Lt Col Marcos Pontes has become the first Brazilian to go into space after a successful launch aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur.
He will spend nine days on the International Space Station while a Russian and a US colleague accompanying him will stay for six months.
Col Pontes took with him a Brazilian flag and a football shirt - to help, he said, his team in the World Cup.
His father, 84, was at the launch with other relatives and friends.
They applauded and cheered afterwards, watching video from an onboard camera at the ex-Soviet base Russia leases in Kazakhstan.
"I am very emotional," said his wife Fatima, with tears in her eyes. "I cannot even explain how I feel right now. I am very, very happy."
The launch was broadcast live on television in Brazil.
Vyacheslav Davidenko, spokesman for Russia's Roskosmos space agency, told the AFP news agency that the new astronaut would undoubtedly become a national hero in Brazil.
"Marcos Pontes will allow his country to join the club of space powers," he said.
Space dream
Many Brazilians are hoping the trip will give a crucial morale boost to the country's own space programme, the BBC's Tom Gibb reports from Sao Paulo.
The International Space Station is not due to be completed until 2010 The mission, which is costing Brazil about $10m (£6m), comes less than three years after Brazil's space programme met with disaster when a rocket exploded on the launch pad.
The explosion of the first Brazilian rocket, built to take satellites into orbit, killed 21 people at the site in the north of the country.
However, there has also been some criticism that the cost of putting a man into space could have been used better elsewhere.
Thursday's flight is the fulfilment of a childhood dream for Col Pontes, our correspondent adds.
He has been training since 1998 for such a mission, which was originally to have been on a US space shuttle.
Col Pontes is being accompanied by Pavel Vinogradov of Russia and US astronaut Jeffrey Williams.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - Former Brazilian star Romario will play for Miami FC this year during its first season in the United Soccer Leagues, then return to his home country.
Romario, 40, a striker, helped Brazil win the 1994 World Cup in the United States. He will rejoin the Brazilian league club Vasco in September, Vasco president Eurico Miranda said at a news conference Thursday.
The United Soccer Leagues is the second-highest level of pro soccer in the United States behind Major League Soccer.
Miami FC is owned by Brazilian company Traffic Sports, which has a close relationship with Romario.
"Our objective with Miami FC is to build a winning team of international transcendence," Julio Mariz, president of Traffic Sports USA, said on Miami FC's Web site. "Today, with the signing of Romario, we have taken an important step in that direction."
The USL's first division includes teams in Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Atlanta, Portland and Minnesota.
Brazilian beer ad for Skol. Basic idea behind this ad is "If the guy that invented this object/thing drank Skol, it would look like this". Very creative...
I ran to this article while browsing the net and I felt that it was such important achievement for us (brazilians), that I needed to post here in this blog :-)
Astronaut clothes made in Brazil
São Paulo - The garments that Brazilian astronaut Marcos César Pontes is going to wear during his trip to space on board of a Russian ship were made in São Paulo, SE Brazil. Two blue jumpsuits, two pairs of trousers, five polo shirts and a leather jacket are part of the baggage. The jumpsuits, which were made according to North American military norms, are already being worn by Pontes during his training.
The company from São Paulo that is responsible for his clothes is Flytex, which is specialized in garments and accessories turned to aeronauts, policemen and professionals of other tactical activities. This is the first time that the company has made an astronaut jumpsuit. "I am very pleased with the story," stated Marília Fajardo Oliveira, who is responsible for production of the garments.
According to her, the first contact with the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) took place in November last year, when a representative from the AEB saw a pilot wearing a jumpsuit made by Flytex at a shopping centre in Brazilian capital Brasília. "The first order they made was for the emblems to be stitched onto the jumpsuit," stated Marília, who made three emblems: the Brazilian flag, the symbol of the Brazilian Foreign Trade Association and of the Centenarian Mission, an honour to the first flight by Brazilian aviator Santos Dumont.
After that, the AEB asked Marília to see whether it would also be possible to make the jumpsuit for the astronaut, as he was wearing a North American one and they would like him to wear a Brazilian uniform. "I went after the necessary information and made it," she said. Production follows North American standards. She explained that the norms are similar to those used in the production of garments for pilots, which the businesswoman already sells. "Initially the jumpsuit was only going to be worn for training and press conferences, but I have heard that the astronaut is also going to wear it at the International Space Station," she commemorates.
According to Marília, the jumpsuit is navy blue and was made out of a fabric that protects against ultraviolet light and which does not fade. Another detail that differentiates her jumpsuit from the North American ones is the zipper on the sleeves, making it possible for the astronaut to wear the clothes with or without sleeves. "I created this differential because of the Brazilian tropical climate," she said, adding that she also produces this model of jumpsuit for pilots.
Marcos Pontes, who is also being trained in Russia, is going to be the first Brazilian to travel to space. The flight is going to take place on March 30, headed towards the International Space Station, 400 kilometres away from the Earth. On board of the Soyuz spacecraft, Pontes is going to travel accompanied by a Russian and a North American. He is going to take Brazilian scientific experiments for the execution of tests in an environment of micro-gravity.
It has been a long time that I don't post... life has been busy, but finaly I found some free time today to post this very well done video of a Capoeira Group in New York.
Brazil tries to seize data on users of Google's Orkut
Brazilian authorities said on Friday they will seek warrants to seize information on hundreds of users on the Orkut social network, operated by search engine giant Google Inc., for suspected Internet crimes.
Sergio Suiama, a federal public prosecutor at the cyber-crimes unit of the Public Ministry, said the ministry will seek warrants to investigate Brazilian users suspected of publishing child pornography and drug trafficking on Orkut.
The request for warrants would be based on a report by the nongovernmental group Safernet, http://www.safernet.org.br, which monitors crime on the Internet, Suiama said.
Suiama met on Friday afternoon with Alexandre Hohagen, the director of Google Inc.'s local subsidiary, Google Brasil, and Safernet President Thiago Nunes de Oliveira.
Orkut's terms of service prohibit illegal activity including child pornography as well as hate speech and advocating violence, a Google spokeswoman said.
"Google Brasil was sensible and was willing to help (in the investigations), but it will seek guidance from headquarters in the United States," said Suiama.
Orkut, a social network service provided by Google, has around 14 million registered users, over 70 percent of whom say they are Brazilian.
Brazil's prosecutors are investigating child pornography, racial discrimination, drug trafficking and other crimes on the Internet.
"This is a serious problem and we will cooperate," Hohagen told Reuters, adding that his company removed "hundreds" of pages from its Orkut service that had been denounced.
The meeting between Google and Brazilian prosecutors comes as authorities around the world are taking a tougher line on online services as alleged havens for crime and sexual predators.
In the US, News Corp's MySpace.com, a social networking craze among teenagers, has become the subject of investigations by police who say adults use the site to solicit sex with minors.
Katilce Miranda, the luck girl that kissed Bono on stage in front of 75 thousand people in Sao Paulo got much more than her 15 min of fame... She just received more than 3,5 million scraps at Orkut in less than a week. She also needed to create a new profile, given the high amount of scraps.
Now, someone created a "funk" music for her using scenes of the infamous kiss, that you can check it out here:
Ok, ok, ok... now that carnival is over, let's do some work :-)
Everybody knows that Brazil is famous by its soccer, beautiful beaches, carnival, and gorgeous girls. Well, this is all true! But what people doesn't know is that Brazil has one of the most active electronic scene in the world.
After work for several years inside this scene, I was lucky enought to cover some of the best parties of the country and listen top international DJs. From parties inside a cave, in a desert island, or even in a castle, I experienced some of the real brazilian fun... Browsing at Youtube, I found this video from one of the best raves in the country, XXX-Perience. Take a look at that and tell me if isn't amazing.
A quick summary on some musical events happening in São Paulo, Brazil this month.
Those infamous grumpy Northern English rockers Oasis bring their "Don‘t Believe the Truth" tour to Credicard Hall on the 15th March. Tickets range from R$120 - 250.
Rock veterans Foreigner come to Credicard Hall on the 16th March, bringing famous hits such as "I Wanna Know What Love Is". Tickets range from R$80 - R$200.
The UK group Echo & The Bunnymen, touring with their new album "Siberia", come to Credicard Hall on the 19th March. Tickets range from R$70 - R$160.
The UK acid jazz group Jamiroquai are coming with their Dynamite tour to Credicard Hall on the 24th March. Tickets range from R$90- 130. Tickets either available at Credicard Hall, or from Ticketmaster (http://www.ticketmaster.com.br).
Carlos Santana is coming to São Paulo on the 17th March, in a show dedicated to his recent album "All That I Am". The show will be located in the Skol arena at Anhembi. Tickets vary from R$150 - R$500, via Ticketmaster (http://www.ticketmaster.com.br) or tel. 6846 6000.
According to secretary of Tourism Mário Cavalazzi, the city of Florianópolis is currently in negotiations with Madonna for a future concert which would be free to the public. A confirmation (or not) is expected in the next two weeks.
There are rumors going around that promoters in Rio are planning to bring Madonna to the city this year, either playing at Maracanã Stadium or at the beach in Copacabana (like the Rolling Stones recently did). Keep your fingers crossed!
The rap impresario was in Brazil, enjoying Carnival at the VIP area of a famous brazilian beer, where other celebrities like Maradonna also watched Rio's parade. However, Diddy later was spotted by reporters slipping into a hot spot known for its low-priced call girls, reports our source in Rio.
“The name of the place is ‘Help’ and the girls there are supposed to be the cheapest prostitutes in the city,” says the source. “According to the local press he was annoyed when he saw the photographers and arranged to get in through the garage.”
Diddy couldn’t be reached for comment, but a well-placed source says, “It’s the most popular club in Rio. Diddy was with his girl Kim all night at the nightclub. So if there were prostitutes he wouldn’t know.”
Well, carnival is over and now we only have the memories of the great moments... Back by popular demand (I never saw this blog receiving so many visits like now), a new selection of Brazilian Carnival Muses:
Want to decorate your computer with Rio's winner of carnival parade? Here is your chance! Below you will find Vila Isabel's wallpapers, just choose your screen resolution size and "apply as wallpaper".
Samba school Vila Isabel rocked the sambodrome in Rio de Janeiro with a parade centered in Latin America, with a controversial funding by Venezuelan oil giant Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa.)
Vila Isabel was acclaimed by the public in the sambodrome and won this year parade. The samba school performed a parade showing Latin America, from Mexico to Patagonia.
Vila Isabel closed its participation with a parade float decorated with independence hero Simón Bolívar's image, of almost 40 feet high, bearing a red heart in his right hand.
Here are the highlights of Vila Isabel presentation.
Even though samba and axe is not exactly Fatboy's especiality, his night at Salvador was just perfect. Besides the four hours of delay, more than 10.000 people danced his techno and enjoyed his selection, that included some tracks of Brazilian New Bossa Nova and House Music.
Brazilian culture, news, fashion, eletronic music, samba, places to hang out, beaches, and much more... Everything you should know about Brazil, but couldn't find it on the web.
He will spend nine days on the International Space Station while a Russian and a US colleague accompanying him will stay for six months.
Veteran striker gives USL team instant legitimacy
São Paulo - The garments that Brazilian astronaut Marcos César Pontes is going to wear during his trip to space on board of a Russian ship were made in São Paulo, SE Brazil. Two blue jumpsuits, two pairs of trousers, five polo shirts and a leather jacket are part of the baggage. The jumpsuits, which were made according to North American military norms, are already being worn by Pontes during his training.
According to secretary of Tourism Mário Cavalazzi, the city of Florianópolis is currently in negotiations with Madonna for a future concert which would be free to the public. A confirmation (or not) is expected in the next two weeks.
