Aqui estão o site e o blog dele. Visitem e aproveitem as fotos deste grande artista!

The Seminar entitled “Thriving commercially in Social Media and the Networked Society”, is going to be a 90-minute event where Gerd Leonhard is going to present during 1 hour with Alan Moore and leave the final 30 minutes for discussion and questions. It’s their  first experience giving an online seminar, capped at 100 people, and I’m delighted to be part of it and wishing that it works well, which I think it will, so we can have this kind of event more often.

Heading to future!

Na foto o casal Debora e Paul que moram em Melbourne e curtem o evento.

O país parou. Hoje é o Melbourne Cup Carnival, a maior competição de cavalos da Austrália. Contudo, Melbourne Cup é também a maior competição fashion não só dos famosos, mas também dos pobres mortais.

As competições ocorrem durante 4 dias consecutivos. Porém, o Melbourne Cup acontece na primeira terça-feira do mês de Novembro. As corridas começam às 10 da manhã. Em média a cada hora tem uma corrida de cavalos, porém, às 3pm é que o Melbourne Cup acontece, onde os melhores cavalos e cavaleiros correm pelos maiores criadores de cavalos do mundo.

O tradicional criador, e constante ganhador Bart Cummings já gahou 12 competições, então se você é novo em corridas de cavalos e quer apostar em um, é só procurar os cavalos dele, como o Viewed que ganhou o campeonato do ano passado e está novamente competindo este ano. Outra dica é não apostar em fêmeas (dolls), ao longo dos anos elas só ganharam 16 vezes, contra 148 dos machos (guys).
Para apostar é bastante fácil, basta ir num TAB (Totalizator Agency Board) que é uma casa de apostas e é encontrado em qualquer esquina, bem como uma casa lotérica no Brasil.

A estimativa deste ano é que sejam gastos 120 milhões de dólares em apostas.
Mas não se gasta dinheiro apenas com apostas e entradas para o evento. O aspecto fashion da competição é importantíssimo. As mulheres gastam em media 200 dólares australianos só no vestido. Se você não é famosa e não ganha o seu vestido dos designers famosos de Melbourne, como a designer Ilona Aldred (http://www.ilonaaldred.com/), Zimmermann (http://www.zimmermannwear.com/) as marcas Cue and French Connection, claro.

Além disso, investe-se em sapato, meia-calça e os chapéus, ítens indispensáveis à caracterização dos frequentadores do jockey club. Estes não saem por menos de 100 dólares, os de marca são um absurdo, chegam a custar uma pequena fortuna. (ponto, começa outra frase) Outro dia vi um por AUD$600. Para aliviar o bolso dos mortais, tem-se a opção de usar apliques no cabelo. Tem uns bem bonitinhos, mas se for de qualidade e não da loja de 1,99, também podem ser bem salgados.

Os homens também gastam fortunas em roupas. O homem Australiano é bastante vaidoso, o mercado de roupas masculinas é bem forte. Os homens usam terno ou smoking para o evento. Sapatos lustrados e brilhantes. Abotoaduras é fundamental.
Contudo, no final das contas, o que predomina é a festa. Se você não está em Melbourne, ou no Flemington Racecourse onde a corrida acontece, você terá a opção de se juntar com os amigos ou colegas de trabalho para assistir a competição de um restaurante ou bar.

Todos os bares se preparam com bastante antecedência para o evento e se você não é precavido, perde o lugar para assistir à corrida. Geralmente é oferecido um menu de 3 pratos com vinho, que nos bons restaurantes pode-se chegar a pagar até 300 doláres.

Se você quer ir assistir ao vivo, é só comprar o ingresso no site da Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com.au). O ingresso mais barato custa AUS$145
Dizem aqui que o Melbourne Cup é o prenúncio do Natal. Depois desta data começam as comemorações de final de ano das empresas e aí, adeus ano velho.

Fiquei pensando nas esquisitices daqui, que mesmo após quase dois anos, ainda acho estranho.

Enfim, nem são tão esquisitas, mas pensando num post que o Pacha escreveu sobre abacate… Australiano come abacate no sanduíche. Tem a opção de colocar ele fatiado com salada ou passar o creme no pão. Eu odeio abacate, não como por nada neste mundo, guacamole é palavra pra sacanear mexicano.

Outra esquisitice é que eles amam salada grega, que consiste em folhas, cebola, azeitona preta, tomate, pepino e Fetta cheese, que é um queijo grego super salgado e que quando cheguei aqui achava uma delícia, mas como eles não são criativos e tacam este queijo em tudo quanto é salada, eu já enjoei. O que eu acho estranho é o pepino, aqui tem vários tipos de pepino e eles não tiram a casca pra comer, ou seja, o pepino que antes eu já não fazia digestão direito, fica na barriga por dias.

As esquisitices não param por aí, outra é colocar leite gelado no café quente. Fica horrivel pois gela o café. Uma vez perguntei para uma colega australiana o motivo pelo qual eles colocavam e ela respondeu, pois se colocarmos quente fica muito quente. Será que eles nunca ouviram falar em leite morno? Enfim…

E mais uma ótima, para terminar este post, é sobre higiene bucal. Certa vez estava escovando os dentes após o almoço e uma professora do meu trabalho entrou no banheiro. Ela perguntou porque eu estava escovando os dentes e eu respondi que sempre escovo após as refeições. Ela ficou surpresa e perguntou: após todas elas? eu respondi que após as principais, café-da-manha, almoço e jantar. Ela ainda mais surpresa disse que só escovava antes de dormir (!!!), argumentando que escovar os dentes demais (?) estraga o esmalte dos dentes. Oh, Lord! Alguém aí sentiu um cheirinho ruim?

11:45. I went to the toilet and on my way I tried to play the message. I could not finish listening to it because of a colleague who called me, but I heard that it was from the police.

I spent some minutes trying to figure it out what the police wanted from me, but since I knew I don’t have any police record or other business with them, these thoughts faded away.

1:30 pm. I went on my break for lunch. I called 121 to listen to the message again and it said:

- Hi, this is Christian xxx (could not understand his surname) and I’m from Mosman Police. Please call me on xxxx-xxxxxx (will not publish his number here).

I called him immediately.

- Hi, Christian speaking.

- Hi, Christian (could not decide if I should call him Sir or just his name, so I called him by his name, since that’s how he introduced himself). My name is Bernanda and I received a message from you an hour and a half ago. What is it about?

- Oh hi, Mrs. Bernarda. Have you lost your wallet?

- Hum no, wait a second, let me check on my bag. Oh YES, It’s not here! (I could not believe that I hadn’t noticed that my wallet was not in my bag and that the police officer was calling me to give it back)

- You can came and pick it up at the Mosman Police Station.

- Oh good, can you give me your address?

- Yes, sure. It’s 96 Bradleys Head Rd, close to the Hotel right after the roundabout. Do you know where it is?

- I have no idea, but I’ll look in Google maps and I’ll come and pick it up later this afternoon. Is that ok?

- Yes, sure.

- Thank you so much!

- No worries, madam.

I hung up my mobile phone with a smile on my face and started to think where the hell I lost my wallet and who was the reliable person who not only gave it back but also drove or walked all the way to a police station that is not close to the street where I would have lost it.

After a 35 minutes walk I arrived at the police station. Christian, the police officer, saw me at the reception and recognized me straight away. He went into his office to get my wallet. He came back with my wallet in one hand and with all of the papers, coins and cards separated in the other. He asked me to check if there was anything missing. Everything was there. There was no money inside the wallet because on that morning, after I bought a latte on my way to work, I put the money inside my jumper pocket.

Before I left the station, I asked the officer who returned my wallet and he said that she was an old lady who had not identified herself.

I must say that at the moment that he told me that an old lady had returned it, I immediately thought: if it was an young person who found it, maybe I would never have seen my wallet again, just like the mobile phone that I left in a taxi few months ago and was never returned even after calling the company. Prejudice? Maybe. I just wished to come across someone like this woman more often.

Festa Brasileira no bairro dos brasileiros - Manly, originally uploaded by Bemaia.

Você é Brasileiro? Vive em Sudney? Sim?
Bom, entao este é o lugar certo pra você. Manly é o subúrbio brasileiro de Sydney. Se você não quiser falar Inglês, não tem problema pois em Manly você pode falar Português no supermercado, nas ruas, nos restaurantes, etc. Você também pode tanto se divertir no Pub, onde a cada 15 dias tem uma festa brasileira chamada Viva Brasil, como na praia, claro!

Are you Brazilian? Do you live in Sydney? Yes?
Well, it is the right place for you. Manly is the main Brazilian suburb of Sydney. If you don’t want to speak English, that’s not a problem because in Manly you can speak Portuguese at the supermarket, on the streets, on restaurants. and so on. You can also have fun at the Pub-where every fortnight there is a Brazilian party called Viva Brasil-and on the beach, too, of course.

Na mesa estavam os pais, as duas irmãs dela e mais umas 10 amigas. Todas meninas. Não sei se é o caso, mas aqui é muito comum escolas só para meninas ou só para meninos.

O fato que me chamou a atençao foi quando o bolo chegou. Após cantarem o tradicional Happy Birthday, uma das meninas começou a cantar o hino da Australia e logo as outras meninas a acompanharam. Não cantaram o hino todo, mas foi bem interessante ver meninas de uns 16 anos cantando, numa comemoração de aniversário, o hino nacional.

Fiquei curiosa em saber se existe alguma tradição por trás disto.

Para os curiosos, segue o hino da Australia. e aqui o link pro audio

ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR

Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil;
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in nature’s gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history’s page, let every stage
Advance Australia Fair.

In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia Fair.

Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
We’ll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who’ve come across the seas
We’ve boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To Advance Australia Fair.

In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia Fair.

______________________________

I just came from the Thai restaurant close to my apartment. I went there to have dinner and when I walked in there was a birthday party. The girl who was celebrating her birthday was sitting at the table with her parents, two sisters and about 10 girlfriends.

When the cake was brought to the table the girls sung the traditional Happy Birthday song and after that one of the girls started to sing the Australia Anthem followed by the others. They did not sing the whole anthem but I was amazed to see 16 years old girls singing it at a birthday party.

would it be a tradition?

Picture: Russell Vickery/Herald Sun

Bushfires are a natural disaster that is very common in Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. They are particularly familiar to the population of Victoria, the state in the south-east of the Australian mainland. This year Australia experienced a record-breaking heat wave—temperatures well above 38°C. This resulted in a serious disaster for towns in south-eastern Australia. With winds up to 130 km/h it has been really hard to fight the fires.

As a result, more then two hundred people died and more than one thousand lost their homes. As I write this article there are several fires still burning out of control.

In the middle of this sad disaster I was amazed to see how people unite in their efforts to fight the fire and help the people who have lost everything. Three days after Black Saturday (as the worst day of fires, with temperatures of 45°C, has come to be known), the Australian Red Cross had raised eighty million Australian dollars for the benefit of Victorians. It is important to point out that the Australian population is only about twenty million. This is a remarkable achievement.

The Australian Red Cross also received so many blood donations that I had to book my appointment to donate blood 3 weeks in advance. Normally it takes me two days to fix a day and time.

Everywhere you can find baskets and buckets asking for money to help people who suffered with the bushfires. You can see it in pubs, supermarkets, schools, bookstores, cafes, and so on. The help is coming from the whole country. On TV the number of a bank account opened to raise funds for the bushfire victims is shown, together with an 1800 number for credit card donations.

My family and friends in Brazil were also worried. Some of my friends called me and lots emailed me asking if I was ok. Most of them did not know that I had moved to Sydney, which was not affected. I am glad to have received this support from people in my country and I want to say that I’m fine.
It’s really sad to hear what has been happening to these towns in Victoria. When you talk to someone from down there, it’s impressive to see how many people have met someone directly or indirectly who was affected by the bushfire.

I would like to praise the firemen’s work as well as that of the volunteers. They are amazing, fighting the fire and risking their lives. It is really good to see the community working together in these difficult times.

Firefox, Red Panda, Fire Cat, Fat Fox, Lesser Panda, or Ailurus fulgens, originally uploaded by Bemaia.

The best browser and cute wild animal. Not the cutest, Meerkats are the cutest wild animals.

It can be called Red Panda, Fire Cat, Fat Fox, Lesser Panda, or Ailurus fulgens as well.

The cold weather, the biggest motive for people’s complaints about Melbourne, is nothing compared to the awful experience that I’m having now in Sydney and that I’m going to share in the following paragraphs.

When we arrived in Sydney we moved in to an apartment leased by my husband’s company in the CBD. After one month we moved in to our own place in St Leonards, a nice neighborhood in north Sydney. Close to the city, trains, buses, Fitness First and shops, this place had everything to be perfect, but…my apartment is full of cockroaches!

Everyday I have to kill one. EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Talking to some friends and neighbours I discovered that it’s not just my apartment. Sydney itself is full of cockroaches!

It reminded me of when I went to NY. One of the things that I hated the most was the rats and the cockroaches that inhabited the city (there were certainly more insects and rats than people). Here it is full of rats as well, although I have never seen one in any unit, I see a lot on the streets.

I really wish to live in a nice place, where I can have nice dreams that are better than the ones I’m having now. Even in my dreams I can see these crawling insects. They disturb me, my dreams and my house. Please, NSW Government, do something! I pay 35% in taxes every month! 

Yes, Sydney has beautiful beaches, but I don’t see them every day…

This is a funny video that I found called We Will Survive (The Cockroach Song)