About this Blog…

I blame Anne Frank for my obsession with documenting my life – shortly after reading her book I started my diaries. I was thirteen and I wrote them in Portuguese, my first language. I studied Literature for a semester in Rio (UERJ) as I wanted to be a journalist, but stopped it with a view … Read more

Simply Piano Syllabus Summary

I wanted to summarise everything covered so far in Simply Piano to understand what I have actually learned in the last 3 years. So here it is… Simply Piano Courses Syllabus Summary Piano Basics  First 4 notes C, D, E, F with right hand. Finger numbers. Essentials I C Position, First 5 notes with left hand. … Read more

Chico Buarque de Hollanda Compilation

First Published Sunday 14th of December 2014 – Chico Buarque de Hollanda I was talking to friends on Friday and they had never heard Chico Buarque. He’s one of my favourite composers/singer/songwriters ever – I grew up listening to his songs and still listen to them regularly. He has composed hundreds of songs and I … Read more

The Deserter – By Sarah A. Topol

The Deserter – A Russians Senior Lieutenant & his wife’s story. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/09/20/magazine/ukraine-russia-war-deserter.html Audio: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/podcasts/russia-ukraine-deserter-audio.html Also here: Parts 1-3 Parts 4-5 The Deserter By Sarah A. Topol This is a story told in five parts. Because of the security risks faced by Russian deserters, pseudonyms are used throughout. The photographs, however, are of the real-life subjects. … Read more

Super Swift vs. Tiny Temper Trump

Super Swift vs. Tiny Temper Trump I’ve had this idea in my head for a while now, of Taylor Swift as a comic book super heroine. I can’t draw but thanks to AI this can be relatively easily achieved with a prompt. I say relatively easily because I didn’t get quite what I wanted and … Read more

Mr. P. Squeaks, a new cat in our life

17Sep24-Rusty and Squeaks sitting together on sofa for the first time

Go to 8th of September 2024 for latest update Thursday 22nd of August 2024 On Sunday, 28th of July, I was playing Badminton with my granddaughter at the green outside our house, when we heard a distressed miaowing. I’d heard it before, a few times, tried to work out where it was coming from, but … Read more