12:40   Semyenova. Great landings so far.  Great routine! 14.775. Wow, the Russians have been great. This has turned into a real fight in the all-around. I’m loving this. Her comes Yang, who’s in second by .150. Low landing on the third pass and the last. But wonderful choreography, really good. 15.000.

12: 46  Nastia needs a 14.85. COME ON NASTIA! YES! YES! She has a medal, maybe gold. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I am so happy for her, this has been such a long time coming, a very long time in coming. 15.525. WOWSA.

12:49   Shawn’s to win or lose. 16.125 is needed. Not possible. WOW, Nastia won, that is absolutely amazing. I could not be happier. For silver she needs 15.45. This’ll be close, that was really great. Might be one-two for the US.

12:53   Score, please. 15.525! One two! USA! I cannot express my joy. Yes! Now . . . . . .bed!

And for the record, here are the standings in quick form:

1. Anastasia Liukin: 63.325

2. Shawn Johnson: 62.725

3. Yang Yilin: 62.650

4. Ksenia Semyenova: 61.925

5. Steliana Nistor: 61.050

6. Jiang Yuyuan: 60.900

7. Anna Pavlova: 60.825

8. Sandra Izbasa: 60.750

9. Oksana Chusovitina: 60.125

10. Jade Barbosa: 59.550

For full results, click here.

From Associated Press:

Liukin finished with 63.325 points, a mere six-tenths ahead of Johnson, the reigning world champion who beat Liukin at the U.S. championships and Olympic trials only a few weeks ago.

Liukin paced back and forth as Johnson competed on floor, the final competitor of the day, clapping as her teammate floated high in the air. In the end, it was Liukin who soared. When Johnson's score was posted and Liukin saw she was the winner tears filled her eyes. Her father and coach Valeri grabbed her in a bearhug, squeezing her tight for several minutes.

Valeri Liukin was a double gold medalist for the Soviet Union 20 years ago, but came up achingly short in a rivalry with his own teammate in the all-around.

This is the first time that two American's went 1-2 in the all-around competition. For China, it was the first disappointment on the gymnastics floor in the 2008 Olympic Games. The Chinese won both the men's and women's overall team titles, and Yang Wei won the men's all-around gold.

I must say I felt the pain for him when he landed really bad on the mat when he was dismounting from the rings. I was like OMG because he landed really bad and possibly whiplash. People have been complaining about the rings during the Olympics. Eek, but other that disaster of a fall, he managed to get 4th place in the overall all-around men's competition. That is still good! He only missed 3rd place by 0.175 points. Man, that's harsh.

He must have felt alot of pain. I felt so bad for him because I can see him being so determined to win and his chance was lost with this bad fall. He fell in his practice vault after this rings. During his real vault run, he landed pretty straight on his knees which is really bad because he did not even bend them. Gosh, gymnasts take a big beating to their body for their choices in life. I'm not too sure if I would have been that type of tough cookie. But he did managed to finish after a bad fall. So I do give him alot of applaud and I cheered him on.

He is the leader of the Japanese gymnastics team.  He really has great form and consistency.  I want to say he can come back next time, but he is much older than his teammates.  He is 27 so he may not be able to come back in 2012 Olympics.  But I had fun watching him throughout these few days of competition.  He always wowed me with his spectacular performance and was one of the most consistent Japanese gymnasts.  Must I also say, DAMN good-looking!  :)

He did win Gold during 2004 Athens and won silver during 2008 Beijing.  That is a very big accomplishment!  No matter what, I still cheered him on.  I'm gonna make an attempt to find videos on him because NBC did not show screen time of him after the vault.  I was quite disappointed in that.

-updated 8/16/08: new pictures because he really looks hot in this one

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="525" caption="Even though this is the fall, I can see a bit of an expression on him."][/caption]

Updated: 8/19/08

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v758718nhZGjYgE
 
It shows how much body fat Tomita has on him.  It's not much I dont think.  But he does have a very nice body I must say.  Well I tried to embed it into the post.  But nothing work.  I dont know what they're saying.  But must I say anymore when I see a hot body like that.  He's pretty ripped :)  So just click on link. 

There is a video on NBC Olympics of his fall.

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Stella Stella Stella

Stella Stella Stella

Stella Stella Stella

1986 Documentary Part II

Stella Stella Stella

1986 Documentary Part I

Stella Stella Stella

Stella Stella Stella

Stella Stella Stella

...e così ho scoperto i colori e le aspre vivacissime sfumature della terra ligure, divisa tra un mare d'incanto e l'acre odore delle balle di fieno sparse in una campagna da cartolina.

E nell'intercity che sfreccia forse colgo ora il senso del viaggiare e del perdersi: imprevisto.

D'altronde è così che mi sono ritrovata a scorrere Savona-Rapallo-Livorno-Genova- e via così tutta la costa tirrenica fino a casa, fino a quella città sempre e sempre di più mia, in una flash che mi lascia ricordi e colori.