overkill

paragominas got its place in world news media. there was a small riot there last weekend. the government shut down some illegal lumber industries which were cutting down large amounts of the amazon forest. large logs floating in rivers. but here the logs are carried by trucks. paragominas is a hole inside the amazon forest. there is no forest remaining in the horizon. opening roads here means destroying the forest because the lumber industries eat the forest in the road radius. paragominas is a very hot city because there are almost no trees along the sidewalks. and, curiously, the place where the riot happened was the city park, the last remains of the native forest inside the city. the riots burnt some cars and made a mess of the government enviroment office. i saw some of the damaged cars outside the park. anyway, that place is still very quiet. no riots on that friday. another neighbouring town had its lumber factories disabled too and it was terrible for its economy. its economy was solely made of lumber. i think it will turn into a desert town, as those which were built during the gold rush here. but paragominas has some ore, and mining is turning out to be the top moneymaker to this city, so no worries.

the mining industry is bringing lots of resources to the city. the mayor is investing in city beautification with lots of parks, squares, city buildings and other small essential details that the developed world doesn't live without. there are no sewers in the city. and there were few paved streets. the mayor is paving roads without making a sewer system below it first. no elector sees water pipes. but i can see theater. the first one had its debut this month. i went there last weekend. a short dance show with few people of the public. yet i was in the company of my friends, alberto and my brother. it was some modern dance with cult chico buarque's songs in the background. it was about the dictatorship in 70s. if i had friends here in belem i would have plenty of choices of quality shows, but i have none and i dislike going out alone. i've talked a lot with alberto. he plans to travel this vacation. he never left this state of pará. he is amazed by the architecture of the other cities here in brazil. i know a lot of cities of this country. somehow, i think its the way you feel about me, while talking to someone who has traveled much less than you.

we celebrated my little cousin's birthday in saturday. she got a baby doll almost her size. she is just a tiny girl. 2 or 3 yo? i don't remember. i think i didn't notice the candles numbering her age at all. i've never seen any birthday party cake with candles in the number of the age of a person.

on sunday me and my mother and brothers and a little girl, a friend of my mother, traveled back to belem. there was to be a christian party there and nayane was invited too. my mother mistook her name several times. sometimes she called her dayane, other times nayara. then, we arrived at the christian party. a very simple one. there weren't many people, because exams to start tertiary studies were taking place the same day, and the party was targeted at young people. so, most of the people there were children and some teenagers. the party happened inside a school, in the gym. the sound system was so bad that we couldn't understand what they sang or spoke into the microphone. there were 3 guitars, one bass and drums. i couldn't hear any of the guitars. the gym was almost empty and had a lot of reverb. and, of course, it was damn boring. at least i had my older brother's boredom to share. we began first hitting the plastic cups for percussive sounds. after we played *****. we got bored of that and tried other childish games until we got the attention of some loose grown ups and afterwards some children, not used to old children games which didn't require video. the weirdness about it was because we were two tall guys with long hair and tick beard playing games usually played by girls. and, of course, those children joked about us, calling us jesus twins. everything there was crappy. i played my crap recorder after we got bored of the games. and, in the end, there was a short play with the children acting as mother mary and a saint and poor hungry people being helped by them.

after that we went home to have a shower and we went to the mall, where we were to watch some movies. nayane was below the minimum age to watch 007 quantum of solace so she couldn't enter. and of course, my mother had to take care of her, so, she skipped the session too. unfortunately it was late at night, and all the other stores and fast foods were closed, then they had to wait for us until the end of the movie. i refused to eat inside the mall before the movie session, so i went outside to buy something on the street. unfortunately, even the hot dogs outside were more expensive than in other parts of the city. and yet disgusting. at least, it was a small fraction of the price inside the mall. but yet disgusting, not hygienic. a lot of trash on the sidewalk. but the movie was good. many people wrote bad reviews about this movie. and i think 007 franchise is getting better, deeper, and yet more unrealistic. older versions of james bond could jump into the sea and get out with a dry suit. now bond beat a lot of guys with only his fists.

and now it's monday. i went to uni but my law teacher didn't. so i had to come back. my mother went out with my brother and the girl to visit his psychiatrist. my younger brother stayed home. my mother wants me to cook lunch. i'm asleep, dying of laziness. and i must stop typing and get my butt out of this chair.