Merry

Christmas

and a

Happy New Year!

Feliz Natal

e

Um próspero Ano Novo!

status: traveling

had to show this

For those who are unaware, I have been taking ballroom classes for quite some time now. Last Sunday there was a ball thrown by my dance school.  They played rhythms like Samba-Gafieira,  Forró,  cha-cha-cha,  Salsa,  Bolero,  Zouk among some others. The most popular rhythm is Samba, but I can say I enjoy dancing all of them.

The first pic below shows almost everyone on the dance floor. And yes, I was there somewhere. I just didn’t take more pics of myself because I had forgotten to take my own cam.

Down, that´s my friend and her dance partner at that presentetation.  He group is the most advanced at school and they made a Samba de Gafieira performance.  Some of the pics were taken by me, so sorry if the quality is not that good.

Then, some more….

Dance classes have now become something I simply love. It has been an old dream of mine and now I have been living it little by little. Good points of it, is the way we develop the way to listen to music. Every time I listen to some songs, I do think of dance steps.  So sad I haven’t got a gentleman  closer to whom I can practice more.It´s ok though.

www.andretoffani.com the site of the school. in Portuguese, but you can click “entrar” then ”eventos” and check some photos too.

Universal Language

Is there such a thing as The Truth?

The universe is a strange and baffling place. It doesn’t have a good track record for making a lot of sense. Even when we unlock its secrets there are only bigger mysteries waiting around the corner to confound us. The easy solution is to throw your hands (or wings) up in the air and give up on the whole business of sorting fact from fiction. But the true heroes march on, confronting paradoxes, tackling enigmas, and battling the Hordes of Relativism in a fight to the death.

Reality is like a giant multi-dimensional puzzle. It can be complicated. It can have a weird shape, texture, color, and feel. The Truth is our humble attempt to come to grips with Reality and describe it in accurate ways.

Most everyone agrees that there are mathematical truths. Then there are timeless truths like—”a stitch in time saves nine.” Generalizations that are true most of the time. And then there are observed truths like—”the tomato is red.” Something which you could document with a photograph and get the vast majority of clinically sane people to agree on.

There are often many different ways of looking at things. But one of those ways happens to be objectively. A detached viewpoint that does not take personal bias into account. It may be impossible to completely disregard our subjective perceptions in some situations. Our thoughts are always somewhat shaped by the language we use. Our assumptions are based on our experiences. And we are innately emotional creatures with a strong tendency to become personally invested in certain interpretations of reality. But the statement “there is no such thing as the truth” is self-contradictory. It is a statement that cannot be “True”. The mind reels.

Beyond all of that, Warriors of Truth are always faced with the disturbing possibility of being Wrong. The best antidote to this problem is to embrace your mistakes. They are golden opportunities for learning.

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written when recently attempting to get a certificate in English. Got a B on it. Well.. I passed. What else is true in my world? Got fired for the first time from one of the schools. Boss said it was not personal, but she thought I was not organized enough. But seriously?  I was too tired.  Felt bad on the day, but already got a better job. As for the dance… Oh… I have been dancing a lot. And work at church has saved me from madness. And ah! I have been hoocked on F.R.I.E.N.D.S lately. I have much more to share, but time still holds me away from net and Xanga. I see people have been forgeting me here. It´s ok. I haven´t gotten much time either.. Take care, you all!

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São Paulo

Summer vacation is coming here, and most people like me will leave the city. We usually say that it is a city for those who work. Or like working. Maybe it is because we haven´t got  neither beaches or mountains, but that´s not quite true. The city is charming ans it has rich cuisine and cultural life. Those pictures were takes some time back while walking around downtown. São Paulo is much more than that, but I just decided to show a bit of what I´m leaving soon, before showing some of what I´ll have as vacation…

São Paulo is the third largest city in the world. There are almost 18 milion people living in it. São Paulo is also the most important city in Latin America. With its 5 milion cars, the city has one of the worst traffic jams in the world. I recommend that you  visit São Paulo during school vacations (July, December and January). In SP you certainly have a lot of things to do. Just check them out (click on the pictures to see them on original size):

Paulista avenue is the main postcard of São Paulo. It´s the most important street of the city. There are many modern buildings. On Paulista av. you can also visit the most important museum of Latin America, MASP (São Paulo´s Art Museum) and a beautiful park: Parque Siqueira Campos, known as Trianon Park. TIP: You should visit Paulista av. on Sundays and take a walk.

Have a nice day!

The Tension