tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81577345577568339212011-12-19T19:25:43.174-02:00A blog that has whirled round and round, and back again.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.comBlogger1911100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-15850047592326778562011-06-21T14:13:00.008-03:002011-06-21T15:17:02.711-03:00

I'm waltzing through a waterfall of recollections, reunions and personal inventory, set to a beautiful soundtrack that doesn't seem to end. The music jumps from iPhone to taxi radio to dance floor to elevator speaker to distant hum down the street to through the neighboring wall, and back to iPhone. Even in the silence it's there. And last night, I dreamed that "Sem Mentiras" by Fabio Goes was

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-63218085873374278112011-04-26T09:03:00.004-03:002011-04-26T09:35:28.215-03:00

It's impressive to me that even at my age, and after all that I've (allegedly) learned from experience, I still have to remind myself: life is complicated, life is not lived in a straight line.Although, something stirred off in the corner of my eye this time, as I repeated the mantra. Normally, I find myself in this spot when I struggle to reconcile the enormous complexity of life with the

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-51587071773337485682011-04-19T09:04:00.008-03:002011-04-19T12:11:57.812-03:00

More than a year later, here we are. And here I am.The blog stopped dead for a number of reasons, but life, of course, did not. Quite the opposite. The blog hit a wall because in February of last year, life took a very serious turn in a new direction.All at once, it seems, the ground under me moved. My husband took a new job that would mean eventual relocation to the United States. My

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-54953947168324155272010-02-18T10:52:00.017-02:002010-02-18T15:26:23.590-02:00

What is your favorite word?Cathedral.What is your least favorite word?Wednesday.What turns you on, excites, or inspires you creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?Friends, love, money, music. In fact, everything that makes a regular guy happy. Good thoughts of happiness I've felt like recalling a job I had in which we formed small orchestras with poor children and taught them how to play

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-87850414072040599962010-02-09T07:19:00.008-02:002010-02-09T13:11:16.457-02:00

Some people are far too academic in their view of the world, in that they look at everything in life through a set of fixed glasses. They see everything from narrow views through "the black experience" or "the female experience" or "the gay experience." Everything in life is explained through a set of literalist basic facts (race or gender or sexuality defines everything in the world). They

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-65127689033644331052010-01-15T12:42:00.008-02:002010-02-18T14:41:53.255-02:00

I think I have hit upon the 'something new' I want to bring here. It sort of hit me in October when I stumbled on an old box of black-and-white still negatives and some prints I'd made from them back in 1988 in Washington, D.C. I was just exploring with my old camera at the time, and then took an undergraduate class in photography to hone my technical skills. I remember at the time being so

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-35804123940924888082010-01-05T23:51:00.006-02:002010-01-06T13:31:08.694-02:00

There is a fascinating discussion going on over at Tony Goes' blog over the sudden and tragic death of Hillary Daniels early Sunday morning in Florianopolis. To me, this could be the opening round in what might give better definition of exactly what the coming decade will be about, and consequently what my own focus here should be.Hillary was by every account a "rising star" in the world of gay

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-27345516863795958902010-01-04T14:20:00.007-02:002010-01-04T18:14:49.607-02:00

Happy New Year.Let's get right to it: whither Club Whirled?Perhaps it's a false choice, or merely an opening question, for the new year, the new decade. My yet-again-new life. But what I do know is that this blog has to get back to being something, or it should simply go away. It is at once very dear to me, and yet also seems to have gone in so many different directions over the past several

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-26006246888399148812009-10-27T20:44:00.008-02:002009-10-28T19:07:35.122-02:00

We've been watching a lot of Will & Grace re-runs over the past year or two. Vini took to the series a while back, but when it was on in prime time, I was usually a bit past the farce of it. I was more into HBO series at the time. I just wanted more rich characters, more fascinating plot lines. I wasn't up for farce.But alas, when you surrender occasionally you find yourself enjoying the

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-90779440397678155402009-10-13T13:30:00.005-03:002009-10-13T17:35:54.763-03:00

The answer is clear to me now. Clear enough for me to articulate it here. And I guess this is not so much a coda to my what-now-then. It's more a coda to this post.I was finishing up some work this morning when my friend Cadu sent me a link to this new song about to be released by Susan Boyle. It was something I would have usually ignored (I'm a fan of hers but have hidden her updates on

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-50033592999453595492009-10-08T17:51:00.003-03:002009-10-08T17:57:52.241-03:00

Paris is eternal. Indestructible. It's beautiful, even when it's cold and wet. It's joyous when it's sunny and warm. It shines and sparkles at night, and it holds so much history, so many wonderful stories. And not a few painful memories, which it would rather just forget.It wakes up every morning and has a beauty and glow to it that is entirely its own. And it draws so many people in,

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-26645589292564101412009-10-05T10:44:00.006-03:002009-10-05T11:02:16.012-03:00

I just made what I thought was a mistake at first, by watching Magnolia again. It was a whim; I wanted to simply watch the "what now then" scene again. But from the very start, I was sucked in like a moth into a jet engine.And the journey was not what I had expected.It was like watching a History Channel documentary of pain rather than one of fresh, stinging wounds. I was not moved at all like

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-1907653741257226282009-09-30T16:06:00.005-03:002009-09-30T16:13:52.611-03:00

Been listening to the "Celebration" album, which downloaded onto my iPhone last night.Forgot what a brilliant song this was, and what an exquisite video she made. She was 40 years old.

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-72146811790857890012009-09-29T22:13:00.005-03:002009-09-29T23:04:51.790-03:00

One of the best films of the last ten years was Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia. No question in my mind that this film had such intense emotional resonance for so many people. It was overwhelming for me at the time. I remember it being such an intense experience, feeling as if I related to every one of the characters as they experienced simultaneous, shattering emotional crises.And in the end,

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-50844291318020622722009-09-16T00:44:00.004-03:002009-09-16T01:15:29.831-03:00

This blog, alas this story, sprung out of a website that Ran Borgersen started years ago. He had a cute website for Heather House - a great beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware, that we shared among us for a few years. It was meant to keep the summer share schedule clear for all the house members, and to help organize the guest slots each weekend. When I took over the Heather House lease in 2004,

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-66762311787334072842009-09-02T14:42:00.003-03:002009-09-02T14:45:54.920-03:00

All the way home from Johannesburg on Saturday, I wondered which of his songs on his old iPhone he gave me would be the one that would tell the story of this critical moment for our marriage.Sadly, this is the one. And there really is nothing more to add to it.

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-88622179848259801902009-08-29T01:03:00.006-03:002009-08-29T01:58:48.816-03:00

Suffice to say, being unhappy is tedious. If it doesn't resolve itself, you find a way to resolve it.Losing your center in life is one of the most painful things to live through, because you feel absolutely lost in the world. Nothing can shake you from the feeling of anxiety. Of being exposed to the elements. Unprotected. Weak. Not yourself anymore.We're such proud people, you know. We

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-24122751715197214172009-08-27T00:31:00.007-03:002009-09-21T10:22:30.181-03:00

Hey there.It's been a while.I missed you. I missed me.It's funny how many things escape us even though they are right in front of our eyes, or tattooed onto our skin. It's fascinating to me how we manage to cling, sometimes, to things in the past that only create anxiety and pain. And we somehow forget, or ignore, the millions of moments of strength and magnificence in that same past, which

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-45770935445367325782009-05-27T19:05:00.006-03:002009-05-27T20:00:34.201-03:00

All throughout 2009, I've been throwing around terms like "happiest in my life" and "having it all" with a kind of sincerity that I think I've never had on this blog. There aren't enough ways to say it differently -- I have reached a place of such achievement in my life after the first 41 years, that I can truthfully say this is the peak. This is the highest point I've been at. Ever.Yes,

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-78783120774615732552009-05-17T05:30:00.007-03:002009-05-19T06:14:48.868-03:00

The flight from São Paulo to Johannesburg reminded me quite a bit of the flights from Washington or New York to the various, less-expensive step-offs in Europe: London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris. And it came to me in stages.First, it was at departures. I was later than I should have been to check-in, and was traveling in economy at a time when I no longer have any privileges with the Star

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-44607178569365491202009-04-22T10:05:00.004-03:002009-04-22T10:31:18.904-03:00

I'm on the road again (a week in Kingston, now on my way back to Washington for the first time in 2009). And of course that means I'm up in my head again, and listening to a lot of music. It's one of those chances to discover something new, or re-discover something old or overlooked from the collection.I've been especially hooked on Madonna's largely overlooked "American Life" from 2003 on this

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-27979349570629983132009-03-18T20:20:00.007-03:002009-03-18T21:01:51.889-03:00

Como eu posso descrever um sentimento?Este blog tem documentado a aventura da minha vida desde que eu me mudei para o Brasil em 2007. Tenho tentado dizer toda a história de cada fase, cada desafio, cada momento alegre e cada momento de medo, tristeza, dúvida e solidão. Mas este blog é apenas um capítulo da minha vida - uma vida de muitos capítulos. E muitos dos capítulos iniciais foram

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-37532998634836221192009-01-20T11:23:00.003-02:002009-01-20T11:38:09.851-02:00

In case you were wondering...

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-32359060000789557522008-11-18T09:33:00.004-02:002008-11-18T10:54:55.504-02:00

When I immigrated to Brazil, I had to make a pact with my parents to help them accept the decision. I had to agree that every year, Vini and I would honor the American tradition and travel back for Thanksgiving with the family. It made my mother a little more willing to let go, and not dwell on the five thousand mile distance.Alas, for the first year my parents elected to visit us in São Paulo

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-50473063295437509772008-11-15T14:39:00.004-02:002008-11-15T14:45:56.977-02:00

As this decade drags on to whatever conclusion it might have, I'm thinking that it would be a tragedy if the only flashes of subversiveness remembered from the 00's would be associated with Michael Moore. In all, it's been a disappointingly conformist decade.But I was reminded this morning that for a brief and fleeting moment, we had Chappelle Show.Few of his original satirical bits are as

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-86763300981156834742008-11-14T17:27:00.008-02:002008-11-14T18:27:17.321-02:00

The end of the sad and horrifying story of the murder of Gregor Landouar on the night of last year's record-breaking São Paulo gay pride parade has come. The perpetrator of one of the more notorious anti-gay murders in Brazil in recent years received a sentence of 27 years in prison (and since neither life sentences nor the death penalty are options in murder cases, this is probably the

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-88486757122286691532008-11-06T21:52:00.012-02:002008-11-07T09:59:33.357-02:00

In January, I wrote about the building going up next door to ours in our ecclectic little corner of Jardins. I have always had a sort of angry relationship with it. The week we moved into our apartment, they broke ground on it and made my arrival in our new home an agonizing experience for months.A year ago, when my parents visited for Thanksgiving, it was still very much in progress, and

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-43958323663351307742008-11-06T17:52:00.009-02:002008-11-06T18:28:42.595-02:00

After deleting him from my blogroll a while back, I made the mistake of peeking at Andrew's blog this morning. I thought maybe the prosiest self-appointed crusader for gay marriage rights would have posted something really thoughtful and incisive about the stinging defeat of Proposition 8 in California. No such luck.As I later realized I should have expected, Andrew's blog can basically be

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-28687176999024257332008-10-15T11:15:00.008-03:002008-10-16T18:21:28.106-03:00

Well, it happened.In fact, it pretty much all happened at once.In the chasm of time since I last posted anything of note, all of the hanging bits of the move to Brazil have fallen into place. I got my RNE card (the Brazilian version of the green card). I solidified a business deal that could take me well to the next level professionally. And I suddenly felt Brazilian, really Brazilian, for the

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-25239887158679952702008-09-24T23:59:00.006-03:002008-09-28T13:26:41.251-03:00

It's been far too stormy the past couple weeks. In more than one respect. And for all the rollercoastering (book-ended by intervals of ennui), I have been too rung out to post anything.But as I sit here in a hotel room in New Kingston, overlooking the Caribbean (on yet another business trip), lots of things struck me and I wanted to post this.First of all, my beloved Karamale took down all his

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-59205228937155861032008-09-13T11:15:00.004-03:002008-09-13T11:20:28.495-03:00

I've deleted Andrew from my blogroll. I just can't bear to look at his site anymore. For years, lots of blogfriends have shit-talked about him and I always stood up for him. It isn't about partisanship or anything, because I never had a problem reading all points of view. But even I think he's gone completely nuts now, and it's painful and disappointing to see it on full display.Oh well.

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-16929367354836599462008-09-08T18:05:00.001-03:002008-09-08T18:07:00.606-03:00

From the John Waters classic, Female Trouble.

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-16244535110762901232008-08-23T21:37:00.007-03:002008-08-23T22:44:05.857-03:00

Something about gay young-middle-age that is so mysterious: you don't know what you miss or don't miss anymore. It's quite a limbo, especially if you grew accustomed in your mid-20s carry on about the good-old days in college, as if you were 80 years old or something.It can be embarrassing to admit to yourself that when you hit 40, you suddenly realized you're much younger than you realized.It's

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-76496584552228687182008-08-21T15:58:00.000-03:002008-08-21T15:59:04.247-03:00

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-37653639985114875662008-08-12T19:35:00.007-03:002008-08-13T11:48:20.084-03:00

I've been back in real contact with Derek Cornish and Vince Cannata after decades apart. Someday I might be able to begin to explain who they are - and what they represent - but it will take a million fragments to piece together the whole story. Like a gigantic Seurat painting that will probably never be finished in any one medium.What they first bring to mind is the role of music in my life,

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-72340236741262904292008-07-31T10:06:00.013-03:002008-07-31T11:05:57.968-03:00

Vacation has been kicking into high gear, in that I find myself inordinately social, almost like I was back in Logan Circle. I'm darkening everyone's doorsteps, and striking up conversations with all sorts of third people here and there. But I'm also realizing that my life with Vini is very self-affirming to an almost delusional degree. Now that he's away, it's like the tide rolling out to

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-67746222315412303352008-07-30T10:49:00.008-03:002008-07-31T10:48:24.265-03:00

In keeping with the endless run of vintage music playing non-stop through this vacation week, here is another one which has grabbed onto me this morning. There are plenty of other more classic and iconic songs from The Smiths and/or Morrissey himself, but this one was always a stand-out for me.I've been wandering around the streets of Centro here in São Paulo, shiftlessly perhaps. Vini left

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-73300717222402812452008-07-28T18:07:00.003-03:002008-07-28T18:10:56.009-03:00

In case you were wondering what I've been up to.The answer is, not much yet. Day three of vacation. I am simply reading and listening to music, working out, window shopping. Enjoying some vintage Madonna.This is my favorite of all her songs, and I stumbled across a wonderful fan video for it (since an official video was never made, and the song was never released as a single). I guess there

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-52482165278705090052008-07-22T14:43:00.003-03:002008-07-22T14:48:36.165-03:00

This is another one for Steve, and also for all my fellow suffering business travelers.(1:12 - 1:18: How did she know?)

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-69558326823742791612008-07-20T22:57:00.003-03:002008-07-20T23:37:06.421-03:00

Another great week in old São Paulo, if only because I finally started feeling entirely myself everywhere: in the office, in the living room, on the street, at the gym, in silence, in our bed. And at some great social gatherings of every kind.I suddenly woke up to it around 6pm on Saturday, at the feirinha on Praça Benedito Calixto with Junior. Suddenly, the pace of my social life has begun to

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-62703954219389278822008-07-16T09:09:00.014-03:002008-07-16T12:32:20.479-03:00

The last two weeks I've been having a hard time giving a damn about work. I'm as present and available to my clients as ever, and all my deadlines are being met. But you know it's time for a break when nothing about any of it is interesting anymore. It's like going through the motions in the perfect marriage - any guy with an ounce of self-awareness should take a moment and be jarred by the

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-20448196234791775032008-07-15T10:58:00.001-03:002008-07-16T12:31:24.112-03:00

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-5429627508713611922008-07-14T16:08:00.012-03:002009-11-01T09:52:29.643-02:00

I might not be able to fully explain the surreal and emotional experience I had an hour ago when I read that a man named Jim Capozzola had died almost a year ago to the day.It will probably go down in my life's history as the strangest moment of loss, disappointment and real grief for a man who played a central role in the most agonizing, humiliating experience I ever survived. And Jim Capozzola

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-84091818392593146632008-06-20T10:50:00.004-03:002008-06-26T13:59:32.981-03:00

The first day of winter was last Saturday. And winter is, indeed, here in São Paulo.There is a joke making the rounds here about how there is no such thing as global warming in South America. It's usually said with a dose of anger under the breath because folks down here may talk a good line about "loving" the cold weather of North America or Europe as tourists, but they loathe it when it

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-86561456465409619472008-06-05T11:35:00.003-03:002008-06-05T11:36:23.149-03:00

Heigh ho, and all that. :-)All the best to you, sweetie. I wish I could be there to celebrate it with you. We'll just have to say it's postponed...xoxox

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-18130319742599041792008-05-09T06:44:00.000-03:002008-05-09T06:44:00.249-03:00

I never thought Miss Piggy would deliver what would amount to my new, inappropriate theme song in life, but alas, she has. And I treasure it enough to share with you all.Boys - this one is for you (especially Joe Clarke, whose face I can see right now as he watches this). The audio is absolutely NSFW, but it is required viewing.Enjoy, and take her advice.(p.s. - I also never thought Loretta Swit

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-71778284091678446052008-05-08T08:06:00.005-03:002008-05-08T08:06:00.824-03:00

There has been such a deluge of foreshadowing and signs of real economic improvement in Brazil for so many months now. But the culmination of a series of events which climaxed on April 30th actually provoked surprise here and abroad about the strides Brazil has made, and the opportunities now in its grasp.It all emerged from the general climate of economic improvement across most indicators in

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-5244972132831318322008-05-07T08:59:00.005-03:002008-05-07T09:41:48.899-03:00

I'm heading back to Washington on Sunday night for a four-day business trip, and the usual tension is rising. Not about the work involved, or the change in climate. It's about the ever elusive upgrade.I have stuck with United Airlines through thick and thin over the years. When I was a frequent traveler to Europe in the 1990s, I was an e-fare fanatic, grabbing at every cut-rate fare to

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-30088833841575014582008-05-05T12:41:00.000-03:002008-05-05T15:24:14.493-03:00

Sometimes I feel like I'm bubbling over with stuff to write about. Whether it's a series of experiences here or abroad that add to the overall thrust of this blog, or whether I'm at a sort of crossroads and I need advice, I'm never at a loss for content.But my problem is that I barely have time to live my life, much less write about it coherently.Ironically, I have about ten minutes to write

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-80041514728776059102008-04-29T13:29:00.007-03:002008-04-29T13:55:00.241-03:00

Yeah, I'm 40. You don't have to say it. My head is perpetually in the 80s. But hey, how can you resist a toss-back to one of hundreds of one-hit wonders from the era, like this one?They used a sample of this, the only single that was a minor hit for the New Wave rock act, The Waitresses -- in a recent episode of The Simpsons. (Recent in the sense that I just saw the repeat here.) It was yet

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-74015312312960220862008-04-28T18:48:00.005-03:002008-04-29T13:41:44.791-03:00

The trip to and from Quito had to be the best part of the experience. I didn't get more than a glimpse of the city while I was there, but it was okay. It was a strange sort of experience, sort of what I imagine Alaska to be like but with very different sorts of people. It is high up and the city is shaped like a banana, carved into short valley that wraps around two huge lines of mountains.

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-23714993416626167332008-04-22T18:49:00.003-03:002008-04-22T19:01:11.860-03:00

I have to go back onto the road tomorrow morning, at the crack of dawn. I'm heading to Quito, Ecuador, to give a speech on Thursday at a conference. And, I've heard that it's quite likely I will have no internet access at my hotel. Oh joy.On the bright side, it's my first trip to the west coast of South America, and I'll have the pleasure of landing at both Lima airport and Quito airport,

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-91604986410192634262008-04-21T17:56:00.002-03:002008-04-21T17:58:43.428-03:00

OK, so...I went away for a while, and a great deal of things happened. As I indicated in my last postings, my 40th birthday was quickly approaching, and a series of my closest friends were set to begin arriving in cycles to visit and celebrate. That all went by in the last three weeks of March, and I then went back to Washington for a week of work, and visiting, and the third in a series of

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-87941311678244045222008-03-11T09:39:00.002-03:002008-03-11T10:23:14.202-03:00

I talked to my mom on Sunday night over Skype, as usual. She had just had a cataract removed from her eye the previous Wednesday and was on the mend. For weeks ahead of time she was very apprehensive about the procedure, mostly because (as someone born in 1940) she couldn't believe that having your eye sliced into while you're awake isn't always a painful, traumatizing experience.But on Sunday

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-41870653602388073692008-03-09T13:32:00.003-03:002008-03-09T13:46:41.724-03:00

I heard this come on when I was in the shower a little while ago, and the tears are still going down my face. Not just because I realized this blog is one year old at midnight, but because no echo from the past could better capture everything pressing on my heart at this moment than this song.I cried to an old song by the same band that stumbled into my ears back in December 2004. But what a

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-57932788729809193072008-03-07T11:55:00.004-03:002008-03-07T15:33:27.237-03:00

With my energy level back up to soaring levels, I'm finding myself multi-tasking all the way through incredibly long and busy days this week. So much so that I'm juggling tons of meetings, teleconferences, deadlines and communications with a series of daily house-related responsibilities (workmen are coming and going daily) and my intense gym schedule.One of the best results is that now I get to

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-82296842340500633372008-03-03T19:16:00.005-03:002008-03-04T09:17:59.639-03:00

Just a dispatch from the re-whirl. So much is going on that's good, it's almost impossible to know where to begin or end at any given moment.The training is going very well. Less than a week and I'm feeling and seeing results, most of all in how I'm so full of energy that I can barely sit still most days. When I think of the money I am spending on a personal trainer -- and the money I could

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-17068614644532398982008-02-29T10:56:00.004-03:002008-02-29T11:15:46.783-03:00

This bizarre, unplanned ramadan of mine is officially over - in every way.I am back. The whole me.I am not concerned about measuring how long I was actually gone (a month? a year?) nor the reasons behind why I went away. At this point, it's absolutely irrelevant because all that matters is today and tomorrow.Steve arrives from Paris in a matter of days, and Sean will arrive days later. I'll

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-40165069543332532412008-02-16T01:16:00.006-02:002008-02-17T13:55:18.333-03:00

It's been a trip, as they say. I'm in, perhaps, my least favorite work destination on Earth in many respects. Kingston is the capital city of a very poor country, and it's part of the whole experience. And most times I'm here, I have a raft of challenges to overcome to just be able to carry on business. But this week, it's been a trip indeed.I came here straight from New York. The trip to

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-77286745468038211162008-02-14T14:43:00.004-02:002008-02-14T14:48:26.610-02:00

Thanks for the emails asking about where the hell I have gone to. Sure, I was in New York last week and now I'm back in Kingston for work. But that hasn't been a factor before.When I stop blogging for a while, there is indeed always a reason. I've been a writer of one kind or another since I was a child, and I'm always more prolific when I have a lot of emotions.I used to have a personal diary

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-87291610684015405562008-02-01T12:47:00.000-02:002008-02-01T13:59:24.669-02:00

The massive and unprecedented transportation crisis in China set off by winter storms have unfolded like a horror movie. Television images around the world have shown the startling throngs of millions of people stranded for days without food, shelter or other basic facilities of life, simply because the Chinese transport system couldn't cope with the snow. The staggering misery at Guangzhou's

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-45325410059541968242008-01-30T11:48:00.000-02:002008-01-31T08:13:13.375-02:00

OK, so my first year down here is going down as a wash in many respects, at least on paper. I just have to accept it. I may have survived the transition in terms of the permanent visa, bank account, apartment living, absorbing the bureaucracy and the cultural divides with the U.S., but on some really key aspects of becoming Brazilian, I've been taking a powder.Case in point: the all-important

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-44553410857731752672008-01-22T11:15:00.000-02:002008-01-22T11:19:34.435-02:00

In today's selection, Bill Clinton shows us all just how tired he really is. :-)My favorite bits - how he nods through his snoozing, pretending he has any idea where he even is. And then there is the glance at the watch at the end. Reminds me of 1992.Every tired old horse has his day eventually.

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-55609355831264011902008-01-21T13:31:00.000-02:002008-01-21T14:20:09.537-02:00

The number of attacks on motorists in São Paulo by armed assailants on motorcycles has become somewhat legend not only around Brazil, but elsewhere. I've spoken to many foreigners on business travel in and out of this city, and to a person every one of them came with guidance from their company that they should only travel the city in armored cars and/or with armed security personnel. It might

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-6740502891297248192008-01-16T13:57:00.001-02:002008-01-16T14:45:03.890-02:00

We were lucky enough to spend New Year's Eve in Paris again this year, but as the French would have it, we were denied the pleasure of experiencing a smoke-free celebration, since we left too soon.A smoking ban went into effect in France on January 1, following similar bans around Western Europe, and across the pond in Washington, D.C., New York City and the State of California, among many other

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-27951813564957877652008-01-16T12:12:00.000-02:002008-01-16T13:53:58.438-02:00

Well, some of you have been polite enough to mention in emails that the political rants on here have been less than gratifying to read, at least the ones on matters American.In the words of any garden-variety lefty, let me respond with: "I feel your pain."I still think that Club Whirled has a niche to cover what's going on down here and around Latin America. That's much more tied into its core

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-90814994729614785462008-01-15T14:42:00.001-02:002008-01-15T15:46:11.917-02:00

Even though everything inside the apartment has long since changed and become more like home, there is a constant reminder right outside the guest room window of what those first few months after I arrived in São Paulo -- those jours du agoniste when I spent nearly all my time in a state of anger and fear.It seemed that the exact week that Vini and I moved into our apartment last March, a massive

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-57467076801047639802008-01-09T00:18:00.000-02:002008-01-09T09:08:26.608-02:00

With all the media and much of the blogosphere decidedly turning against her cold and uninspiring machine, as late as 8:30pm ET on Tuesday they were still saying New Hampshire would be a blowout for Barack Obama.The size of the crowds across the Granite State for the Illinois insurgent was unmistakable, and the fervent energy was in clear evidence. When word came of an historic increase in voter

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-16034882209990276432008-01-09T00:05:00.000-02:002008-01-09T09:21:05.479-02:00

Clinton's New Hampshire HQ, Last Night(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-63895493393548877762008-01-07T14:22:00.001-02:002008-01-07T16:05:57.288-02:00

As expected, Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign has only in the last 48 hours truly absorbed the body blow of the defeat in Iowa. And rather than launching a fiery broadside of ideas and substance, they've gone negative.And the state of New Hampshire is not responding well.Every poll out this morning puts Hillary between 2 and 10 points behind Barack Obama in the Granite State's

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-40378119841051128082008-01-04T08:54:00.000-02:002008-01-04T09:56:10.800-02:00

...and I mean both of them.The results from Iowa were quite the vindication for those who have said time and again that the robotic and empty machine approach to real change in America will never catch fire, and will never have a glorious day of its own.Senator Hillary Clinton began this race with as much promise and tangible assets as her brilliant and fatally flawed husband had throughout his

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-31119827799013310312007-12-31T07:56:00.000-02:002007-12-31T23:18:17.918-02:00

I've been avoiding the laptop as much as possible since I got to Paris last week with Vini. It's supposed to be a vacation, and for me that means staying far away from my Outlook.But alas, I'm in Paris again. I'm back in Europe, where I still expect that I'll likely spend most of the second half of my life. It's the end of an extremely momentous year in my life. And I just can't be completely

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-5228718868595868822007-12-24T15:15:00.001-02:002007-12-24T16:09:40.501-02:00

On Saturday, I got up as usual at 7:30am (but I was alone), and made coffee. And I sat at my desk and checked my email, in such a way as to open the office for business - for lack of anything else to do. But there wasn't much there waiting. Without Vini at home, and with my clients ebbing from their usual needs thanks to the holidays coming, I was suddenly aware that my usual routine of

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-37463976384292669582007-12-23T01:35:00.000-02:002007-12-24T18:09:46.820-02:00

It's 1:30am on the Saturday before Christmas. Vini is with his family this weekend.Jardins is very quiet, and there's a full moon above the city. There's a gentle breeze.It's lonely.

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-9923460333713262342007-12-21T09:47:00.000-02:002007-12-21T10:34:13.518-02:00

We're all nuts about Facebook these days, but the major downside to it rears its head quickly. Particularly if you're a computer geek like Ran, and you overdo it on adding applications right after you sign up. Of course, the applications tend to generate a ton of unwanted mail and solicitations that are nothing more than spam.Lately, Ran's status bar has read: "Ran has appspam fatigue."In his

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-55947309752474149622007-12-20T15:04:00.001-02:002007-12-20T17:03:48.368-02:00

ME: My name is Kevin, and I'm overweight.YOU: Hi Kevin!We all think we're fat, right? Even when we're not, we see 'fat' in the mirror all too easily. Sometimes I wish I had Sean's problem - he looks in the mirror at his muscular body and sees a scrawny person. (Jesus, talk about a win-win situation.)I, on the other hand, simply sit in a chair, and I feel my body exploding against my clothes

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-20154406935163490332007-12-18T10:45:00.000-02:002007-12-19T14:05:55.097-02:00

My net-friend Maureen commented recently about my somewhat kidding/somewhat serious concern about Clancy's bold encroachment on forbidden furniture since my stuff arrived in São Paulo earlier this month:Glad you have all your things around you. Very happy for you...except...HOW CAN YOU DENY THAT SWEET CLANCY-DOG THE BED?Fair enough. He is indeed a sweet dog, but alas that didn't come by accident

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-90475026767507310772007-12-14T15:57:00.000-02:002007-12-14T16:16:28.520-02:00

Sorry for the disappearance, but alas I was in San Francisco on business (and got to meet a good blogger-friend in person), and coping with the final chapter of my move.Yes, my stuff finally arrived.It was a bit anti-climactic, of course. Everything was in good shape (save a couple of broken glasses and some soiled ultrasuede furniture), and everything ended up fitting in place. The process of

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-69711396483249495082007-12-05T09:20:00.000-02:002007-12-05T11:46:49.436-02:00

Yesterday's New York Times had an interesting piece by Nina Bernstein and Elizabeth Dwoskin on the growing return of Brazilian illegal immigrants from the United States back here to their home country. It raised several points about both countries, and showed the unique position that Brazil holds today in the larger issue of immigration in the U.S., as well as the evolving global economy.The

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-57714413478167067622007-12-04T20:48:00.000-02:002007-12-04T20:56:28.886-02:00

A very serious blast from the past. The 80s to be precise. Here is a very well-worn piece of Judy Tenuta's best known performance of her stand-up act, captured (in a different venue) for her well-selling 1987 album, Buy This, Pigs!The self-described "petite flower/giver goddess/fashion plate/saint" was a bit of a flash in the pan, except for us fags of a certain age who played her album

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-76792949900783978672007-12-03T11:01:00.001-02:002007-12-03T13:12:15.872-02:00

When I got in last night from Buenos Aires, the news on the big TV in the immigration hall at GRU showed images of Hugo Chávez giving a speech with that smug look on his face, and he was holding an infant in his arms.Even though the results were not yet being reported, I got this sick feeling in my stomach. I just knew that despite the many reports of independent opinion polls showing widespread

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-68062568230157492232007-12-01T19:38:00.000-02:002007-12-05T16:50:54.762-02:00

As every December 1 would roll around, everyone in their circle of friends back in Logan Circle would pause to reflect, and take stock. It was, after all, an annual commemoration of a very important aspect of their lives, and this year would include an especially poignant sentiment. There was a sense of longing, of missing old friends since departed, hopefully to better places. It was a special

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-2190142560218743862007-11-29T11:27:00.000-02:002007-11-29T11:43:32.529-02:00

Just got off the phone with the company handling my move. You know, the one that started in March?Well, it took four days to get someone to take my call over there. And when I finally got the woman handling my account, she said that she has no idea when my stuff will be released from customs because it hasn't been assigned to an inspector yet.Sure - this is not her fault. But lurking behind

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-64484590274884613822007-11-25T13:08:00.000-02:002007-11-25T11:26:01.150-02:00

We're two weeks away from the inauguration of Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner as President of Argentina, and it comes at a time of both tremendous promise and serious danger for the Argentine economy. The recovery from the unprecedented national meltdown of 2001-2002 has been impressive, and growth is galloping forward while poverty and unemployment are heading down. But classic problems

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-37887345272390081712007-11-24T14:24:00.001-02:002007-11-24T14:38:14.516-02:00

The whole Thanksgiving strategy this year turned out to be a stroke of genius.My parents arrived on Tuesday morning and were in joyous spirits, and we have had a wonderful week so far. On Thursday, Claudia hosted all of us at her apartment down the street -- along with her whole family -- for our holiday dinner. This was mostly because my things have still not arrived from the United States,

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-9419106883702587822007-11-21T10:47:00.000-02:002007-11-21T10:50:05.722-02:00

In case it wasn't too obvious, I'm off this week.My parents arrived yesterday morning for their first visit since I moved, and my father is staying for a week. Mom is staying for two weeks, and we're going to Buenos Aires for a long weekend before she heads back.So, barring some intense need to escape from my vacation and achieve a level of sanity, I doub't I'll be blogging much for the next

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-1739055762567414612007-11-14T10:56:00.000-02:002007-11-14T14:59:46.990-02:00

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez sent another dispatch from the inner recesses of his insane mind, regarding the contretemps at the Iberoamerican Summit in Santiago de Chile."Hitler was elected by the Germans, does that mean that nobody can attack Hitler? That's so absurd, and that's the absurdity Zapatero came up with."Yes, he said that.I don't even have to say a word, do I?

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-3505154433370512502007-11-14T08:38:00.001-02:002007-11-14T11:07:47.157-02:00

I still find it amazing that some people think the Iranian regime is one that civilized countries can do business with. It has always been a frightening thing to contemplate living in Iran since the extremists took over in 1979, marking their arrival in power by invading the U.S. Embassy and taking hundreds of innocent diplomats hostage. The current president of the country, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-12680747759640377162007-11-13T08:57:00.000-02:002007-11-13T09:52:00.050-02:00

This is the video that all of Latin America is talking about right now, and for good reason. What a deeply, deeply gratifying moment it was last weekend in Chile, at the Iberoamerican Summit, where Hugo Chávez went too far (yet again) and was told to shut up by the King of Spain.Indeed, I have never had any affection for socialist Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, not since

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-56505233256687859852007-11-12T13:00:00.001-02:002007-11-12T13:21:36.232-02:00

After weeks of nervous waiting and hoping, the far-more-popular blog of our beloved Club Whirled alum Matt seems to have gone from intensive care to the morgue.Is this truly the end of The Malcontent??I don't want to write its obituary just yet, but the technical death spiral lasted so long, without any sufficient explanation, and then all of a sudden it was gone -- replaced by a WordPress dummy

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-11713808234320599422007-11-12T10:20:00.000-02:002007-11-12T11:08:57.551-02:00

It's sad when things are so bad in the global finance system that you have to take advice from a supermodel. But alas, the daily dose of bad news on the dollar is making life impossible for ex-pats who earn their living in the increasingly worthless greenback.In the few days before Gisele Bundschen announced she will no longer accept payment in U.S. dollars, there was a sort of buzzing panic

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-31410552872424692082007-11-09T08:07:00.002-02:002008-11-14T18:42:11.753-02:00

In an excellent cover story in Veja São Paulo, satisfyingly entitled "Wild Boys and Cowards", a group of intrepid reporters give the most thorough and in-depth picture yet of the real story behind the wave of attacks and murders by punks and skinheads in the Jardins neighborhood over the last year, as well as horrifying murders and gang attacks in other parts of town. The latest was the brutal

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-62216482566909494102007-11-08T08:58:00.000-02:002007-11-10T11:38:51.863-02:00

There are times for us to debate as a community, and sometimes to debate with a great intensity. And there are times -- sadly very few opportunities, and nearly all of them have been negative -- when something happens and we take a breath and come together in unity.I've had a hand in saying plenty about Barney Frank over the last 15 years, especially during my time on staff at Log Cabin

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-58826637465981345162007-11-06T10:28:00.000-02:002007-11-06T17:21:08.109-02:00

Chris Crain has commented on a thread raised first by Andrew Sullivan, about the disrespectful treatment that gay couples and families receive when coming through customs and immigration in the United States from abroad. I guess I have to join in, because as the majority of the gay political blogosphere back home is consumed with the pointless navel-gazing fight over ENDA, it would be nice to

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-77373733405916399762007-11-06T09:23:00.000-02:002007-11-06T09:27:11.149-02:00

It was, of course, inevitable. And thank God for that.

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-16740658182884047662007-11-05T13:10:00.000-02:002007-11-05T13:54:22.963-02:00

For those who have been following the story here of the wave of anti-gay attacks and murders in and around the Jardins neighborhood, finally we can report some good news. Indeed, we can chalk one up for the Brazilian authorities, and my heartfelt thanks goes out to the Military Police (PM), the federal police force that has some jurisdiction over large-scale criminal conspiracies.Officers of the

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-64543734882070994992007-11-02T09:26:00.000-02:002007-11-02T09:33:14.183-02:00

As I head back home to São Paulo, the road ahead is as glorious as the crater-filled, rain-swept bouncefest from the hotel to Norman Manley Airport in Kingston where I will begin this journey. And since I must fly American Airlines, with whom I have no status whatsoever, I look forward with all sorts of glee at the joys of flying in coach with a U.S. carrier.

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-74237825620661850592007-10-31T08:24:00.000-02:002007-10-31T09:05:30.791-02:00

This is all part of what was behind the word "whirl" in naming this blog back in 2004. Life to people like me (and the guys back in Logan Circle in D.C. who I lived among) is both global and local, dizzying and bizarrely orderly, ironic and contradictory, clubby and lonely - all at once.Here's yet another example.So I am laying in bed in a miserable hotel in Kingston, on a five-day business trip

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-41327946867808988212007-10-30T06:01:00.000-02:002007-10-30T07:56:01.877-02:00

For those who are curious about the basics of how the international finance system operates, particularly for developing countries, I offer you a five-minute instructional video featuring Archie Bunker as a Latin American debtor nation, the Meathead as the IMF, George Jefferson as the Paris Club, Edith Bunker as the U.S. Treasury, Louise Jefferson as the European Central Bank and Gloria Stivic as

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157734557756833921.post-87375160678284876282007-10-24T11:27:00.000-02:002007-10-24T12:31:04.260-02:00

Change on the subject of gay rights doesn't come in giant, dramatic strokes in Latin America. It's always something subtle that accumulates in the air, like the smell of a turkey slowly roasting in the oven all afternoon at Thanksgiving.Today, yet another small and all-but-ignored advance occurred for gays here in the state and city of São Paulo. Officials from the state and municipal executive

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15442878001933795958noreply@blogger.com2