Each Friday morning I post a riddle or brain teaser. The idea is to get you to think outside the box and exercise your brain. However, since I am still abroad in Brazil with limited access to my blog, I thought I’d share an optical illusion, which I hope you enjoy.
No, I’m not making this up. According to Comments or questions? Contact BosGuy
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Yearly Archives: 2012
ImageBoston Ballet Nutcracker production
The Boston Globe says that the Boston Ballet’s new production of the Nutcracker “shimmers”… I’m not really sure what that means, and I’ve not had a chance to see the show this year, but I’m assuming what Thea Singer was trying to say was Get Your Ass To The Nutcracker.
Thanks to the Boston Ballet for sharing this beautiful photo from the show. If you are tempted, you may purchase tickets to see the Nutcracker, which runs through December 30th.
Sao Paulo Brazil
Our visit to Brazil concluded with the final two days of our vacation in Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo. This city lives in the shadow of the more famous, Rio de Janeiro, because it lacks the natural beauty that Rio is so blessed to have. However, I love this city of 12 million residents, which by the way makes it the largest city in the southern hemisphere.
The key to having a good time in Sao Paulo is having someone to show you around, because the size of this city makes it too large for a tourist to wrap their head around. Previously, we’ve hit the clubs – Sao Paulo is home to my favorite gay club called The Week, but this was a more relaxing visit spent eating and visiting with friends and family.
Paulista’s (a resident of Sao Paulo) are famous for their many delicious pizzerias and thousands of pizzas are made and consumed each night in this sprawling urban jungle. On this trip we enjoyed the fantastic restaurants in the trendy Jardins District near our hotel including a pizzeria on Saturday night called Pizza na Mao.
Should you be planning a trip to Brazil and have any questions about Sao Paulo or another area definitely give me a shout and I’ll be happy to share what I know.
Furry Friday
Source: Pemovision
Latinos support marriage equality
It is now one month since the 2012 Presidential election. Aside from the woman’s vote, no group has been more obsessed over than the growing Latino vote. So I was fascinated to read that last month ABC reported,
Nearly six-in-ten Latino voters (59%) said their state should legally recognize same-sex marriage while 32% said their state should not. But among all voters, about half (48%) favored legalization of gay marriage while nearly the same share said they would oppose it (47%). Non-Hispanic whites were the most opposed to states legally sanctioning same-sex marriage (47% favored but 50% were opposed).
On the surface Latinos seem to be a ripe constituency for the Republican Party but based on exit polling this demographic appears to be evolving toward greater acceptance of same-sex couples. This isn’t completely surprising since it also mirrors LGBT advances in many Latin and South American countries.
If true, this is problematic for a Republican Party hoping to gain a larger voter base without becoming more socially progressive.
More here.
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Jurere and Jurere International
Prior to visiting Florianopolis, I had heard that if you were gay you should check out Praia Mole. If you’d like to learn more about the official gay beach on the island be sure to check out my recent post, Praia Mole: Where the gays are.
If you would like to see another part of the island and not be the only gay man on the beach, venture over to in Jurere International; specifically by the beach in front of Taeko – a restaurant / bar area with beautiful views and warm water to enjoy.
Most who visit this part of the island seem to stay at the Jurere Beach Village. I had opted to stay elsewhere since the resort looked so family-friendly and if I go back I would seriously consider renting a house near Taeko, but if that is not an option, I’d suggest trying Jurere Beach Village since it is an easy walk along the beach to Taeko (5-10 minutes).
I would guess approximately 25% of the people here were gay if not more. In addition to the beach, which is beautiful, the neighborhood has constructed a walking / jogging path that gives you views of the the water to one side and beautiful mansions on the other side. The path also attaches to the various beach bars (like Taeko).
Republican party
It is one month to the day since the 2012 Presidential elections. I’m still amazed by the results of the election and wanted to share a comment from Andrew Sullivan following the election which left social progressives giddy and was met with shrieks of disbelief from Fox News.
“The Republican candidate failed to get even 40 percent of the vote in New York State and California. The latter is the most remarkable. It was Nixon’s and Reagan’s home-state. And now their party is essentially based in Mississippi.” – Andrew Sullivan
White man’s overbite
After seeing this photo I have to disagree with Urban Dictionary’s definition of White Man’s Overbite: A disgusting display which no person should be made to observe.
What do you think? Disgusting? Doubt it.
Caption this photo
My friend Bruno posted this photo on FB and I couldn’t help but share it.
Boston’s Hubway contemplates year-round service
Boston’s bike sharing program, The Hubway, closed for the winter last week. Officials report that The Hubway recorded more than 530,000 rides before closing for the season; roughly 50% better than expected. The program’s popularity with tourists and residents alike means you can expect to see The Hubway continue to expand beyond it’s current 100+ bike stations and 1,000+ bikes in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline.
The program’s success also has officials now contemplating winter service; creating year-round service for members. According to The Boston Globe article this could happen as soon as next December. Current contracts and permits call for a nearly four-month closure, but the two-thirds of Hubway stations located on plazas and sidewalks could remain in place without posing an obstacle for street plowing.
Do you use The Hubway system here in Boston? Would you brave the ice, snow and cold in the winter to use the bike sharing program if stations remained open next winter?
Praia Mole: Where the gays are
Florianopolis is a small city by Brazilian standards, but most who travel here never set foot in the downtown preferring the natural beauty the island has to offer, which includes scores of beaches, plenty of forest, dunes and a couple of gorgeous lakes. For years many gay Paulistas and Cariocas have been coming to Florianopolis, but recently this has become a destination for many gay travelers from Europe, Australia and North America. Just an hour flight south of Sao Paulo makes it relatively easy to get here.
Praia Mole is known as the gay beach on the island. This is a beautiful beach on the east side of the island that extends nearly 1 kilometer. The far end of the beach, near an outcropping of over-sized boulders is the gay bar, Bar do Deca. Although the nightclubs are all located in the city, if the weather is good – the guys will mostly be at Praia Mole.
Should you want to explore the city, another advantage to this part of the island is that it is fairly convenient to Florianopolis (a taxi is approximately $30 each way). We used our central location to visit other parts of the island; perhaps the most notable location was Sambaqui, a quaint neighborhood on the west side of the island. From our restaurant in Sambaqui we had a beautiful view of Florianopolis.
Here are more photos of this beautiful Brazilian beach. 
After we left this part of the island we ventured north to Jurere and the slightly newer and wealthier Jurere International. While Praia Mole rightly deserves the reputation as the “gay beach” there is no doubt that if you go to the beach club / bar Taiko in Jurere International you will be far from alone, but more on that in a future post.
Back at work
While I do not expect any sympathy I have to admit that after being away from the office for more than two weeks, I am absolutely buried with work. Everything has piled up in my absence and deadlines are hitting fast and furious.
I’ll use the memories of Brazil to motivate me and dream about my next trip to distract me from my hum-drum routine. Watch for posts for the next few days about my time in Florianopolis and Sao Paulo Brazil.
BTW – thank you for visiting my blog both while I was away and now that I’m back home again.
Andy Husbands menu featured in Terminal E
Congrats to South End chef and restaurant owner, Andy Husbands, who is the latest local visiting chef to be featured at Dine Boston at Logan Airport’s Terminal E. Located before you need to enter security, Andy’s menu starts tomorrow, December 5th and includes fried Brussels sprouts; hanger steak with Swiss chard, wild mushrooms, and fontina-stuffed tater tots (OMG); and goat cheese cheesecake.
BosGuy 