Eye delights

Brazilians of German and/or Italian background are very popular in the fashion world. Does the last name Bündchen ring a bell?

Here’s why:

Raphael Lacchine

And if you’re into unusual prettiness and slightly skinny boys (my personal preference):

Douglas Neitzke

Still:

Beauty from B

I’m in a delight for the eye week.

Truths never hurt

I’m tired, my throat is sore and my voice nearly gone.

I guess I couldn’t say I’m quite in the right mood for letting myself be inspired.

Being alone and quiet seems the appropriate choice for the day.

Time to think, everyone.

Evade

Nothing better for a hang-over than looking at pretty sights.

Since I’m not well enough to leave home, evasion is the best alternative.

Evandro Soldati, another beauty from Brazil, will help us do it:

Rio (or Italy) feelings

Better than aspirine.

Mourning heterosexuality

I was reading excerpts of a book written by Mexican psychotherapist Marina Castañeda on homosexuality a while ago and I couldn’t help but find it very insightful. Although I do not necessarily agree with her in some of the aspects she mentions, I did find one bit very interesting.

She claims that in the process of coming out every homosexual has to go through a mourning phase if they want to be happy as gay individuals later in life. That is, they have to mourn their supposed heterosexuality.

Growing up in societies which are governed by two-gender conceptions of living, including family and work-related assumptions, homosexuals have to learn how to let go of these ideas so deeply rooted in their consciousness in order to be able to accept the fact that they are unlike most others.

According to the author, it is the very process of learning how to give up such expectations which allows gay people to be more or less happy with their affections and sexuality with regards to society. Some do it and are able to find their place in the world, while others seem never to be willing to establish themselves as different from what is expected of them, and that is the major source of feelings of distress and unadaptability.

What a very interesting way of seeing these matters.

I’ve believed for some time now that being different is the key to creating. Once there is nothing to compare yourself to, you are forced to generate new models and just find a whole new path for yourself. And isn’t that what guides true artists and explorers into the unknown?

The thing is, this is by no means an easy task.

Short is posh

I am delighted to see that short shorts have been quite a hit in the Spring collections 2011 of the Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks.

Living in a tropical country, shorts have been my attire of choice for many a night out in the town.

It is so refreshing to see that designers are embracing such a heat-friendly trend.

Some of my favorite looks:

Gucci

Colorful and velvety.

Dsquared

Lovely beach feeling, pretty colors.

Dolce & Gabbana

Italy in its best.

Calvin Klein

For a bolder look.

Viktor & Rolf

Make it posh.

Welcome to Brazil.

Yesterday and a Belief

In many ways, the only thing in which I believe is children. They are but the true hope of a new tomorrow.

CHILD, by Sylvia Plath

Your clear eye is the one absolutely beautiful thing.
I want to fill it with color and ducks,
The zoo of the new

Whose name you meditate --
April snowdrop, Indian pipe,
Little

Stalk without wrinkle,
Pool in which images
Should be grand and classical

Not this troublous
Wringing of hands, this dark
Ceiling without a star.

Adept at adapting

A friend of mine is returning to Brazil after yet another attempt of happiness abroad. This time it was Australia. Before it was France and years ago it had been Québec, in Canada.

She is just convinced she’ll never be happy here and is always on the look for new opportunities to escape. Then, after some time, she just dislikes everything about the foreign country where she is and decides to return. A short time afterwards, the cycle begins again.

Having lived abroad on several occasions myself, I have learned to detach (or at least try to) enjoyment from the place I happen to be in. No site can be an infinite foundation for fun if one is not ready for feeling free to embrace a different perspective on living.

Detaching oneself from one’s culture is a much harder endeavor, nonetheless. But I guess that if you know how to recognize the behavior and sociability patterns, adapting becomes much less challenging. But again, you may never adapt. And that can be okay too.

Immigrant Icon in a pic on Dazed (pic by Rankin)

M.I.A. is there to prove it. I have always loved her take on being who she is exactly because she is an immigrant in the UK and never feeling a full Brit (whatever that means) has contributed to building her persona as much as her own personality.

Her new album is out now and, apart from the controversy, it is plain brilliant. More on that later.

Surface to Flair

The interface of photography and architecture is one which fascinates me greatly.

Sudden shapes and subtle surfaces emerge quite surprisingly from the lenses of skilled photographers with a keen eye for beauty in buildings.

These are just a few of the reasons why I am attracted to the work of photographers like Ola Kolehmainen, another Finnish virtuoso from the Helsinki School.

Mystery of Light

A new take on things can be brought about when we are made to look at structures from different perspectives.

Composition with LA

Photography always puts me in a good mood.

The next Next Thing

I am never drawn to easy perspectives. That is for sure.

About a year ago I was reading this article about teenagers in our day and there was a girl who very unexpectedly stood out. Amidst all those who wanted to be in and trendy, and who were so eager to know what they want and were so willing to figure out who they are, she offered a hurricane of fresh air by being wonderfully unique.

This 15 year-old English teen was obsessed with the 50’s looks and lifestyle. Not only would she dress head to toe in clothes from those days but she would also do things like use expressions or eat snacks from that era. And to my greatest amusement, she really got a kick out of knitting and baking carrot cakes for her fast-foodly disgusted, FCUK’d friends.

I don’t have to mention that I basically love everyone who is passionate enough about something to be healthly obsessed by it, but this girl was special. There are no words to describe how inspiring she actually is.

In a world so demented about the next futuristic thing, drowned in all types of technology and social networks, someone who chooses to live like those in the past for fun purposes should be crowned the Queen of Western Cool.

I’ve been coming across so many statements by teens who feel bored to their bones in developed nations I wonder if they shouldn’t be giving up modern lifestyles as a whole.

Wasn’t it a blast to bake cookies all afternoon and talk for hours in front of the fire in the old days? And wouldn’t the boys have the laugh of their lives carving wooden props and the like? Isn’t it much more realistic to have that kind of fun rather than wanting to spend one’s life in Ibiza-style pedestrian enjoyment?

I am simply very tired of images at this point.

Procrastinating with your eyes

After so much work, there’s nothing better than doing nothing sipping some coffee.

Then a friend of yours comes and gives you something that will keep serious activities at even greater distances.

This is how I got into OK Go:

These boys are so visually enticing it just becomes highly addictive to look at.

I strongly recommend watching all their videos. Another peek:

It is so refreshing to see that some artists are still investing their time and creativity into doing something so stimulating.

My conclusion is: what a wonderful way to procrastinate.

No answers for identity issues

My roommate has killed all the ants in the apartment. Using some sort of bug spray/powder, he put an end to the rule of the tiny insects which dotted our kitchen walls with their silent empire.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. What does that say about my sense of belonging?

Which reminds me of one of my latest obsessions: Sub-Saharan Africa.

I’m only mildly obsessed with South Africa in specific, but it is indeed the country that intrigues me the most. Of those, white South Africans puzzle me even more.

How does a white person with their own local culture fit into a continent which seems so different from them? This sense of not-belonging is what has been quite key in my interest for the country.

It bears such a strong resemblance to Brazilian whites and especially those in the upper classes. How does one who cherishes imported ideals belong to a culture so deeply rooted in its own mélange?

For inspiration:

Die Antwoord is a South African act of seemingly Afrikaans background who provides us with an ironic insight to what might solve the question of identity.

Live and let live.

Repetition

My past two weeks have been nothing but intense.

Firstly, the delights of friends’ companionship made me want to move cities to be close to those nearest to my heart but farthest from my home.

Then, it was a week of intensive intellectual stimulation. Becoming knowledgeable has never been an easy task.

Amidst it all, my own thoughts and impressions almost made me make one same mistake again. How easy it is to fool oneself guided by positive feelings, that’s all I can say.

Being short for words, as always I resort to music to fill in the sentimental spaces my experiences bring about.

The dream of love is indeed a two-hearted dream.

Mystery solver

No, I did not die.

I did not become too lazy to write either.

I shall resume the constant writing of posts as soon as my free time is expanded.

I have been meeting so many nice people, it’s amazing and incredibly refreshing.

New partnerships and creative collaborations are on the horizon.

But the images are still on vacation.

Questions of guilt

I live on guilt, a friend of mine once said.

I wouldn’t know how to pinpoint on what I live myself, but I do know guilt plays quite a role in my life as well.

How else could I explain so much procrastination?

On Anchors and Furniture

I am not into owning. When visiting friends and family I am often astounded by the amount of things they possess. In a non-socialistic way, it is always a bit of a surprise to me to realize they have spent so much time in finding the objects they want, buying them and then placing them around the house.

This sort of organization is alien to me.

I moved to my apartment a year ago and I got but only very recently the first pieces of furniture for it: bookshelves and two nightstands. Still, it was a hard decision.

If I don’t feel I am always ready to be on the move, it feels strange.

I have never liked anchors.