Fall in Chicago, US - Nov11

This is the first time of my life that I live in a place that has four defined seasons. Although the winter can be painful sometimes, there are certain joys, like seeing the great colors that only the fall can proportioned to you on my way to school at Hyde Park.

The High Line, New York, Jul 11

Cities have grown and traffic became trouble; so people thought it was a good idea to elevate traffic. Guess what: those neighboors that leave in buildings right next to the elevated highways did not like the idea very much. So elevated highways ruined regions and more regions.

New York has found a great solution and I really hope Sao Paulo follows it for our beloved "Minhocao": The High Line. Definitely worth a visit on a lazy sunday afternoon on summer.

Millenium Park, Chicago, Jun 11

I always loved Chicago, even during its long and painful winter, but there is a special joy of Chicago in the summer. People value the good and warm weather much more, and there are eager to be outside, and a free concert at the beautiful Jay Pritzker Pavilion is just a wonderful opportunity.

Inle Lake, Burma, Mar 11

Fishermen in Inle Lake (Burma) have this unique way of rowing with their legs, that allow them to see better their way around a lake full of plants and other vegetation that makes their work a little trickier.

Morningside Heights, New York, Jul 11

Morningside Heights, my new neighborhood for summer, in a beautiful end of the day. Cloudy white balance is great way to get warm colors, especially in the beginning and the end of the day.

Change of policy!

I have tried several times to increase the postings; as you can see by the time elapsed between posts all trials were unsuccessful. I realized that the problem is that usually it took me too long to write the text and that meant that every post was a long activity, improbable to be as frequent as it is suppose to be.

But what I like to share are pictures, not my rambling about them. So I am beginning a new policy: no more than 5 lines about the picture and no more than a week between them (except for vacation time). If I can’t live by these new rules I will probably give up on this. Let’s see!

Jazz Showcase, Chicago, USA, May11

I have wrote about this before pictures and to those that know me well it is no secret how much I enjoy Jazz. Jazz is ubiquitous in Chicago; there are several great places all around the city and if you lucky enough to spend a summer in this city you also get several chances to listen to great music in one of the best venues ever (seriously, Millennium Park in the Summer is incredible).

Having said that one of my favorite jazz spots in Chicago is the Jazz Showcase. As soon as you get into the place you realized that this place has been much more than a showcase for excellent music; it has been an active actor in the development of the music. Old style posters decorate the walls and show all the monsters that have been there since the place opened in 1947; round glass tables facing the stage and a slightly dark environment, with low light skewed towards red tones complement the perfect environment to sit back and enjoy good music.

This is not a mere venue for concerts; musicians come here to perform as well as to interact with a community, their community. Often impromptu guests outnumber the original line up; stars of the night sit back and leave young unknown musicians shine; talks in between the tunes seem like summer talks on the balcony…

Every time I look at this picture that is exactly what I feel; Benny Green (piano) was the one that named the trio performing at that rainy night of May. However he gently sits back and listen carefully to the amazing solo Kenny Washington delivers, just as impressed as we (the audience) was, just enjoying the music…