Thomas Locke Hobbs

Currently near San Francisco

Tulips & Gravestones at St. Paul's Chapel in Lower Manhattan.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Stuphin Blvd./Archer Ave. at about 3am going into Manhattan from JFK. Like the crazy person I am, I took the subway into the city in the middle of the night. I remembered, as I borded the train, that the E line is the preferred one for homeless people. It's the only subway line that travels entirely underground and most trains use those old crappy cars with the flat gray benches--perfect for streching out.

Panama City
My bizarre arrival time in NYC was gracias a Copa Airlines, the Panamanian carrier. Panama City has this whole Dubai-vibe going on. It's not a big city--under a million, but the whole water-front is lined with these 50-story condo buildings. One of the characters in the John Le Carre film, "The Tailor of Panama", refers to them as the Cocaine Towers. I'm sure the 85 banks there aren't earning their keep from free checking. I regretted not having my camera out as we came in for a landing. Flickr, tho, has lots of pictures of Panama City's big, tall buildings.

In searching I was reminded that there's also a Panama City, Florida which is a big spring break destination. A search reveals not only tall buildings and Panama's famous tricked-out school buses but also hot, hunky guys on spring break. Not bad.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Oscar Niemeyer's Niteroi Museum (see also 2005.03.31). The museum is often compared to a flying saucer. In fact, astute observers will have already noticed the small craft in the upper right-hand corner coming in for a landing on the mother ship.

I didn't feel like lugging my SLR around Rio's notoriously dangerous streets so this photo and the ones below were taken with a $3 disposable camera. I was actually in Rio a month ago but I just got these developed now.

Thumbs up for Jesus on Corcovado.

The view from Corcovado of Ipanema, Leblon and Lagoa. The statue is buzzed four times a minute by helicopters but just being up there is almost like being on a helicopter ride, so dramatic is the view.

Garoto de Ipanema. This guy and a friend were selling henna tatoos. They asked if they could drop their books next to our seats while they went swimming. I asked only for a photo in return.

Sheltering from the Evil Sun at Praia Lopes Mendes on Ilha Grande. 30 minutes without reapplying my 45 sunblock after a swim and I went from the whitest boy on the beach to the pinkest.

Labels: brasil

Thursday, April 27, 2006

One last photo from Sao Paulo. This is the same view as I posted on 2006.03.30 but on a rainy night with fogged windows from the enclosed, rooftop pool.

Labels: brasil

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Paçoca! I've documented my love of paçoca before (see 2005.05.23). Amor Paçoca's recipe uses mandioca flower in addition to the usual peanuts and sugar, making it more flaky & crumbly.

Labels: brasil

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Phebo Soap is this traditional, glycerin soap that is scented of roses. It was twice as expensive as Brazilian Dove but I knew it'd make a cooler blog post. Apparently I'm not the only one with an obsession for Brazilian consumer products. I found this great set on flickr; Colorful Brazil which includes a photo of, yup, Phebo Soap.

Labels: brasil