Dr. Cornel West to President Obama

Are you listening President Obama?

Cornel West's note to Obama - January 20, 2010
Enviado por Ladypolitik. - Noticias em video na hora

Hope so.

Carnaval season has begun

It’s almost 1:00 pm and Luiz is still asleep. We got home at 4:00 am last night (this morning). Carnaval season has officially gotten started for us. Yesterday we went to Beija Flor da Nilópolis’ rehearsal. I love me some community partying.

In two cars we drove the 40 minutes or so to get to Nilópolis, a suburb of Rio and very proud home of the Beija Flor samba school. Beija Flor (Humming Bird) is a 60 year old school (community carnaval organization) that has taken first place in Rio’s annual competition in 5 of the past 7 years. The enthusiasm for this school runs high and is widespread.

Thursday night is rehearsal night and the entire neighborhood turns out. The street in front of the quadra (club space, rehearsal hall) is shut down and packed with food, beverage and T-shirt vendors. Everyone from 75 year old revelers who have been parading with Beija Flor since the beginning to 10 year old soon-to-be passistas (featured, celebrated, samba beauties extraordinaire) with their older sister are gathering in the hall to sing and dance – and learn their choreography.

The bateria (300+ member percussion group) pounded out the rhythm while a group of men sang the samba – again, and again, and again – for hours. It never got old. In fact it was hypnotizing and energizing

We hung out in a corner next to the Baianas ala (parade section featuring senior women) while they dutifully kept in line waiting for the word to march forward and rehearse.

Nothing but smiles. Everywhere smiles. Everyone dancing. All night.

Have I mentioned that I love Brazil?

Keeping it real - and delicious

When Luiz and I were packing up all our worldly belongings in San Francisco to move here two years ago, I hoarded a huge stack of cookbooks in my “must go” pile. I love to cook and I particularly love to cook ethnic meals and fancy baked goods. After forcing myself to pare down the choices, I brought with me 12 different cookbooks (plus some choice magazines and booklets).



Now I think – what was up with that? The internet crosses all culinary boundaries and offers an infinite number of recipes, basic and more complicated.

Plus – the internet has given me access to Brazilian recipes I then encourage Luiz to make for us (see earlier post regarding my not cooking Brazilian meals).



Some sites and blogs inspire me to try new things. Some remind me how to do the most basic things without fail (like banana pancakes). Mostly I enjoy perusing the net for something new using available ingredients.

Here are a few sources I use to keep me excited and to help me cook my best.

Ceramic Canvas
Cooking Light
Cozinha da Nina
Hoje em Dia
Mais Você
Smitten Kitchen
Technicolor Kitchen
Weight Watchers
Worlds Healthiest Foods

And of course I simply Google searches for recipes when the question arises.

It's been two years already

Two years ago today Luiz and I got off the plane at the international airport in Rio de Janeiro – starting our new chapter together here in Brazil.

By then we had left our (super cheap) rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco, sold most of our belongings, placed the rest in a container for shipping to Niterói, walked away from our gainful employment (including the health insurance covering Luiz only two months after his cancer diagnosis), spent four wonderful weeks with my mother and her partner in Florida to catch up on and soak up more family love – to have then finally turned the page to begin anew in Brazil.

Two years. Seems shorter.

I gotta tell ya, no regrets. It’s been a great ride.

My favorites:
- Beaches, beaches, beaches
- Loving and embracing new family and friends
- A slower work life
- Exploring new food and drink
- Seeing Luiz being so loved by his mother
- Everyone’s commitment to joyfulness

My frustrations:
- The strange combination of new technology and old-school bureaucracy
- The relative lack of privacy in our extended family
- Low salaries combined with really expensive consumer goods
- Few friends are prepared to travel to Brazil for a visit

Had I to do it all over again… you bet I would!

Thanks for sticking with us.

American comfort food

Last night I made good old fashion 'traditional' American-style hamburgers. You know the ones: thick, juicy, with onions, garlic, salt and pepper mixed into the ground meat, served with cheese and grilled onions, tomato, lettuce, ketchup and mustard. Plus moments-ago-fresh hamburger buns from the bakery down the street.

Luiz and I had to pinch ourselves. We practically said in unison: "Why haven't we been making these more often?"

To be fair, the burgers here are great. They are always fried in a pan or on a flat grill. I’ve never seen ground meat at a BBQ (unless spiced and wrapped around a skewer, Lebanese style – mmm-mmm!)

Late-night munchies are often satisfied by a humungous “X-tudo.” I love this twist of language. The letter X in Portuguese is pronounced “sheesh.” This sounds somewhat like the English word “cheese.” The Portuguese word for “everything” is “tudo.” So if you want a Cheese Burger with Everything you ask for a X-tudo. And believe me – Brazilians know the meaning of “with everything.” Fried egg included.

But in the end – man I loved that home town burger last night!

Brazilian cooking

I have a rule. I never cook Brazilian food for Brazilians. That includes my husband, his parents, our friends, new friends, nobody. It is a set-up for disappointment – on all accounts.



Without fail I will have forgotten to remove a bitter vein, used too little salt, chopped things too large, boiled things too briefly, sliced things too thin, added too many extraneous spices, served the meal without a crucial accompaniment, failed to make something sweet enough – the list goes on.

I have learned my lesson.

Me – I am the guy who cooks exotic things from around the world! Authentic Chinese stir-fry, curiously delicious Mexican mainstays, delicious American hometown favorites, odd but tasty finger foods from the Middle East, robust Italian tomato sauces over vegetable pastas, vegetable side dishes never before conceived, and desserts that expand on tart or purée themes.



That’s how I prefer it. I don’t fail to cook correctly, I try to cook things that are forever a curiosity and a delight to my Brazilian guests.

It must be said that many of my family and friends are not interested in having their culinary world expanded. Dare I say that I’ve found many Brazilians a bit hesitant to try something out of the ordinary? Still, for me, this is the route I have taken. It works for me.

Sometimes I am the only one eating what I have cooked. My father-in-law will often not even try what I have prepared. But hey – it’s all good. Tastes differ. Generations think differently.

I choose to embrace the new cooking ingredients in front of me and try new things.

Luiz Health Update

Short and sweet: We went to the Cancer Institute last week. Luiz's Complete Blood Count numbers are stable. Some have improved (his platelets count is now actually hovering in the normal range!) and those that have progressed in the wrong direction have done so only within the margin of error included in the measurement.

It was nice to hear the doctor remark on the negligble progression from one year ago. So often we focus on the incremental changes and Luiz is frequently saddened by the slow march forward. But at this stage of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia game we really have to keep a perspective that looks out over a longer time period to be reminded just how stable his situation has been and continues to be.