Brazilian Culture Clips

I know that most of these clips are not examples of pure Brazilian culture, but I'm trying to find some things to share with my new students in the wee hours of the morning as they walk into the classroom - not only to keep them awake, but perhaps to make some points in our class lectures especially memorable. Some of these I probably won't use (like the Jerry Lewis and Mickey Rooney clips), but I want to remember that these clips are out there, even if I don't use them.

If we end up discussing Carmen Miranda in class, I think I'll reference Sadlier's discussion in Brazil Imagined of how Miranda was portrayed in film as an "Hollywood-ized" version of Brazilian culture (and sometimes not even Brazilian culture, but a generic South American culture that was more Spanish American than Portuguese American).

Rio 2 Auditions (with capoeira turtles and singing capybara)


Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz: "The Girl from Ipanema" (1964)


Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz: "The Girl from Ipanema" in Get Yourself a College Girl (1964)


Astrud Gilberto was married to the musician João Gilberto between 1960-1964.

Montage of Carmen Miranda scenes, to music "O que vier eu traço"


Jerry Lewis spoofs Carmen Miranda with a version of "Mamae Eu Quero" in Scared Stiff


Mickey Rooney spoofs Carmen Miranda with a version of "Mamae Eu Quero" in Babes on Broadway


Xuxa (Só Para Baixinhos) 3


Brazilians in shock after World Cup humiliation against Germany (BBC News - 2014)


Anyone know of other good online video clips which help to give a sense of Brazilian culture (either today's culture or that of the past)?

Michigan Hikes: Otter Creek, Bass Lake, and Cathead Bay

A lookout off of the Pierce Stocking scenic drive at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park

Last week I went on a trip to gather with my old roommates from college: ixoj, zillah, and phin. Apart from a brief reunion at a wedding this summer, we haven't spent time as a group since our trip to Turkey in 2012. I arrived in Chicago a little early, because I wanted to spend the day at the Institute of Art — I hope to write more about my fabulous experience in another post, either here or on my art history blog.

Zillah picked me and phin up in Chicago, and we spent the night in South Bend. Then we drove up to along Lake Michigan the next day, and we picked up ixoj at the airport in Grand Rapids. Our plan was to camp and backpack in the area of the Michigan peninsula. Our trip did have a few disappointments though - one of the largest being that we weren't able to get on a ferry so that we could backpack on South Manitou Island, but we were able to find a last-minute place to stay at the Wild Cherry RV Resort. Some standout memories include hiking up a dune at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, eating some fabulous Moomers ice cream, having a little frog hop in our car while we were driving, scores of gnats swirling around the backseat of the car (around me and phin), and seeing a skunk walk past our campsite at the Leelanau State Park campground.

One day went on one large hike and another short hike. First we combined the Otter Creek and Bass Lake loops together (as part of the Platte Plains Trail system), which made about an eight mile hike. The trails were relatively flat, which was nice. We saw lots of various different types of terrain on the hike, and scores of different types of mushrooms. We also saw two toads, which was fun. I don't remember ever seeing an actual toad in person before.

Bass Lake 

We tried to figure out why all of the trees were dead on one side of the trail, but green and leafy on the other side of the trail. 

After the hike we briefly visited the beach next to the trailhead parking

The other hike that we took that day was rather spontaneous. That evening we wanted to go swimming in Lake Michigan to cool off (and bathe!). We had already pitched our tent in the Leelanau campsite, and we got a recommendation to go to the Cathead Bay beach nearby. It was about a mile walk to the beach from the trailhead, and the trail went through a lovely forested area with tall trees. Since we arrived later in the evening, we pretty much had the beach to ourselves almost the entire time. The sun was starting to set, and it was really lovely. This quick little trip to the beach was one of the most memorable parts of our trip, I think.

2015 Mini Road Trip: Enchanted Forest and Portland

A couple of days after we got back from our Utah/Montana trip, we were lucky enough to have some friends come and stay with us. Josh and I were in the same year in the art history graduate program, over seven years ago. It was really fun to see him again and meet his kids. We showed took them on a ferry on one of the days that they were here, and then we headed down south to the Enchanted Forest theme park in Oregon with them.

 Sam and Josh's daughter T waiting in the ferry terminal before we boarded the boat. These two became fast friends, really within minutes. One morning they were talking about something that they both liked, and T commented on their similarities by saing, "I can't believe it! And we're not even cousins!"

When we arrived at the Enchanted Forest, we met up with Josh's family and also our mutual friends the Roses. Richard and Josh knew each other during their freshman year of college.

Outside The Witch's gingerbread house (the story of Hansel and Gretel)

Lucy was smitten with the decorations and animatronics in the fairyland section of the Enchanted Forest. She especially loved watching the animals help tidy up the home of the Seven Dwarves.

Sam and T riding down the slide of the Old Woman's shoe

We probably got the biggest laughs and reactions from the kids on the Frog Hopper ride. They all loved it. 

It was so fun to have Josh and Jaime visit! And thanks to Josh for letting me fulfill a dream of having Sam become friends with the children of my friends from graduate school. Now I just need to introduce him to a few more, like Shelley's girls!

Lucy was "Enchanted Forested out" when we left the theme park. She fell asleep in her car seat before we even left the parking lot. This is her asleep at the restaurant where we ate dinner.

We decided to spend the night outside of Portland and explore the city the next day. In the seven years that we have lived in the PNW, we still had yet to expire Portland as a city. I had hoped that we could have visited my Ant Bee when we were in the area, but they were at the Weber at the exact same time.

We first visited the Portland Art Museum. I think their collection rivals the one at the SAM - they definitely have some more well-known European artists (even van Gogh and Manet!). Here are some of the works of art that I particularly liked.

Federico Zandomeneghi, Interesting Conversation, 1895

Detail of Georges Rouault, Head, c. 1920. I love the downward-moving brushstrokes used to define the cheeks.

Detail of Gene Davis, Yankee Watermelon, 1967

Helen Frankenthaler, Spaced Out Orbit, 1973 (The Clement Greenberg Collection) 

All of the paintings on this wall belong to The Clement Greenberg Collection. Although the art critic never bought a painting himself, he did have a collection of art that was comprised of gifts from artists who found Greenberg influential.

We also visited Finnegan's toy store, Powell's Books and VooDoo Doughnuts! I feel like we covered a lot of territory in just a short amount of time!

Lucy was in heaven at Finnegan's - a whole entire wall, filled floor-to-ceiling with stuffed animals! She wanted to hug every single one.

 Voodoo Doughnuts!

The last place that we visited was The Grotto, which is basically an outdoor Catholic church (although there are other churches/chapels on the site too). We heard that there were nice gardens and a good view of the city, so we decided to check it out. It did not disappoint! I was also excited to see some art there.

This man-made grotto os carved into a cliff. It serves as a natural "apse" for the outdoor chapel. A replica of Michlangelo's Pieta is placed inside.

 The meditation chapel at the top of the cliff (accessible via elevator) has a rare bronze cast of Michelangelo's Pieta. The cast was made from a plater mold of Michelangelo's original sculpture, and is one of only a few copies that have been authorized by the Vatican. It was neat to see some details in the sculpture that are more visible through the darker bronze medium, like the wispy hair of Christ's beard.

A panoramic view of Portland from the meditation chapel. The glass wall afforded for some very scenic views.

We followed the labyrinth in the garden, which Sam enjoyed. It is based off of the labyrinth found in Chartres Cathedral.

After this whirlwind trip, we headed home. We have had some fantastic adventures on our travels this summer. Now we're looking forward to settling into a more normal routine in the last few weeks before Sam starts school again!

2015 Road Trip: Glacier National Park Hikes

We got to go on two hikes in Glacier National Park. They were quite unique and distinctive from each other. I found these hikes by looking at the site "Best Easy Hikes in Glacier National Park." I knew that we needed to do hikes that Sam would do (especially if we were going to hike more than one trail in the same day).

The first hike that we did was the Rocky Point Nature Trail. This hike was about two miles in length. We took the wrong turn at the end of our hike and ended up in a campground, but we eventually found our way back. There are signs to mark the trail, but the lettering is quite faded and you really need to pay attention to where you are going!

This trail is interesting because there was a fire that devastated the area in 2003, about twelve years ago. It was interesting to see how the landscape changed as we walked in and out of areas that were affected by the fire. The hike also has really nice views of Lake MacDonald and mountain peaks in the distance.

With half of my siblings 

Lucy slept... 

…and slept on this hike!

The second hike that we took was in the afternoon, after my dad and sister L arrived. We all went to Hidden Lake Overlook, which is just above the Visitors Center at Logan Pass. My brother C was jokingly complaining that we weren't doing a real hike, because part of it was a boardwalk, but it definitely counts. Sam liked the boardwalk, actually, and said that he felt like he was walking on the Great Wall of China.

J and I think that this is the most scenic hike that we have ever taken in our lives. The drive up to the Visitors Center (on Going-to-the-Sun-Road) was stunning, too. Everywhere we looked on there was something beautiful to see: majestic peaks, wildflowers, cascading streams, a lake. We even saw a hoary marmot on the trail! I hope we get to come back and hike in this beautiful area again.

This is a picture I took outside the window of our car as we drove on Going-to-the-Sun Road. 

Lucy slept for part of this hike, too!

It was hard to hold a casual conversation with such amazing views surrounding us on every angle!