tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131619252008-06-20T18:14:05.350-03:00Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1161265039323689702006-10-19T09:28:00.000-03:002006-10-19T10:43:38.936-03:00

Yes... I am alive! And I present below, as proof, a sequence of images from last weekend, at the beach in Saquarema. For the skeptics (since there isn't actually a picture of *me* here), you can find a complete gallery update at http://gramlingville.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=saqua102006 Or, go straight to the slideshow -- (look for the crazed gringo axe murderer on the beach!)

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1148485873221161192006-05-25T23:54:00.000-03:002006-05-26T00:23:13.930-03:00

I just realized that my first year anniversary of this blog is coming up! (On June 6, to be exact). Wow! It seems like just a couple of posts ago I mentioned that it had been 9 months since I had started "blogging". Oh... that was just a couple of posts ago! Oops. ;-) One of the interesting things about writing a blog for me has been that I end up having a written (and sometimes pictorial)

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1145046806624312802006-04-15T23:55:00.000-03:002006-04-16T00:29:47.240-03:00

Well ... maybe not for the "price" of one! I've just been propelled into "unclehood" again, with the birth on Wednesday of Rodrigo and Eduardo (Rodrigo is the one in blue! and Eduardo is ... duh!). Proud mommy Tatiana will have her hands (and everything else!) full with these two bundles of joy. Contented daddy Celio (Cristina's brother) was one giant smile throughout the first day. He may be

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1144785688039392212006-04-11T16:32:00.000-03:002006-04-11T18:12:01.446-03:00

"Hey! Stop that! If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times! Don't you go beheading your brother!" Those darn kids! You can't turn your back for a second without them getting into some kind of mischief! Luckily, Kevin tipped me off before things got out of hand!Life can be tough when you've got a big brother.****As advertised, the pool is now open for business. I haven't posted many

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1144198383959336842006-04-06T23:58:00.000-03:002006-04-07T08:53:30.600-03:00

Our life has been once again in a state of upheaval. Somehow, in the blink of an eye, turmoil and chaos descended upon us here in Gramlingville. And by our choice, no less. It all began just as things were starting to get calm again. After living the last five months of last year under a siege of dust and dirt, pounding hammers and power tools, with the constant presence of workmen within a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1143056168889976142006-03-29T08:05:00.000-03:002006-03-29T08:19:13.280-03:00

THE CALF PATH -- Sam Walter Foss (1858 - 1911) One day, through the primeval wood, A calf walked home, as good calves should; But made a trail all bent askew, A crooked trail, as all calves do. Since then three hundred years have fled, And, I infer, the calf is dead. But still he left behind his trail, And thereby hangs my moral tale. The trail was taken up next day By a lone dog that passed

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1142011272245407682006-03-22T16:35:00.000-03:002006-03-22T16:39:07.870-03:00

This is the third installment in what should have been a 2 part series! The first two installments can be read here: Part 1 Part 2 It turns out this will be a four-part series! I promise! No more! **** It has become rather common to refer to our era as the "Information Age". However, careful consideration of the technological and cultural trends that make up our society leads me to

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1141348640747406212006-03-16T18:15:00.000-03:002006-03-18T17:57:09.863-03:00

This is Part 2 of what will (hopefully) be no more than a 3 part series. Part 1 can be read here. **** So here we are, in the year 2006. And I'm no astronaut. I try to imagine what the 11 year-old boy who used to lie awake at night, nose stuck in a paperback, dreaming of the future, would think about the world today. I also wonder what he would think about the life I have made for him as an

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1141854255940618172006-03-08T18:27:00.000-03:002006-03-08T22:08:16.826-03:00

Not one to be left out of the wave of birth announcements, I have one to make! For this, I have to interrupt my "previously scheduled" programming (Back to the Future - Part II)... which is just as well, since (as is normal for me) the text has grown beyond my original intentions (I'm going to have to break it into at least two other posts). Please welcome to the world Isabela, b. March 7,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1124995118525675212006-03-02T11:17:00.000-03:002006-03-02T22:46:55.096-03:00

Tonight I'm going to try something completely different. Please bear with me ... if this is not your cup of tea, then take comfort in the fact that I'm breaking this into two posts. (Hopefully I will finish this and post the rest tomorrow!) I ran across the picture above on the internet, supposedly taken from a 1954 issue of Popular Mechanics. The caption reads: Scientists from RAND

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1138500994355146502006-02-26T13:31:00.000-03:002006-03-01T21:40:24.423-03:00

Sibling Rivalry As of next week, it will be 9 months since I started this blog. Based on the standard gestational period, I should be about ready to give birth. I mention this as a curiosity: what is it that happened around May and June of last year that led to so many pregnancies??? Is it just me, or have others noticed this as well? It seems that just about everyone I know that could have

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1140381229206193312006-02-19T15:50:00.000-03:002006-02-19T22:49:06.433-03:00

This is what a million-person + crowd on the beach in Rio looks like. Last night, the Rolling Stones performed a free concert on Copacabana Beach... quite an event, drawing somewhere between 1.2 million and 2 million people, depending on whose count you believe. (this picture is not mine ... I blatantly ripped it off from a brazilian news site; see the link below for a slideshow that gives an

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1138485999418273792006-01-28T20:06:00.000-02:002006-01-28T23:56:14.766-02:00

I'm back! Ok, not really. I'm actually still in the midst of my "three-projects at once, traveling all the time, kids on vacation, Cristina teaching again, me stressed-out and slightly overwhelmed" phase. I've been bouncing back and forth between Rio and Salvador, mostly putting out fires. Actually, I feel like I've been mostly sweeping up ashes. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1133222744459202622005-12-10T01:38:00.000-02:002005-12-10T02:34:38.596-02:00

Amazing how fast a month can pass! Amazing how hard it is to get back into the groove when you lose a habit! I apologize for the hiatus. I also apologize for using the word "hiatus". Actually, it seems like it's been much longer than a month since I've written anything in my blog. It's astonishing to me that anyone is still out there checking my blog (if only occasionally), but I keep getting a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1131391220935860782005-11-08T11:00:00.000-02:002005-11-08T11:49:53.930-02:00

After months of daily wiggling and several failed attempts at manual removal, along with Christian's steadfast resistance to my overtures with a pair of pliers, the dentist finally resolved the issue quickly and (relatively) painlessly. She had originally preferred to try and wait the teeth out, give them a chance to fall out naturally, as the teeth underneath pushed them out. They endured

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1127185789901276042005-11-01T20:09:00.000-02:002005-11-04T09:18:27.400-02:00

I've been going over my backlog of pictures that I've been meaning to post to the gallery. Most are of daytrips around Rio de Janeiro with the family ... which give me a chance to talk a little about Rio's history or natural wonders, as well as show off my kids to family and friends! Some day I plan to build a blog/picture index, and these can make up a "tourism" section. But this has exposed a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1129858390864439502005-10-28T21:28:00.000-02:002005-10-28T21:52:35.903-02:00

Our glorious 36 hours of freedom came to an abrupt end on Monday morning (of last week), as the curtain of reality fell shut behind us, severing our material existence from the misty dreamlike recollections of our fantasy weekend. Was it real? Did we dream it? Within 48 hours of our return from Petropolis, the memories already seemed illusory and indistinct-- the intensity of daily routine had

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1129598489423254172005-10-18T07:30:00.000-02:002005-10-30T20:12:53.330-02:00

Overheard in the car, driving to Petropolis Him: "Wow. I can't believe we are finally getting away!" Her: "Yeah! It's been so long! Do you think the kids will be all right?" Him: "Oh, I'm sure they will. Do you realize how long it's been since we've gone anywhere together? Just the two of us?" Her: "We went to Casa Shopping just a couple of weeks ago to pick out ceramic for the floors..."

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1129377703267199422005-10-15T07:32:00.000-03:002005-10-15T11:00:43.416-03:00

I don't have time for a decent blog post, so here goes a brief update of the more significant events of the last few days. I just keep getting behind ... I've got several planned posts and a bunch of pictures, but can't seem to get caught up. Oh, and ... Happy Birthday Kim (yesterday!). Actually I mentioned this in the last post's comments, late last night ... but now it's officially blogged!

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1128611605235887222005-10-11T08:58:00.000-03:002005-10-11T09:15:49.113-03:00

Last Wednesday night I had my first tennis lesson. But before I say anything about the lesson, let me go back and provide a little background: Tennis and I have a long and somewhat troubled history. I used to play it ... way back when... (ahem) ... when I was younger, (although I never took formal lessons). I got by ok, and I basically liked playing tennis, although I was never either a very

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1128307889678848542005-10-04T17:03:00.000-03:002005-10-04T19:03:57.066-03:00

Here's a little story to help everyone else feel better about their weekend! (I know it's Tuesday, but I started writing this yesterday!) **** It's Sunday afternoon; we are at a birthday party for a little girl from Kevin's class. The party is being held at one of Ilha's more popular "party places" -- a rented location that caters specifically to the trend that has become part of Brazilian

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1127961240647205332005-09-29T23:52:00.000-03:002005-09-30T13:45:52.376-03:00

It's starting to become rather cliché for me to say that it's been a long week... but it does seem like last weekend was a long time ago! I can't seem keep up with real life virtually; I still have pictures ready for the gallery from weeks ago, because I still haven't got around to writing a blog post for them! In my last post (on Saturday), I mentioned that preparations were underway for

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1127488947047934252005-09-24T09:13:00.000-03:002005-09-24T09:39:17.570-03:00

I really did... on Thursday night, at a little japanese restaurant nearby with Cristina and my brother-in-law Celinho. And although it wasn't my first time, it was the first time that I went beyond the "Hot Philadelphia" ( a "makimono" which is mostly rice and cream cheese, and doesn't really look like fish at all), and tried some different sushi and even sashimi... slimy-feeling strips of raw

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1127185301225983642005-09-21T15:01:00.000-03:002005-09-21T15:07:37.866-03:00

Last Wednesday (a week ago today) we made the traditional run to the airport, to say our goodbyes to Celio and Clea (my inlaws), who left to spend some time with Cleia and Mark in New Jersey. (Note to "outsiders": Cleia, generally known as Duca within the family, is Cristina's sister; she and her husband, Mark, are also Kevin's godparents.) It is usually during these trips that we perceive how

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13161925.post-1126807839855220952005-09-19T23:01:00.000-03:002005-09-20T00:24:27.146-03:00

A rainy saturday at home. After a couple of somewhat indigestible posts, today I'm moving back to the vegetarian menu. This weekend was cool and rainy ... and everyone seemed to be nursing a hangover from a long week (I mean that figuratively; it's a common brazilian expression!). Luckily, cousins Bruno and Mariana dropped by on Saturday to provide much needed distraction from a situation

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07099579478274718815noreply@blogger.com