Tiradentes Square

November 2011 this photo was taken while we were on vacation. Directly behind me is the street from the other picture. The other picture showing my beautiful wife is from the top of a hill looking down towards the trees and centre square. Brasil has so many historical cities and I plan to add a photo and story of the ones I've been to. This is really going to help in my quest to hit 12 blogs in 2012. The city if filled with great places to eat, shop and of course photograph. There are some very old and beautiful churches here as well.

Tiradentes or 'tooth puller' is the other name for Joaquim José da Silva Xavier; a revolutionary figure of Brasil who wanted to make Brasil independent.

Brasil is with an 's' and only the US likes to 'Americanize' it with a 'z' but the great people of Brasil seem ok with it.

Tiradentes is about 1/2 way to Rio (another route) from the city of Belo Horizonte. It's mostly a single lane secondary road until you get close to the city. As you get closer it becomes brick and them it becomes stone when you are in Tiradentes proper. Even with a modern car the road kinda sucks but the locals want to keep it that way. It keeps it authentic and I agree. Walking around it much easier and the city is so small that you don't need to use your car.

During Carnaval this city is wall to wall people. My wife talks about a time her and her girlfriends rented a house down here and had a blast. It was strange for her to be back with no one there, she could actually see the city and all of it's glory.

Tiradentes moved to Ouro Preto later on and it's a place I visited on my first trip to Brasil. Photos to come in another blog!

Thanks for visiting.

Spread the word and carry on!

bscottkelley can be found on most sites so you can find me anywhere, so say hello!

Apple and American Pie 2012

Time to kick off writing the blog again as promised when the ball dropped. 2012 is upon us and lots of changes in my life. We added our first child to the family and are excited each day and what it brings. More blogs probably about this topic in the near future. 12 blogs total this year...it's my goal!
Apple Computers and the American homeowner is the topic today.
I am a believer that the United States is great place. We have great National Parks, great roads, and it's pretty safe here.
Now that I've been employed again for the last year and a half, I've turned a blind eye to the serious unemployment issues this Country still faces. There is work out there, you either have to move or change what you are doing. I moved and couldn't be happier about it. I am in a completely different area, away from the beach but I'm working and the check clears every time.
So the housing market continues to drag and we continue to attempt to fix it. I agree with taking a close look at each individual asking for help and their situation. What I have an issue with is those who cannot accept the fact that they cannot afford their home. I also take issue to those who walk away from their home due to falling property values. You are now hearing about celebrities walking away from their million dollar properties due to values. Great role models for the young people during this time of crisis; 'it is a business decision'. All of these folks that are upside down are now asking for principal reductions. Sorry you bought in 2006 but that's the breaks of the game. Do you think people who bought Apple stock in 2000 and saw the price of it cut in 1/2 ask for their money back? No, they waited it out to see a split and a rising star!
We as a Country have to believe this Country is a mirror image of Apple. There are ups and downs but over the long haul we will be back on top.
Let's sit down and enjoy some humble pie and regroup. We have the resources and brain power to be great again. We should take this time to improve our infrastructure. Fix our schools. Hire more teachers and have a teacherbook.com where we can rank and track each teacher. We can build a great rail system. From LAX to San Fran and LAX to Las Vegas. Los Angeles should start becoming a more vertical city. Let's build up instead of out and save some of the land for the dog lovers.
I had a great 2011 and even had to pay more in taxes this year. I'm over it now but I was a little disappointed when I compare to the years as a 1099 where you can write off everything! More blogs this year and lots of positive energy out there for the world to enjoy!
Spread the word and Carry on!
bscottkelley can be found on every major site out there and I think they are all me so stop by and say hello would ya!