Purpose?

Reminder: this is a blog with cultural bulimia -- a "compulsive consumption of images that only leaves us hungry for more".

Via kottke.

BRAZILIAN MUSIC -- DJ Marlboro: "the godfather of the Brazilian funk scene", "also referred to as “baile funk” or “funk carioca”—which, confusingly, does not resemble American funk music but, rather, sounds like Miami bass fused with Brazilian singing and drumming."

Kitchenbeard has Blog depression?

To improve their observation skills, NYPD officers are observing Vermeers and other paintings in the Frick Collection.

The Scissor Sisters concert at Mercury Lounge looks like it was a lot of fun. Fluxblog also has a link to the song they performed at Live8. Via towleroad.

"Rumor of the Day: Mike Piazza & Sam Champion to build a Love Nest. (if there’s anyone we trust on the latest in pitchers and catchers, it’s the hairdresser)" Via Gawker.

Filthy *and* Vulgar.

"'The Aristocrats' is - how shall I put it? - an essay film, a work of painstaking and penetrating scholarship, and, as such, one of the most original and rigorous pieces of criticism in any medium I have encountered in quite some time.

For those of you who have not already put down your newspaper and rushed off to buy tickets (and I hereby authorize the advertising department at ThinkFilm to plaster the previous sentence wherever it likes), perhaps I should add that 'The Aristocrats' is also possibly the filthiest, vilest, most extravagantly obscene documentary ever made."

A. O. Scott for the New York Times

How the Other Half Shvitzes: "We count at least six reasons this would never work in Manhattan. (Beer cozies is just one of them.) But, still: Man, that looks nice." [Gawker]

Annette Bening in Running with Scissors: great casting! (Thanks Mr.RT)

"Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian shot dead in the head, was not wearing a heavy jacket that might have concealed a bomb, and did not jump the ticket barrier when challenged by armed plainclothes police, his cousin said yesterday." [Guardian Unlimited]

Gap's virtual stripper: Watch Me Change.

It's Catching by David Sedaris: Worms, germs, and Christmas.

Photo Shoot.

This week is Belo Horizonte Fashion Week and I am trying the waters, timidly. I guess I am moving towards acceptance of my situation. And doing something.

Yesterday we were shooting the Summer 2006 catalog for a Fashion label here with the supermodel Shirley Mallman. (Brazilians are still into the "supermodel" thing. Remember, trends move slower down south.)

And, when you almost lost all hope: Ricky Martin seeks end to Arab stereotypes.

How to lace your shoes, 24 different ways. Via kottke.

In love with your own stomach.

World's Oldest Dildo Discovered.

Quote.

"Always buy something red if you're blue"

From the beautifully written eulogy by Maureen Dowd to her mother. (One would think I could quote something more substancial... I guess I am shallow, as Mr. DF says.)

They score again.

"Mayor Bloomberg apologized to the five Sikh men visiting from Britain who who were handcuffed, forced to kneel, and basically put on display when a Gray Line tour bus employee called the NYPD because she thought they were suspicious." [Gothamist]

With Gabi.

Check.

"1. In your social circle, you have at least 3 friends with the same first name, and they are identified by their country of origin. Examples: Brazilian Tony, Spanish Tony, Italian Tony.

4. Over the last ten years, you've been to ten different nightclubs, and they were all in the same room.

5. Over the last three days, you've been to three different parties, with three different names, and they were all in the same room.

8. You know at least five people who claim to have been at The Saint when it closed.

10. You can't name your Congressman, but you can name the last five residencies held by Junior Vasquez.

11. You not only remember where you were on September 11th, you remember who you fucked that night.

12. You think that all of your friends ended up at sex parties during the blackout, but you didn't.

15. You have been in a huge crowd, surrounded by your best friends, having the time of your life....but you decide to leave, in order to beat the line at coat check."

Joe. My. God.: Gothamite Sodomite Identifiers.

Gonna Make My Brown Eyes Blue.

"I’m saying a prayer today for all the brown eyed, dark haired people in this world (especially in London) who are living their lives in fear. Police are shooting men in the head because they look Middle Eastern, when, in actuality, they’re South American." [Pop Culture Junkies]

They are also the ones that will have their bags checked at the NY Subway. Hey, that's me.

Point for the terrorists II.

"London's top police official says he regrets the death of a Brazilian national shot and killed by armed officers in a subway station but defends the policy of shooting to kill suspected suicide bombers." CNN

The Supremes.

Well, I guess we're all excited that President Bush announced his nomination to the Supreme Court, John Roberts. That's right. Bush searched far and wide before he made the risky choice of a white guy in his 50's.
— David Letterman

President Bush said the job of the Supreme Court is extremely important because as you know these are the people who choose the president of the United States.
— Jay Leno

Last night President Bush announced that he was nominating Judge John Roberts to the Supreme Court. Bush said he picked Roberts because he had 'one of the finest legal minds since Matlock.'
— Conan O'Brien

Laugh Lines.

Pride 2005, NYC.

C'mon. Tell us how you really feel.

"If these words were people, I would embrace their genocide":

"Blogger: Term used to describe anyone with enough time or narcissism to document every tedious bit of minutia filling their uneventful lives. Possibly the most annoying thing about bloggers is the sense of self-importance they get after even the most modest of publicity. Sometimes it takes as little as a referral on a more popular blogger's website to set the lesser blogger's ego into orbit."

Via Andrew Sullivan: "(It)'s a splendid piece of splenetic rage. I disagree, of course, but it's always fun to read someone go off."

Point for the terrorists.

New York City will begin tomorrow morning randomly checking bags at subway stations, commuter railways and on buses, officials announced today.

"People who do not submit to a search will be allowed to leave, but will not be permitted into the subway station. The police commissioner said officers would take pains to avoid singling people out for searches based on race or ethnicity."

TOTALLY UNRELATED, except that it was also found in today's NYTimes:

"Don't get me wrong: I love a big, ugly tomato as much as the next girl."

Consumer Philosophy by Tar-zhay: "In what other country on the planet would you find a store that sells a cup of coffee for more than a pair of children's shoes?"

Why, oh why?

"Come one, come all, and behold the glory that is Calvin Klein’s new Times Square campaign! Gaze upon the starving models — all real, all live — as they inhabit a giant perfume-bottle house and slouch about New York City’s first “live” billboard." [Gawker]

More pictures: A Socialite's Life.

Secret of the week.

"When a Man Dies in a Sex Act with a Horse -- What's a Reporter to Do?."

"How Do You Spell Relief For Rove?
S-U-P-R-E-M-E C-O-U-R-T A-N-N-O-U-N-C-E-M-E-N-T..."

I HEART LOST: "Via Pop Culture Junkies comes this promo for the series Lost which was apparently shot by David LaChapelle." [towleroad]

A family walks into a talent agency...

I have no hope "The Aristocrats" will land in Brazil anytime soon. And that's the kind of thing that makes it hard to imagine living here. For me, at least.

It's a documentary about one old, very dirty joke, with comedians from the Stone Age (Phyllis Diller, Larry Storch) to the modern era (Jon Stewart, Bob Saget) telling it over and over while discussing its history and lore.

The joke has been told since vaudeville days, though hardly ever in public. It's like a comedians' trade secret.

I won't bore you with the joke's setup. The middle is too crude to repeat, and varies with the teller anyway, which is the joke's whole point. It's an improvised tale about a depraved family's unspeakable habits, piling up the sexual and scatological horrors until the tension relieving, two-word punch line ("The Aristocrats!"). At this point the comedian's audience will either double over in hilarity or stare at him blankly. [You'll Laugh. You'll Cry. You'll Look Puzzled.]

Watch the trailer.

The Aristocrats Joke Database.

Sunday Times.

"The quiet (and disquiet) of a swim in solitude."

"Our former nanny, a 26-year-old former teacher with excellent references, liked to touch her breasts while reading The New Yorker and often woke her lovers in the night by biting them. She took sleeping pills, joked about offbeat erotic fantasies involving Tucker Carlson and determined she'd had more female sexual partners than her boyfriend. How do I know these things? I read her blog.

I have always believed that an elected official's private life is not a part of the public record. Before and after the Mayor Jim West episode, I have heard colleagues discuss outing legislators who oppose gay rights but are rumored to be gay. What are the ethics in this case? State Senator Ken Jacobsen, Seattle
The Ethicist answers.

"If you think about how much is going on in the background, and how calm the pose is, it creates a wonderful dissonance." The Cloths That Filled Matisse's Canvases.

20 Things That Only Happen In Movies

1. It is always possible to find a parking spot directly outside or opposite the building you are visiting.

2. When paying for a taxi, don't look at your wallet as you take out a note. Just grab one out at random and hand it over. It will always be the exact fare.

3. Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at the precise moment it's aired.

4. Creepy music (or satanic chanting) coming from a graveyard should always be closely investigated.

5. Any lock can be picked with a credit card or paperclip in seconds. UNLESS it's the door to a burning building with a child inside.

6. If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into will know all the steps.

7. All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red digital displays so you know exactly when they are going to explode.

8. Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to learn to speak German. Simply speaking English with a German accent will do. Similarly, when they are alone, all German soldiers prefer to speak English to each other.

9. Once applied, lipstick will never rub off. Even while scuba diving.

10. The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window of any building in Paris.

11. Any police officer about to retire from the force will more often than not die on their last day (especially if their family have planned a party). (Caveat: Detectives can only solve a case after they have been suspended from duty).

12. Getaway cars never start first go. But all cop cars do. (They will also slide to a dramatic stop in the midst of a crime scene).

13. If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises wearing their most revealing underwear.

14. On a police stake-out, the action will only ever take place when food is being consumed and scalding hot coffees are perched precariously on the dashboard . . .

15. All grocery shopping involves the purchase of French loaves which will be placed in open brown paper bags (Caveat: when said bags break, only fruit will spill out).

16. Cars never need fuel (unless they're involved in a pursuit).

17. If you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts, your opponents will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around you in a threatening manner until you have defeated their predecessor.

18. If a microphone is turned on it will immediately feedback.

19. Guns are like disposable razors. If you run out of bullets, just throw the gun away. you will always find another one.

20. All single women have a cat.

Through the lenses of Joe. My. God.: Terrence & Mr. V at the 2005 Pier Dance.

Just read 1776 by David McCullough. Didn't expect to have so much fun...

The last letter of Gary Benchley, Rock Star: The Last Waltz. He was told by an editor “I think you have a novel in you.” "For a moment that grossed me out. If I have a novel in me, I want it out of there. It’s probably blocking my colon."

It happened last week: A Week of Urban Grit in New York City.

Demi Moore does Versace via Gawker.

Charges dropped against NY Gay Marriage Mayor. [365Gay.com]

God's Love.

Soho, 6th Avenue @ Spring Street.

Back in Belo Horizonte.

I decided to come back to Brasil last thursday, which was (sort of) my original plan.

I had been feeling awful with a cold - I was having a hard time breathing - and the fact I didn't have a doctor in New York anymore was making me apprehensive. I got to Belo Horizonte and my doctor told me to go straight to the emergency room for some x-ray and it turn out I had a lung infection. So, i'm on antibiotics now, but feeling much better.

I should be back in 2-3 months, my immigration interview is not set yet so hopefully we will have time to hang out (more).

Whether you’re a brother.

I’ve been kicked around since I was born.
And now it’s all right. it’s ok.
And you may look the other way.
We can try to understand
The new york times’ effect on man.

Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother,
You’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.

I heard Eldissa by accident while in New York last week. They "re-imagine the disco and soul classics as chilled Bossa Nova grooves, with a touch of Lounge music". Sounds cheesy but sounds so good...

Meanwhile, during the G8 meeting...

"Let's have a minute of silence... who has a watch?"

from Folha de São Paulo, 07/09/05.

Movie experiences.

I saw War of the Worlds and Mad Hot Ballroom on the same day and I couldn't have planned for more antagonistic experiences.

War of the Worlds is the huge Steven Spielberg 'event' that I couldn't help but have weird feelings about, if only because of Tom Cruise's latest unwindings. The special effects are amazing, as one would expect from any SS fantasia but something did not click with me. I was purely an expectator, none of my emotions were swept up -- or even aroused. I agree with The New Yorker review:

As a physical realization of disaster, parts of the picture are stunning" but "as the scenes of destruction cease, one has time to ponder the oddity of a science-fiction movie without science, or even routine curiosity. Who are the aliens? What is their chemical makeup and how might they be vulnerable? What does the attack mean? Nobody raises any of these issues. The movie is given over to a family in flight, the primal survivalist drama. It's as if the aliens landed and everyone died so that Tom Cruise could grow up one more time.

With zero expectations I went to see Mad Hot Ballroom and it blew me away. This small budget documentary adds up to something so beautiful and moving that you can't help but question how have we fallen under the dictatorship of big-budget 'events'. It pains me that more people will not see this movie.

Watching the children express their hopes for a future that will be most likely frustrated is heart-breaking. Or maybe what broke my heart was to see myself projected on those children. But it is, at the same time, encouraging.

Watch a scene from MHB: these kids are wonderful.

Read an interesting article on how MHB survived the copyright cartel.

American Idol: Ass Crack Edition -- my vote is for #7, Dave.

Unintentionally Hilarious Photo of the Moment.

Karl Rove's 'I Did Not Inhale' Defense.

Raising Awareness? Of what? That the Pet Shop Boys are still together? Please, raise some money instead...

This I believe.

"I believe in the struggle to remake ourselves and challenge each other in the spirit of eternal forgiveness, in the awareness that none of us knows for sure what happiness truly is, but each of us knows the imperative to keep searching." Andrew Sullivan -- NPR : Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Straight, Gay or Lying?

"People who claim bisexuality, according to this, are usually homosexual, but are ambivalent about their homosexuality or simply closeted. (...) The psychologists found that men who identified themselves as bisexual were in fact exclusively aroused by either one sex or the other, usually by other men."