The Ugly American lives

So Lady Gaga visited Brazil this week. She played some soccer with favela kids, fine. But what's horrible is what these "witty" TV commentators have to say. Has anyone ever heard anything more condescending? "It's probably the coolest thing that these kids are ever going to have happen..." I hope not many Brazilians catch this clip; the basic idea seems to be that the world is just holding its breath, waiting for America to spread its magic fairy dust of glamour and joy upon the otherwise miserable ocean of humanity.
'TMZ' clip

Belo Horizonte, city of doggy love

And they say Paris is the city of love. This canine love motel almost makes up for the botox injections that, according to this NY Times article, some plastic surgeons in Brazil now offer for dogs.
article

The Microsoft From Ipanema

Forget the Olympics and World Cup coming to Brazil. The clearest sign today of Brazil's rising profile might be a new arrival from Redmond, Washington: Microsoft. The tech giant is bringing R&D and tech startup incubation to the cidade maravilhosa.
NY Times link

Beware the Highway of Death

Personally I think the term is a bit of an exaggeration. The "highway" part, I mean. But this Reuters blog post is interesting, in part because there's someone named "Nacho Doce"?!