2:07 a.m.

I wanted to write something good and meaningful.

But this will have to do for now.

summer rain

Since December of last year, 69 people have died in the state of São Paulo because of the summer rains. It hasn't rained this much in the month of January in São Paulo's metropolitan area in 60 years, the news said today.

It is raining steadily. It is raining in sufficient volume so that areas of the city and the state are flooded. People sometimes have to abandon their cars in the middle of the street due to the elevated water level. The already chaotic traffic of São Paulo intensifies. Men, women, children, dogs get dragged away by the current of the floods and are lucky when they are rescued by strangers nearby. In the most affected areas of the city and the state, houses built on hills are destroyed in devastating mudslides. Whole families get stuck under the destruction, sometimes getting out injured, but alive. Sometimes whole families die.

Between last night and the early hours of today, four people died. Three people from the same family perished in a mudslide, a a 12 year old boy got carried away by the floods.

The saddest part is that people are dying and losing their homes in mudslides because houses were built on illegal sites. Thing is, they have nowhere else to go. And the incorrect disposal of garbage are clogging the city's sewers. There is no clear indication of what the local government is going to do, aside from declaring a state of emergency in the most affected parts of the state.

This morning I woke up and saw that the rain was still here, lightly coming down over the streets. I wondered how much worse it needs to get before someone with power does something.

Click here for more photos.

more creepy kids

(image via AwkwardFamilyPhotos)

edgar degas

The Singer in Green, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

(image via here)

the problem with blogging

"The problem with blogging is that it takes that idle thought, that seed of a story, and instead letting it harden and grow in the pink folds of your subconscious it makes you drop it out into 140 words and sends you on your way. You are giving the pearl no opportunity to develop. It is barely more than a speck of grit when you deposit it into the world. Blogging does not eat time, as so many seem to believe it does. What blogging eats is inspiration.

The problem with blogging is that it takes 100 great hooks that would one day form the part of something greater and turns them into 100 blog posts with no point."

- Pierce Gleeson, from Is that blogging?

the problem with twitter

"The problem with Twitter is that it takes that idle thought, that seed of a story, and instead letting it harden and grow in the pink folds of your subconscious it makes you drop it out into 140 characters and sends you on your way. You are giving the pearl no opportunity to develop. It is barely more than a speck of grit when you deposit it into the world. Twitter does not eat time, as so many seem to believe it does. What Twitter eats is inspiration.

The problem with Twitter is that it takes 100 great hooks that would one day form the part of something greater and turns them into 100 sentences with no point."

- Pierce Gleeson, from Is that blogging?

(I kind of want to marry this person.)

this is it

I have decided that this is what I am going to do in my still unfinished yellow bedroom. That's it. The search is over.

(image via Bodie and Fou - Le Blog)

I want to kill myself because this is so chic.

some brazilian creativity

Waiting to see the Shrink, I was flipping through some magazines. I came across these interesting Brazilian designers:

Calu Fontes makes incredibly cool and original work with porcelain (even Cool Hunting thinks so).

(images via Calu Frontes flickr)

Then there is Rachel Hoshino, also doing charming work with ceramics.

(images via garimpagem, Print or Dye!, luterceiro)

Flávia del Prá is famous for her ridiculously goodlooking lamps.

(images via here, Bohemian Vintage)

Sabrina Arini is an intriguing designer, who does truly creative things with cardboard.

These colouring benches for kids were included in the MoMA Design Store Destination: Brazil.

(images via Jaya!)

All designers have studios here in São Paulo.

i want you to know...

... that I smell really good today.

holy shit

Chunk, from The Goonies...

became a Hollywood attorney after he grew up.

(images via Cracked.com)

Read the whole story here.

the oscar will go to...

I am now going to write at length about who will win Oscars this year. I know you don't care, but, frankly, I don't give a shit.

This has been a tough year for predictions. As the Golden Globes and the SAG awards have already made their picks, it is easier to predict who will walk away with the Oscar in the top categories.

In general, this is a year where money-makers will be rewarded and traditionally overlooked actors will be acknowledged by the Academy.

Best Film

I just want to say that I find it deeply annoying that the Academy has decided to nominate ten films this year, as opposed to the traditional five. Instead of extending the list of nominated films, they should start making better choices. Like last year, when they should have clearly nominated "The Dark Knight", but didn't. This year they could show some taste and NOT nominate "Avatar". It's a crap film, everyone knows it, so stop being all impressed with the visual effects.

But Avatar will win. This film has made so much fucking money, already having surpassed Titanic as the top-grossing film of all time, that the Academy will want to give it an Oscar. They must be trembling with orgasmic glee at all that money.

However. If there is an upset, The Hurt Locker will take top prize. It ain't gonna happen, though. That goddamn Avatar is blinding everyone with all that money and stupid fucking special effects.

Best Actor

I would like to see Colin Firth win best actor. It is widely acknowledged that his role in "A Single Man" is a career best. But he has lost out to Jeff Bridges at this point, who seems set to win his first Oscar for "Crazy Heart". This will be a case of giving Bridges the award he should have won years ago ("Tron", "The Contender", "The Big Lebowski", etc.). This is definitely his year, and deservedly so.

Best Actress

Out of all the main categories, this seems to be the most unpredictable. The likely nominees are Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia), Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station).

Both Gabourey Sidibe and Carey Mulligan, though praised as hell for their respective roles, are still in their early years as actors/stars to actually win the Oscar. Also, their momentum has died down considerably since their names were first considered for the prize. Helen Mirren has won her Oscar already. The contest is between Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep. Streep, who has been nominate about 549 times making her the most nominated actor ever, is bound to win her third Oscar at some point. But her portrayal of Julia Child will not bring her such luck. The Academy should have awarded her another Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for "Adaptation", but did not. They should have given it to her for "The Devil Wears Prada", but did not. They won't embarrass themselves this year and give it to her for this lesser role.

So in a year of rewarding money makers and actors who have been relegated to the sidelines at awards shows, this will be the year of Sandra Bullock. And I like that.

Even if hers is not the best performance, she has made buckets of money this past year. The Proposal did very well, and The Blind Side made history as the first female-led film to hit the $200 million mark in box office. This ain't no small feat. Bullock clearly fits the money maker criteria for this year's Oscars. Also, she is universally liked as an actress. Well, I like her. Which is universal enough.

Unlike Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock has not drowned in arrogance into her 40s. At 45 years of age, her career is still in full gear. In the spirit of inclusion (nominating ten films, giving Bridges his first Oscar), the Academy will give Sandra Bullock her first nomination and Oscar for a career that, quite frankly, has quietly surpassed in talent (yes, talent), charisma and box office those of Hollywood's most powerful stars.

Best Supporting Actor

Not much to say here. Christoph Waltz will win the Oscar because no actor this year BLEW OUR MINDS as he did in "Inglourious Basterds" as Nazi officer Hans Landa. Actually, I object to him being nominated in the supporting actor category. But whatever. He is going to win.

Best Supporting Actress

Also set in stone. Mo'nique will win her first Oscar as the diabolical Mary Jones in "Precious". The other probable nominees pale in comparison to her monstrous performance. Also, the Academy loves it when a comedian turns dramatic.

Best Director

James Cameron will not win. Avatar made all this stinking money boring us to death with their stupid blue people. But the Academy always likes to make a little history so... Katherine Bigelow, Cameron's ex-wife, will be the first female director to receive an Oscar for "The Hurt Locker". It also helps that she is the most deserving.

As a side note, I think that Hollywood is secretly annoyed by James Cameron, but since he makes a lot of money, they tolerate him. James Cameron annoys the shit out of me. What the hell was that "king of the world" crap about.

hope for haiti

Best performance in Hope for Haiti Now. Just beautiful.

And with all due respect to the cause, I shat my pants when Madonna sang Like A Prayer.

Shat. My. Pants.

novela fix

The current night time novela is called Viver a Vida ("To Live Life"). It's tacky, badly written, and treats us audience members like we're mentally deficient. Naturally, I'm totally into it.

This is what happened on today's episode.

Marcos...

used to be married to Tereza...

whom he left to marry Helena, a billion years his junior, ...

and a world famous model, who just happens to be rivals with Marcos and Tereza's daughter Luciana (also a model).

She suffered an accident and is now paraplegic. But that's beside the point.

Today, Marcos CHEATED on Helena with Dora...

this lady he hooked up with while on a break from Helena.

They MADE OUT...

(images via here)

and she is pregnant with his baby.

I know, I know.

I couldn't believe it either.

i know what you're thinking

(image via "Man About the Internet")

But she's FIFTY ONE. She's allowed.

"people, what is this, is this girl ill?"

The above quote is from a fashionista sitting in the front row of one of São Paulo Fashion Week's runway shows.

(image via FolhaOnline)

An article on Folha de São Paulo today states that the models currently appearing in São Paulo Fashion Week are, in average, 18 years of age. And their Body Mass Index (BMI) is equivalent to that of 9 year old girls.

The full article can be found here (in Portuguese, of course).

a note to Al Pacino

I used to have sexual fantasies about you.

(image via drollgirl)

Not anymore.

ten things about the Golden Globes

1.

"Abadar".

2.

William Hurt has obviously given up on life.

3.

Why did Rob not come. Why.

4.

Most pretentious dress of the evening.

5.

UGLIEST dress of the evening.

6.
Tina Fey came as Sarah Palin dressed as Mary Poppins.

7.

If Drew had removed the bedazzled dead porcupine from her hip, this dress would've been fab.

8.

That's what I am talking about.

9.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

10.

(images via Just Jared)

Handsomest man in the history of all mankind.