NASA satellites and astronauts have captured images of the destruction of the Amazon, including huge amounts of smoke, forest fires and clandestine highways. Some photos also show changes over time and how quickly the destruction has been taking place.
To see the full album, click here.
Today we’re going to take a look at some important technology vocabulary, useful for the Internet café or the copy store. 
Internet café = lanhouse [lahn-howz]
copy store = copiadora
copy = Xerox [sher-ocks]
page/sheet = folha
computer = computador
printer = impressora
to print = imprimir
Internet = Internet [een-ter-neh-chee]
mouse = mouse [mawz]
headset/headphone = fones de ouvido / fone
jump drive = pendrive [pehn dryv]
wireless = wifi
speakers = alto-falantes
The latest travel trend to take Brazil by storm is the theme cruise, a cruise based around certain activities, a performance or celebrity, or a certain type of music or dance. It began with the fitness cruise fifteen years ago, intended to get people in shape while they were on vacation. Since then, cruise ship companies have diversified and have been very successful in luring Brazilians on board for a whole range of activities. Let’s take a look at some of the cruises being offered:
All aboard!
A museum in Fortaleza, Ceará is in hot water after opening a new exposition which features live chickens. 
The exhibit’s creator, a mineira artist named Laura Lima, used human hair extension techniques to attach plumes from tropical birds to the chickens, giving them a peculiar look.
The artist defended the exhibit, explaining that she wanted to transform the way people see chickens and even to modify the behavior of the chickens in how they interacted together. The museum curator also stated that the hair extension technique used to add the feathers was done using silicone glue, which did not harm the animals in any way.
Nevertheless, animal rights groups are up in arms and are protesting the exhibit for going against nature and for hurting the chickens. One in particular, a União Internacional Protetora dos Animais (The International Animal Protection Union) demanded that the government forcibly remove the exhibit and return the chickens to their natural habitat. The museum stated that the exhibit will run until February.
As of January 1st, the accent changes to written Portuguese meant to unify the global language go into effect. This year will be the “Year of Transition” when Brazil begins to adopt the new grammar rules. According to President Lula, the new and old rules can both be used until 2012, but some media outlets, like Globo’s G1, will only use the new rules from now on.
Let’s take a look at the new rules:
1. The elimination of the trema: words that originally used the trema will no longer use it, and will revert to the normal letter. Example: lingüiça –> linguiça
2. Words with open dipthongs with the accent on the second to last syllable lose the accent on -oi and -ei. Example: idéia –> ideia
3. Words with two vowels together and the accent on the second to last syllable lose the accent on the i and u. Example: feiúra –> feiura
4. The circumflex accent will no longer be used on words that end in êem and ôo. Examples: vôo –> voo, lêem –> leem
5. The differential accent used to distinguish words with the same spelling and different meanings will no longer be used. Examples: pára –> para, pêlo –> pelo
6. The acute accent mark on the u will no longer be used in verbs that end in gue, gui, que, and qui. Example: averigúe –> averigue
To see the complete rules in Portuguese, click here.
Music Preference Podcast: Click here!
This week, we’re going to learn how to discuss preferences, using music as an example. Make sure you check out the BYKI list when you’re done listening!
The word adorar (adore) is used to describe something you really like, whether it’s a person or a thing. In this case it means, “I love to listen to music.”
In Portuguese, we use the word prefer more than we might in English, especially when talking about things we like. Here, the speaker says: “I prefer rock and MPB.” Note that MPB is música popular brasileira, or Brazilian pop music. Also, we use the word acostumado (accustomed to) when discussing things we do regularly, and we can use it in this instance to describe something we often do because we enjoy it. One way we could translate this part of the phrase is “I frequently listen to Latin music.”
There’s always the straightforward gostar (to like) when talking about preference. Here, we say, “I also really like reggae and hip hop.” Don’t forget that the verb gostar always has a de on the end, like “gosto de reggae.”
A useful negative verb to talk about preferences is detestar (to detest). Here, the speaker says, “I can’t stand sertanejo and forró.” Note that sertanejo is a type of Brazilian music akin to American country music, and forró is a type of traditional music from the Northeast of Brazil that uses accordions and percussion.
Odiar (to hate) is a strong negative word and should be used carefully. Aliás can mean a number of things, including “as a matter of fact,” “in fact,” “plus,” “nevertheless,” or “incidentally.” Here, the speaker says, “Plus, I hate pagode.” Pagode is a subgenre of samba that is often played in a circle, like samba groups.
The phrase “não gosto muito” is quite useful when discussing preference, because it denotes that you don’t like something but without being too negative. The speaker says, “I don’t really like axé, but my girlfriend likes it.” Note that axé is a typical Brazilian music from Bahia with very upbeat, pop –like tunes.
De vez em quando means once in awhile. This means, “Once in awhile, I listen to samba and bossa nova.” Note that samba is a masculine noun (o samba) and bossa nova is feminine (a bossa nova). Both are types of Brazilian music born in Rio de Janeiro.
Though to outsiders it may seem like a disgusting pest, the maniuara ant is actually considered a delicacy 
by several indigenous tribes in the Amazon. The ant has a large head and jaws, and can draw blood when humans are bitten.
Women are responsible for hunting the maniuara, and they follow the ants to the anthills, where they dig a large hole. They then smoke the ants out, leaving them confused, and attract them into buckets using a local plant. To cook them, the women mix the ants in boiling water with salt and pepper.
To see a video about the maniuara, click here.
Many foreigners that travel to Brazil come for the beaches or the Amazon, but not many know that Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, is more akin to Italy or Argentina than to Rio de Janeiro or Salvador. Originally settled by Italian and German immigrants, the area is famous for being the home of the traditional churrasco (barbecue) and for being the country’s main wine region.
One of the region’s prime resorts, the Villa Europa Hotel & Spa. The first of its kind in Brazil and only the fifth in the world, the hotel’s spa uses grapes and wine ingredients in its treatments. The hotel boasts antique furniture, a French-Italian restaurant, and a wine cellar containing over 550 types of wine.
The hotel is located near the region’s major vineyards, including Miolo, Casa Valduga, and Salton, which offer tours, restaurants, and wine tastings. The area is also famous for artisans, cheesemakers, and furniture makers.
For more information on the hotel and spa, click here. For more information on Rio Grande do Sul, click here.
This week, President Nicolas Sarkozy was in Brazil, where he met with President Lula in Rio de Janeiro. On Tuesday, they signed an arms agreement worth US$12 billion to help Brazil protect its oil fields and the Amazon.
The deal involves the purchase of fifty Super Cougar helicopters from France, as well as the joint assembly of a nuclear submarine and four diesel submarines. The deal will make Brazil the first Latin American country to own a nuclear submarine. France will also provide night vision equipment and remote monitoring technology for military use in the Amazon.
For more information, see Bloomberg and the LA Times coverage.
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