Random Rusty Rambles: SUP? Samba vs Polka today.

Olá da praia!

Well, Argentina beat Belgium,1-0 on a opportunistic gaol by Gonzolo Higuain. Belgium is on their way back to Antwerp. I wonder if they ever see Tom Shane there?

The Netherlands scraped by Costa Rica with brilliant tactics by manager Louis van Gaal. In the remaining seconds of Extra Time, the Dutch Coach substituted goalkeepers. Out with Jasper Cillessen, who had played the entire 120 minutes. In with 6'4" Tim Krul, who van Gaal had previously decided is better at stopping penalty kicks. It worked magically, as Krul stopped 2 of Costa Rica's attempts.

Musica do Dia

Just when I was about out of Brazillian tunes, AK from LA saves the Day.

check out the music project Olodum, if you fancy some Samba Reggae and great mission.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/olodum-mn0000474628/biography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3o30YJiWsc

you might remember Olodum from Paul Simon's Rhythm of the Saints and his concert in Central Park in '91.

What SUP? Time For a Cool Change

The other day, Reg and I got out for some Stand Up Paddle boarding, kids call it 'SUP'. The hut that offers my favorite breakfast also rents boards, kites and gives lessons. Our teacher was Jon. Here, I can translate from Portuguese- it's pronounced 'Jon'. At least his English was better than my Portuguese. With the calm Atlantic waters and the sun nearing it's daily zenith, Reg and I launched. Or, maybe I should say, Jon launched us- got us out beyond the breaking waves. What a glorious day to be on the water. If there's one thing in my life that's missing. It's the time that I spend alone, sailing on the cool and bright clear water. Stand Up Paddle Boarding is as simple as it sounds, just not as easy. The balancing part does not come natural. I felt like Bambi trying to walk on ice. I may have been standing, but it wasn't pretty. I will not when any awards for style.

Beyond that, it was great. I cruised around 2-300 yards off shore, was nice to get out and away from people. The silence and fresh air were a welcomed change. Plus, it gave a new geographical perspective of the area that I'm temporarily calling home. It's kind of a special feeling, out on the sea alone. Especially when the mirage of a mermaid approaches. Oh wait, that's an actual woman. A minute ago, she was 2k up the coast. Suddenly she's 3 meters off the starboard side. or was that port side? whatever. She was on her daily 'run' up the coast. just paused a moment to give an obvious rookie a few needed pointers...in Portuguese. Not sure I got much of that, but thank you anyway, strange woman.

I've been occasionally watching these birds from the beach for over a month. As much as I can tell, it is some kind of Tern. Birders, help me out here. They drift around the air for a few minutes about 10 meters off the surface, then suddenly free fall directly into the surf, hunting for a meal. Or, possibly it's just entertainment. heck, I'd do that too, if I could. To get back up to altitude, they fly directly at an oncoming wave, catching a boost from the updraft that the wave produces.

SUP offers a nice vantage point to witness nature in action from up close. It can be quite disconcerting to the equilibrium to watch a flying creature from a vessel rocking in the waves. My belly is getting queazy, time to get back to the shore.

On the way back, my SUP sensei, Jon, met me at the break, guiding me in. Facing the beach, on my knees and paddling, he shouted "go, Go, GO!" huh? well, ok. I paddled like a Hawaiian late for a luau. In a moment, I was being pushed by a massive 2 ft wave. Hey what the?! I think I'm actually surfing this wave. silly me, that was probably Jon's plan all along. However, My monster mavericks moment came to a quick conclusion when the front of the board went under. You know what that means. Subsequently, Rüsseldiñho, the legendary surf dude, was sent over the top, flipping face first into the foam. After a few seconds in the Maytag agitation cycle, I emerged, spit out a few gallons of salt water with sand and stumbled, drunkenly to the dry beach. Most likely, it was the greatest 7 seconds of surfing prowess ever recorded. What? Nobody got that on tape?!?!?

Daily Double DoppleSøméthîng

The current Germany head Coach.

Apparently, before he was sponsored by GQ.

Culinary Adventures

Dinner the other night was authentic Brazilian at Picanha restaurant. Looking at the Portuguese menu, entrees looked to be around 50 Reals- roughly $25. OK, my Per Diem can deal with that.

However, looking at the English menu was a bit suspect

It's World Cup time here in Rio, which means Business can feel free to jack up the price. We made sure we pointed at the other menu.

They like to serve large portions here. I ended up with leftovers that provided 2 breakfasts. bonus.

On Tap Today

Heavyweight matchup of world powers today. Together, they have won 8 of the 19 World Cups.

Brazil has home field advantage. That counts for about 2 extra players. perfect, because they'll be down 2 of their regulars. Neymar, out with a broken vertebrae and Thiago Silva out with consecutive Yellow cards. . Without their star, they might just pull together as a team. This may just be a team of destiny. Nobody has beaten Brazil on home soil in a competitive match since 1975. The 5 stars on their uniforms, above the crest, remind opposing teams of their historic dominance, indicating how many times they have conquered all in football.

Germany is running on all 6 BMW cylinders. On paper, they look to be the strongest team of the whole tournament. They are hungry. This is there 4th consecutive trip to the semi-finals. As the team that has been to the most WC Finals, they have won 3 World Cup trophies and have been Runners Up four times. Forward Miroslav Klose is tied with retired Brazil striker Ronaldo for the All-Time WC scoring record with 15 goals. Deutschland wants it. Brazil won't let it happen.

It's Samba vs Polka. Fogo de Chao vs Hofbrauhaus. Nike vs Adidas. Volkswagen vs Volkswagen?

yep. The Germans invaded here in 1950, producing over 3 million Beetles. They only recently stopped making the VW Microbus, the last coming off production lines in Dec 2013. Makes we want to investigate importing one home. But, that would probably be too expensive to modify to US standards. In reality, I'd only be chasing lost college dreams of have a dependable VW Bus that doesn't break down on I-5 near Woodland, forcing you to sleep overnight in a grocery store parking lot with dirty laundry as a sleeping bag.

Don't ya hate how people can have four conversations at once on their iPhone, while you are trying to have a conversation over lunch? If you get a chance, I highly recommend the move Disconnect. It's a great commentary of how Electronic communication can take over and replace real human connection. Wonderful filmmaking with a solid cast. There are some very serious issues here; infidelity, suicide and failing family dynamics, but it's a great message. Rated R for a reason. It's pretty powerful.