Hear yea, here yea! I declare this a dual purpose blog entry!
First purpose is a stat update: As of last week this blog has had over 1300 hits from over 500 different users around the world: You should all be either very proud or very ashamed of yourselves depending on your personal standards. I prefer to remain neutral until I figure out what everyone else is doing. I then plan on jumping onto the most popular bandwagon so long as it meets my highest personal safety standards. I chose my personal safety standards using the bandwagon methodology as well.
Second item of maximum extreme importance: I have hereby begun my self sabotage attack on none other than myself! The first barrage in my intricate and secretive strategy was today's ambush. By soliciting an alliance with Wagner who I hired as a covert propaganda ninja we managed to stage this photo which should ruin any of the victims professional integrity. This "divide and conquer" approach should cause his colleagues to ostracize him leaving him professionally isolated and vulnerable to the next phase of the strategy: subliminal psychological warfare. Stay tuned. PS: My motives for this attack have not yet been determined.
As promised, finally took some footage of the famous figueira tree Florianopolis' centro (downtown). I ran out of batteries twice while filming this cause it's so big. Also cause I wasted all my batteries on 7 time F1 Champion Michael Schumacher and his faithful go kart (which died on him during the 2nd heat). Its probably a good thing that I ran out of power cause I probably would have kept walking around that tree in wonderment forever despite my fear of the street toughs who are also attracted to it's aura. My camera would have probably just looooooved that though. You see technically, walking around the tree 3 times with someone, engages you both in instant matrimony without the option for a prenup. That's just what my FujiFilm FinePix s1000 would have wanted. She's been after data bank account since day one. Maxing out my memory cards all the time. Begging me to take her to pictures of fancy restaurants... I am sick and tired of her free-uploading ways. I'm getting rid of her the first indecent pro-photo shoot I get.
Enjoy the video:
Here is a bronze plaque to commemorate the planting of the tree. As the enlightened of you already know; the bronze plaque will soon be accepted as the #1 indicator of historical importance known to man. I'm not sure where I read that but I think it was on a stone plaque somewhere. Anyway please take the time to stare at this picture in frustration. A rough translation conjured up by "google translate" and I is offered below.
Much has been written, in prose and verse, of our traditional fig tree. This majestic lush green canopy gives the "November 15" square more grace and beauty, always keeping it beautiful and splendid!
It was a summer morning, sunny and full of life in the month of February 1891, that the young fig, perhaps twenty years old, was removed from the garden of the matrix, and affectionately replanted here. (a chronical of Tolentino's major Alvaro de Souza)
Some more pics are provided below. The one right under this is going to be my blog header for a while. I took it using my panoramic setting. You like?
I'm gonna start this blog entry with a rhetorical question. You may submit your answers to me via my gmail account.
"Have YOU ever witnessed a go karting race featuring some of the worlds best known leaders like Michael Gorbachev, Barak Obama and Kofi Annan?"
The correct answer is no. I haven't either, but you have to admit that it would be pretty cool. Instead, this weekend, I settled for a go-karting race in Florianopolis which featured NASCAR's Jeff Gordon, F1's Felipe Massa, and his teammate, 7 time Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher. Not a bad line up. I mean they are no Jigme Thinley or Ivo Sanader but they do have a modest following in the underground go-karting world.
Anyway, I went on Saturday to see the qualifiers and that was all good and well. Got lots of sun (avoided a burn) and pictures. I ate this cool desert which rivals the Ottawa Beavertail. They are called churros. Churros are basically cylinder shaped pieces of deep fried (corn?) dough, filled with your choice of either caramel, milk chocolate or dark chocolate icing, rolled in cinnamon and sugar. The fact that it is brought to your seat completes the experience. I had 2 of them and immediately called a my gym's 24 hour toll free confession line. Here is an artists rendition of me enjoying one of these Lucifer Snacks TM at... lets say; an international go-karting championship featuring 7 time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher.
Sunday was the day of the race. An estimated 12,000 fans. Here are 3 of them: For those interested in reading about the trivial parts of the race such as the outcome feel free to open this link in a new browser. You can read it once your done your second reading my blog. Now getting back to my antics: the race was preluded (thats right... I conjugated it) by some formalities. I YouTubed some video for all to see. Here are the racers lining up for the start of the 1st heat.
Coincidentally, famed tennis star Gustavo Kuerten came walking down the very street that the race was being held on! I took immediate advantage of the situation by filming the event.
Here is a podium shot of the overall winners. Rubens Barrichello is clearly giving me the "stink eye", that SOB bastard! Thinks he can champagne on my parade does he? What does he know anyway?
Post podium, the winners wasted wine as is tradition in the go-karting community. After this video all my pictures and videos are shot through a slightly blurry lens. I blame the media, but some argue that Lucas Di Grassi was the main culprit. Rubens Barrichello was also at the scene of the crime but if anything, the silent Felipe Massa was likely the massa-mind behind it all.
Here are the girls that were so kind as to hold umbrellas and signs for the racers with their names on them so that they remember the correct spelling.
After that shoot was over there was only one thing left to do: meet some local celebrities! Strategically, I decided to start at the municipal level, meeting Florianopolis Mayor Dario Elias Berger. Now if my memory serves him, our conversation went something like this: Mike: Dear good sir Mayor, what a fine event you have provided for your constituency on this day, The Day of The Great Race! Mayor: I could not agree with you more fair and simple peasant. The day was unblemished by any coups at any level of government. Mike: You are correct sir. I would add that accusations of corruption are also at an all time low: a great cause for celebration! Mayor: Another excellent observation kind minion of the land! I share your enthusiasm for our population containment strategies and wish you a long life of devotion to the flag! Be gone! Now I can't remember all the details of the conversation, for example which parts were left in, which ones were left out, which ones were taken in or out of context or which ones were merely slanderous without basis. But if there one thing that I can assure you; its that this conversation may have taken place but it probably didn't.
After that the governor of the state of Santa Catarina had the pleasure of meeting me. Or at least the people around me.
Here are some more amazing pictures highlighting some of 7 time Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher's greatest achievements: "Oh! 7 time Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher, what great honor won't be bestowed upon you?!"
Also, in an unexpected turn of events, it was declared that I had won the race. I was immediately granted irrevocable knighthood by the 5 richest kings of Brazil, which topped off my day nicely.
In between all the celebrities, action and volcanoes, there were some interludes where the go-karts would drive around the track for extended periods of time, which seemed to distract the crowd enough to avoid an uprising. I have some digital media recordings of that as well which will be saved for another time. It should be noted however that I did see 7 time Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher crash a go-kart into a wall of tires bounce off it pulling a fluid 360 and get right back into the race. I only have a short video of me laughing my ass off and then another of him with a bent fender. Again, I'm saving those for a slow news day.
As many of you may or may not be aware I had plans of going to Rio de Janeiro this weekend with Sonia who had been visiting me this past week. We canceled our trip to Rio mainly because of the weather has been so terrible in Rio (although they haven't had the mudslides that our state has). Anywho, I managed to salvage the weekend by taking advantage of some work related extra curricular activities. I have lots to write about so I will start with Firday night then write the rest as I have time.
Friday:
Replicating an ancient tradition at Stela, we have re-started playing Football on Fridays. Although their version of Football has none of the same rules that we are used to. It resembles something closer to a combination of soccer, theater and pretending to be an airplane.
12 or 13 of us participated and it was a lot of fun. We all met directly after work at the gas station where it is customary for football teams to drink their warm up round of beer before heading to the inside turf field (Similar to hockey "cerveja leagues" in Canada). We divided up some teams and proceeded to the kickoff. They are really terrible at this part and I think that I can really help them on strategy here. Anyway like I said, they pretty much play only with their feet, which is primarily why I draw the comparison to soccer.
I got the ball within about 2 minutes into the game. I ran for about 10 metres and proceeded to fall for no apparent reason. I explained to them that in Canada, when you play with a new group it is proper etiquette to fall flat on your face, (preferably scraping your knee) when first touching the ball. This, I explained is a sign of respect to the other players and their ancestors. I'm pretty sure that they appreciated my gesture and we continued to play but this time with a deeper understanding of our cultural differences.
We played for about an hour after which I was dead. I need to play some hockey to get my "wind" back. This is a good way to do it. Anyway that accounts for my Friday night. I went home and straight to be cause Saturday was a big day and only a lead up for Sunday (lots of video and pictures and celebrities).
Some might say that I am a highly intelligent, modest, generous, irresistably good looking, powerful, confident, wise, ruthless and yet a gentle, heroic and thriving young man. Now I would have quite the uphill battle arguing against them, but they would be outright mistaken to leave out my caring and forgiving nature, which is the keystone of the Mike that loved and cherished by us all... not to mention a pillar of modern society, a gentalman and a scholar. I think that I've talked enough about myself for now. What do you have to say about me?
Basically I do things, then I write about them. Other times, I don't do things, then I write about them. I also don't care to make the distinction at the time of writing. Read at own peril.
"If it ain't broke, your not putting enough bicep into it." - Mike McNulty
