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Lucy is flying right now, while you read this. We cannot see her, but she is up there, somewhere in the big blue sky, diligently fulfilling her mission . You probably read about the space probe sent to a twelve-year journey to many asteroids, and yes, the name is a direct mention to the Beatles´s song.

Earlier on the blog, I shared my reflections with you on space missions. This time, instead of a holistic approach, I would like to address the topic from a different perspective. A very personal one, based on the benefits provided by those who never leave Earth: plants.

Growing up in a house, with a garden and a backyard, plants have always been around me. Although apartments have been my reality for quite a while, I always have a few plants at home. Ok, more than a few (it is not my fault, they multiply themselves, you know?)

Beyond aesthetics, I truly believe plants are, in may aspects, real diamonds (sorry, Lucy), and I am not even talking about the importance of the Amazon forest or the urge for more urban green areas. We do not have to go that far. Let me simply talk about my adorable little plants.

They saved my day many times already, and yet sometimes I forget to nurture them. Well, not last week! I bought this great organic plant compost and followed my usual ritual: jazz playing, cinnamon incense (strongly recommend the masala kind) in the air, a hot cup of tea and lots of time.

No rush, no mobile checking, no further worries. Just some quality time taking care of my plants. Ever tried? A miracle worker! To dive deep: Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants

Meanwhile, Lucy keeps on flying high. Down here we keep on our usual mess, plenty of bad things, as we are quite aware of, but also full of wonders, as we frequently forget about.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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Do you change your mood according to the weather? After a week of rainy days, I can say without hesitating: I do! It is hard to keep on the good mood, when nature is basically saying: “let me complete my cycle”.

As Fela Kuti repeated, water, you no get enemy. Not to mention that Gentle Rain is also the name of a very beautiful 1965 Bossa Nova composition by Luiz Bonfá, with lyrics by Matt Dubey. All good references, but maybe because of this melancholic atmosphere, I must confess I simply cannot work very well on rainy days.

My attention becomes fragile and my focus disappears. Not rarely I feel the urge to see old pictures and read again that certain line, on that certain page of that long forgotten book. I am not saying this state of mind it is all bad, not at all.

It can actually be a moment of incredible creativity, with ideas popping up, like little soap bubbles in the air, but as cute as this analogy may sound, if you do not write down or record notes on your ideas, chances are their fate will be the same of the cute little soap bubbles. My suggestion: if the muses visit you, enjoy it, but pay attention to the message. And take notes, please!

Sunny days, on the other hand, bring up that feeling of energy and power we need so much when writing new projects. The muses are gone and it is time to get the job done! After all, deadlines know no mercy, right?

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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How do you like to get third part content, when you visit a website? I hate it, and that is why I don´t have the feature enabled on mine. “What about monetization?”, you might ask. Well, it is a concern, but I doubt that by annoying my dear visitors, I would make a considerable amount of money.

I am not saying it is not possible. It works for a lot of people, but it would probably not work for me. Trust is on the basis of the relationship between me and my audience and random third part content would feel like breaking this bond.

You might find my point hard to understand in those days, when sharing any kind of content on social media became the means of survival of many people around the world. Well, all I can say in my defence, before you consider me a total weirdo is that I am not against monetization per se. I am only uncomfortable with the idea of monetizing everything, all the time.

On the other hand, asking directly for help is no problem for me. I did it here already, remember? There are other ways for a music industry artist to generate income, still related to her/his musical universe. Merch, for instance. The idea of caring a piece of our favourite artist home is a gentle and practical way of expressing support (and getting a new mug, t-shirt, hoodie).

I would go even further and say that it is a step ahead of “just” listening to the music. It shows that you share the concept of the artist. I am not talking about personal values, but the artistic concept itself, which is something thin as air, but strong enough to connect us with a certain performer.

Hard to explain, but easy to understand, don´t you agree? Think about your favourite artists and you sure will.

Be seeing you!

G. F.

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I was finally uploading my lyric videos (a long postponed chore), when the phone rang. It was my friend A.-M., what a nice surprise! Catching up after a long time, we joyfully jumped from one subject to another, and at a certain point of time, the recent political events in Brazil came to the conversation. Talking about politics with a friend? A fast road to disaster, right? Well, don´t judge us: even if you are not a newsaholic like myself, it is kind of impossible to ignore the disastrous governmental actions during the pandemic, since they interfere in our daily life.

A.-M. said she was kind of disappointed with some of her friends that turned out to be anti-vaxxers. Unfortunately not an usual complaint these (strange) days and even weirder here in Brazil, a country that has a vast and positive experience with vaccination. Implemented by our national health care system, immunization campaigns are usually well received by Brazilians. We trust vaccines and understand their importance in eradicating several diseases in the country. Most unfortunately, lately people seem to forget this long tradition, which used to make us Brazilians very proud. Strange days indeed.

To A.-M., I said that I do not have neither the time, nor the energy to deal with such situations. I am not saying it in a angry way, at all. I believe the word is: exhaustion. Therefore, I consciously decided to keep a safe distance from people who have problems understanding the basics about living in a society. Is it a lesson? Nope. A nugget of wisdom? Probably not. I would see it more as part of my moral principles. Or did they also turn cringe?

One more thing: today, according to the Catholic and Afro-Brazilian religion traditions, it is the day dedicated to the twin saints Cosme and Damian. Patron Saints of the children, in their honor on this day people distribute candies to kids. Now imagine you are a child, and once a year your family supports you on on the following agenda: 1. skipping school , 2. getting a bag to store candies, 3. meet your cousins and 4. run with them from door to door getting candies. Sounds like a dream? Welcome to my childhood. Viva São Cosme e São Damião!

Now tell me, how did you like my new page, exclusively for lyric videos? Suggestions most welcome!

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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One of my very favourite albums of acclaimed Brazilian singer and composer Caetano Veloso is called Transa. Recorded in London, in 1971, during his exile due to the military dictatorship in Brazil, Transa was released in January on the following year.

The song It´s a long way was originally the first track on the B side of the vinyl, which used to be the place where you would find the “jewel of the crown”, and this one deserves all the honors. The lyrics are in English and in Portuguese, and they work both as a political and philosophical manifest. Its torturous refrain repeats:

“It’s a long road
It’s a long road
It’s a long and winding road

It’s a long and winding road
It’s a long and winding road
It’s a long and winding, long and winding, long and winding, long and winding road
It’s a long road“

It came to my mind when I read that events with the present audience are gradually coming back. I wonder how long and how winding will be your road back to normality.

Do you feel safe enough to return to all your former activities? Do you want to go back to them or are you planning a completely different post-pandemic life? Maybe you are going hybrid or maybe you will replace indefinitely some of your outdoor activities by online equivalents.

There are many possible combinations and each person will feel the comeback in a different way. I am sure that there are already plenty of people telling you what to do, but my suggestion (here we go…) would be: follow your own pace. You do not have to be as (un-)motivated as the person next door. For many reasons, each of us experienced the pandemic in a different way, therefore, everyone will have a different “starting point”. Many will need a gentle push here and there in order to keep walking and all of us can use some kindness, so follow the great Aretha Franklin and try a little tenderness, will you?

I wish you a safe return to this long and winding road.

Be seeing you!

G.F.