The Articulation of Dreams

Werner Herzog (the "duke") is portraid in the documentary about his grandiose movie "Fitzcarraldo" in "Burden of Dreams" and as much as I was mesmerized when I first saw "Fitzcarraldo", I was much more so after seing how he managed to accomplish such a seemingly impossible dream.

The man is a Genius, I mean Mad, I mean Genius ... Mad.

The fruit of his labor which he paid with blood and sweat (literally) is for us to enjoy, delight in, be in awe of.

It is hard to discern the main character in the movie - Fitzgerald (played by Kinsky) in "Fitzcarraldo" from Herzog in "Burden of Dreams", they morph into one entity looking to pursue their dreams at any cost.

I am inspired !

Ousmane's best ?

What a great movie from Ousmane Sembene and for me his best (although Guelwaar comes close). I have not seen all his movies yet. I saw "La noir de ...", "Mandabi", "Xala"

The horrible subject of female genital mutilation is addressed here as well as other subjects not as gruesome but equally important such as the role of women in African society,

A must see !! Spread the word.

Ousmane, rest in Peace, your work will live forever.

Yo soy un hombre sincero

de donde crece la palma,

Y antes de morirme quiero

Echar mis versos del alma.

Yo vengo de todas partes,

Y hacia todas partes voy:

Arte soy entre las artes,

En los montes, monte soy.

Yo se los nombres estranos,

de las yerbas y las flores,

Y de mortales enganos,

Y de sublimes dolores.

Yo he visto en la noche oscura

Llover sobre mi cabeza,

Los rayos de lumbre pura

De la divina belleza.

(...)

Si dicen que del joyero

Tome la joya mejor,

Tomo a un amigo sincero

Y pongo a un lado el amor.

Yo he visto al aguila herida

volar al azul sereno,

Y morir en su guarida

la vibora del veneno.

Yo se bien que cuando el mundo

cede, livido, al descanso,

Sobre el silencio profundo

Murmura el arroyo manso.

(...)

Todo es hermoso y constante

Todo es musica y razon,

Y todo, como el diamante,

Antes que luz es carbon.

Yo se que al necio se entierra

Con gran lujo y con gran llanto, -

Y que no hay fruta en la tierra

Como la del camposanto.

Callo, y entiendo, y me quito

La pompa del rimador:

Cuelgo de un arbol marchito

Mi muceta de doctor.

Poesia de Jose Marti

Despues de la pelicula "Lost City" de Andy Garcia donde recito esse poema al final, tuvo que buscarlo para leerlo en completo. 

Aqui estan algunas partes.

Habana Blues

Una pelicula maravillosa. 

No la conocia pero la estaban passando en la television y empece a mirarla y no pudo parar. 

El tema es la musica, la amistad, la familia, el nacionalismo ...

El dilema de unos musicos en Habana, especialmente de dos amigos, uno con ganas de salir del pais (Tito) a qualquier precio y el otro (Ruy) que no quiere comprometer su musica y sus conviciones por ningum precio. Al mismo tiempo la familia de Ruy se esta disolviendo, la esposa y los hijos a camino de Miami en una lancha ... 

esta muy bien retratada la situacion, la actuacion excelente y esses hijos de la madre de los dos protagonistas principales (Ruy y Tito) son hermosos ... tengo ganas de les dar una ... dentadita 

A donde vas ??

A comprar una botella de rum que la mia se acabo ! 

Simple Truths

Before enlightenment

chopping wood

carrying water

After enlightenment

chopping wood

carrying water

ZEN PROVERB

From: "Wisdom of the Ages" By Wayne W. Dyer

In my attempts to exercise my mental as well as my physical body, I have come across many such moments when a light comes on an I become aware.

That is the whole point of this proverb, according to Dyer - enlightenment is not an attainment, it is a realization.

The world around us does not change but rather our perception/awareness/realization of it.

That's deep Man !!

Lust, Caution - American Gangster

Two very different movies.

I saw American Gansgter first. Action packed. Always a treat to see Denzel in action. Interesting story of the top gangster in Harlem and beyond in the late 60s early 70s that put the Italians to shame.

The latest movie from director Ang Lee Lust, Action is a gem. Its two main stars shine and slowly penetrate (no pun intended) into your mind. The seductress' innocence is compelling and the monster's gentleness gut wrenching.
Superb performances by first time actress Tang Wei and veteran actor Tony Leung. Worth staying up later for.

Oil of Vetiver

Close your eyes.

Take a deep breath.

Inhale slowly, taking it in little by little ...

uhmm ... it is Vetiver - an old friend. 

How good to smell you again.

Vetiver is also called the oil of tranquility. 

It calms the nerves and provides a feeling of balance and grounding.

It reliefs tension and stress and could be useful for insomnia.

It is mild, it is safe.

It is rare.

Vetiveria ziazaniodes is cultivated in Java, India, Reunion, Angola, Brazil and Japan.

The wild variety is only found in North India and yields the most exotic fragrance of them all.

I may not have access to the rarest of this scents but the one I am in the presence of right now soothes me just fine.

It conjures memories of long ago and far away, 

of youth, discovery and innocence.

The Power of O

Sunset at Orient beach, St. Martin

"We must be the change we want to see in the world." —Gandhi

O here is for OPRAH !!!

... changing the collective consciousness !

She did it again and this time she was able to bring together more then half a million people on the internet simoultaneously !!!

On Monday March 3, Oprah and Eckhart Tolle started the first of a weekly interactive webcast about the book "A New Earth".

This webcast attracted such a large audience that more then 500,000 people (I think the number was close to 700,000) signed up from all over the world.

It allowed participants to Skype in or call or send email with their questions.

- Be still and know that there is GOD !

Powerful stuff and quite appropriate for me at this point in my life.

The Power of Words

Words.

They can move you, 

they can groove you.

They can touch and they can hurt.

I have been playing with words in this realm lately and if I am to reach out to others I have to be careful with my words.

I want to be able to maintain my stream of consciousness without too much self imposed boundaries - it starts to mess up with the authenticity.

But I think I am trying too hard to communicate in too many languages: English, Portugues, Kriolu, none of which I fully dominate at this point.

So forgive me for my inappropriate use of words. 

My intention is only to bring a smile to the lips, not a tear to the eyes and definitely, definitely, NOT heaviness to the heart. 

Doing that would only have a multiplied effect on me.

To my "blog-friend" KB to whom I may have touched the wrong way and in turn caused me to feel a very heavy heart for the past few days.

Peace and Love !

The Fisherman

The Fisherman laid on the beach, fishing pole stuck in the sand and anchored between his feet.

He could distinguish between the subtle motions of the waves and the sudden pull of fish biting.

He was approached by another man armed with the idea of progress.

Fisherman, why don't you get a boat and go fish in the high seas ? - asked the man.

For what? -  demanded the fisherman - I get all the fish I need right here.

Well, if you get a boat and a net you can catch more fish and sell the one you don't need - replied the man.

And what would I do with the money ? - inquired the fisherman. 

You can buy a bigger boat, get some sonar equipment, freezers, a crew and catch tons of fish - said the man enthusiastically.

This sounds like a lot of work -  I would have to deal with crews, customers, technical equipment I am not familiar with ... when would I have time to lay on the beach again ? - asked the fisherman visibly worried.

Not to worry - replied the man who had brought progress from across the seas and did not understand the way life runs in paradise - you can work for many years and then when you have amassed a large fortune, you can retire and lay on the beach again ...

This story was told to us by a friend sent to the Solomon Islands on an European project to bring development to the island

If you can't stand the hit ...

It has been a while that even I noticed it - "stuff" accumulating inside me not able to come out but sometimes writing it makes it better, even if just a tiny lil' bit.

When I started this blog I had a few things in mind: make it as intimate as possible (without being too revealing of course, no names ... :-), stick with positive vibes or observations of what is happening around me and keep it as close from the outside world as possible.

Well, I think I managed the first two well but the last one surprised me today...
I've been spotted !
I had the first comment on my blog.
Well, not that I am totally surprised, I did divulge my whereabouts to a few good friends but nonetheless, I started questioning my whole endeavor and truthfully, started becoming a bit self conscious ... but then again, the fears disappeared, I have to stick with my original plan and continue my online diary as planned, from the inside out and not the other way around.