SUSAN SONTAG UNDERSTANDS ME

“I perceive value, I confer value, I create value, I even create — or guarantee — existence. Hence, my compulsion to make “lists.” The things (Beethoven’s music, movies, business firms) won’t exist unless I signify my interest in them by at least noting down their names.

Nothing exists unless I maintain it (by my interest, or my potential interest). This is an ultimate, mostly subliminal anxiety. Hence, I must remain always, both in principle + actively, interested in everything. Taking all of knowledge as my province.”
― Susan Sontag, As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh: Journals and Notebooks, 1964-1980

AND I SWEAR THAT I DON'T HAVE A GUN

Nirvana played a huge role in my younsgter years, soothing my family dramas with their mix of rage and sadness. Kurt Cobain was my teenager crush, which I guess was depressing, as he was dead since I was 8. My love for him went as far as spending hours online in prehistoric dial-up 56kbps internet doing my own research wether he indeed killed himself and if I should do it too. He's the reason I started playing guitar.
Teen times.

Leaving the pimple dramas aside, I cannot wait to watch "Montage of Heck", the first fully authorized documentary of Kurt, produced by his daughter, Frances Bean.
The film, which premiered today at Sundance Film Festival,  reportedly "features many never-before-seen home movies and music of Cobain’s, as well as eye-opening interviews with friends and family". According to Rolling Stone, the film doesn't portray Cobain as a spokesman for a generation, but as human being, and a husband, and a father.
Tired of all the deifying reports of Kurt out there, (as it usually happens with dead artists), this is one I really look forward to. 4th of may is the official release.

Read more: http://bit.ly/leeviacobaindocRS

I WISH I COULD EAT YOUR CANCER WHEN YOU TURN BLACK

Mother,
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back.

SOME MORE "WAR ON DRUGS" NONSENSE

Deaths in England related to "bad batch" MDMA are actually related to PMA.

This substance have responsible for more than 100 deaths in the UK, and now the majority of deaths that the media report as being due to “ecstasy” are, in fact, caused by PMA and PMMA.

Their re-emergence is directly due to the international community’s attempts, via UN conventions, to stop the use of MDMA by prohibiting its production and sale. As the earlier UN drug control conventions were clearly not working, in 1988 a further attempt to limit drug use by impairing production was made by banning a number of precursor chemicals. One of these is safrole, the precursor of MDMA. In 2010 there was a massive seizure of 50 tonnes of safrole in Thailand. This did significantly dent availability for MDMA production, so chemists looked for an alternative source of a suitable precursor. Aniseed oil seemed the ideal alternative, as it is chemically very similar to safrole, so this was used. Unfortunately the product that results from using the MDMA production process with aniseed oil is PMA or PMMA. Hence these substances only exist because of the blockade of MDMA production. That in itself wouldn’t particularly matter if they were not more toxic than MDMA.

Read the full article in The Guardian: 

http://bit.ly/pmaleevia

DEAR MOMMA'S BOY

I was everything, and nothing

You were somebody, something

Please, underestimate me

I recognize your disease

I ingested you, I digested you.

GO TRAVEL WITH UNKNOWN PEOPLE

In the end of December 2013 I was in New York City visiting friends after some days snowboarding in Whistler, Canada. Had no special plans for New Years, except maybe going to Output. I was squatting my friend's Sean tiny-room-with-no-heating in Williamsburg, and completely ignored when he warned me that the North Polar Vortex was about to hit the following day. As I woke up, temperatures had dropped over 10 degrees, hitting -16, the lowest in over 100 years in the Big Apple. I was freezing, even with 3 layers of clothing on. I started thinking it could be a good idea to spend réveillon somewhere else.

Luckily I saw a facebook post from Maneesh Sethi, saying he was going on a 6-people private plane trip for 7 days and there was one spot available. They had no fixed plans, except surely chasing the sun down south. It was cheaper then taking normal planes at this time of the year, plus sounded unusual, so I reserved my spot.

I knew Maneesh very little. We met in a co-working space in Berlin once and then he asked me to film a clandestine party he threw in an abandoned boat in Kreuzberg. That was all. All the other 4 travelers were unknown to me.

Next day I met my NY-sista Cheyenne to borrow me clothes and bags, as I was traveling with nothing. Packed and got ready to meet my fellow travelers the next morning upstate in Farmingdale airport.

Four guys, two girls, everybody from a completely different background: one indian-descendent american fundraising for his fitness start-up, one canadian lawyer/foodie, one american economist, one american airplane company CEO/pilot, one australian vegan TV host, and me, the travel-writer-music-lover south american representative.

This turned out to be one of the coolest short unexpected trips I've ever made. All of us loved music, some played instruments, and were/turned into foodies. We went to Kinston, Charleston, Miami and some other cities. We discussed politics, relationships, work, music and the meaning of life. We experienced zero gravity together and drove a plane for the first time.

We jacuzzied together, flirted each night with a different other, shared food, beds and laughs. We were even able to turn New Years in Miami, a nightmarish idea for me, into loads of fun! Here's some images of our adventures: bit.ly/aircation

This year I was needed to stay close to my relatives in Brazil. But here's a toast to another year full of adventures!

HAPPY 2015 y'all!

WELCOME

it's an honor that
apparently
someone is so interested
in me
enough to read my notes
while I'm away

but hey:
if you read
you'll judge

A HOOK IN THE PLACE OF THY

"I see men come and go
But there'll be one who will collect my soul
And come to me"
(PJ Harvey - Angelene)


[Marion Fayolle illustration]

INDIA IN ME

India, India, India… you shocked me but mostly I was amused, you showed me beggars and bastards, but most of all you brought amazing, great and interesting people in my life.
You gave me extra kilos from all the ghee and sugar on the food, but I did not get sick and will dance it all off. You made me cry sometimes but in general you put a big smile in my face and made me laugh out loud. You made combine red and blue, and like it. You made me used to things I've never even thought about.
It was wonderful times! I must thank Annemarie Koerten (most of the words above are hers) for the magnificent company (now, that's a travel partner!) and Regenerate Music for bringing me over to play and taking care of every single detail to make my journey magical! I am definitely coming back.
Some pics: http://bit.ly/leeviaindiapics