Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Gabba gabba hey...

Dear Readers...

Sorry that I haven't updated this blog for a while but I have been busy. And about a week ago I took a plane, flew about 11.000 km south to beautiful, loud, crazy, hot, humid, brrruuoozzaaaa Rio de Janeiro.
And here I am now.

It is the first time I'm in a foreign country of which I don't speak or even understand the language. So I feel kinda helpless...and without help I guess I'd be totally lost here.

Because this place is mad!! I have been to Rome and thought it was a really crazy place...but this here beats good 'ol Roma easily. If I say mad, I mean the good, positive kind of madness...the one that makes you see that you're still alive and that there are places that are really different from what you are used to.

I haven't been at the famous Christ statue yet that overlooks Rio 24/7 (they are renovate the dude right now so he is in some sort of a cage)....but I'm staying right under his right arm pit...and I can see him looking at me from up there. For good or ill...

The humidity is soo insane - you basically sweat all the time. And it makes my hair kinda curly...they have air condition everywhere and I really enjoy it to step from an air conditioned place out into the exploding warmth - I imagine that this might be similar to the cold in Austria and how fuckin good it feels to step into a warm surrounding...

Beer is pretty cheap here, about 1,60 €, a small one. And we drink a lot of it. Last night I had my first real 100% original caipirinha and guess what - it doesnt taste much like the shit they sell us at home. It is way purer and stronger and the watered down crap they call caipi at home...you can't somehow get real drunk because you sweat the alcohol out the moment you consume it...which is fun, but also bad for your budget...


Rafael brought me to this Ramones store here in Rio and the owner showed us pics of him, his dad and Joey Ramone up at the Christ statue...sooo cool!! He told us that his father and Joey Ramone went to the same school and were friends. So the guy now opened this Ramones store where you can buy the licensed merch and soon they'll throw an opening party where Joey Ramone's brother and Marky Ramone will perform!!! I think this is a unique shop and I'd love to be here for the opening...

The next two weeks will be busy...we're going out every day, checking out new places like the rain forest that is around and also in the city, the sugar loaf, the Christ statue, the beaches....there's soo much to see and I somehow fear that I don't have enough time! Im also going to see a soccer game at the famous Maracana stadium...yes! me!?? soccer!! in a stadium!!! sounds like the least probable thing on earth, but I think it is somethink one has to experience once in a life time!!
On Sunday, we go to see Guns'N'Roses in the famous Sambadromo...in Vienna I'd never care to see them, but here we got the tickets for free and I think this it's also going to be an awesome experience!

Well, what's life about if not experience??? 

I recently finished reading "The Dharma Bums" by Jack Kerouac and I loved it! Such a great piece of American literature...so positive and easy and making you think about the simple and important things in life...if you are interested in Buddhism, hitchhiking, free traveling and life stripped down to the most basic things, and if you liked Jack Kerouac's "On the Road", then go for it....
Here a short exerpt I particularly enjoyed:
         "I've been reading Whitman, know what he says, Cheer up slaves, and horrify foreign despots, he means that's the attitude for Bard, the Zen Lunacy bards of old desert paths, see the whole thing is a world full of rucksack wanderers, Dharma Bums refusing to subscribe to the general demand that they consume production and therefore have to work for the privilege of consuming, all that crap they didn't really want anyway such as refrigerators, TV sets, cars, at least new fancy cars, certain hair oils and deodorants and general junk you finally always see a week later in the garbage anyway, all of them imprisoned in a system of work, produce, consume, work, produce, consume, I see a vision of a great rucksack revolution thousands of even millions of young Americans wandering around with rucksacks, going up to mountains to pray, making children laugh and old men glad, making young girls happy and old girls happier, all of 'em Zen lunatics who go about writing poems that happen to appear in their heads for no reason and also by being kind also by strange unexpected acts keep giving visions of eternal freedom to everybody and to all living creatures..."

Well, I am glad there are idealists who dream great dreams and still see the good side about mankind. Unfortunately, Kerouac died pretty depressed and disillusioned due to his alcoholism....that's obviously the price one pays for believing...

Right now I am reading the complete opposite of Dharma Bums....William Burroughs "Naked Lunch"....when I was about 10 pages into it, I asked Rafael "What the fuck is this guy talking about?"...now I am on page 46 and I still don't get anything except for disgusting and repulsive descriptions....Jesus! If anyone of you had experience with this book, I'd be happy if you helped me out!!

Well, I gotta go, the whole family here gathers to watch the Flamengo vs. Caracas soccer game on TV and I don't wanna be impolite and insult their team by not joining in...and they got some beer, so...
Good night and good luck!!!

PS: Since I've mentioned the Ramones, well here the usual link to a video....a fuckin classic of punk rock The Ramones - Judy is A Punk live at CBGB's