World Of Michael Trent

Just a cool photo of some cool street art on a textured wall here in Cosmopolis, Sao Paulo, Brasil.  Some might call it graffiti, some call it dirt, but I call it art! What do you call it?   ~Michael

I just had to share these photos on my blog. I have a thing for pigs. Dunno why, but I do. While bike riding the other day I finally had a chance to take photos of this pig (hog?). There is a family in town that got a small pig one year.  Their idea was to fatten her up until it was time to kill her for their many months of dinners.  But, they fell in love with her and could not go through with it.  So, the piggie lives there with a bunch of their dogs.  Sleeps all day and at times has a rope leash on her.   She is just too cute and I wanted to share. Hugs  ~Michael

From what I have been told, when the country of Brasil was owned by the king of Portugal, he granted huge areas of the country to specific families.  Ya know, those families with lots and lots of money that would do anything for the King.  Well, our town, Cosmopolis, is what it is today because the Nogueira family.  The Nogueira family formed a sugar cane mill on March 2, 1898 called the Usina Ester.  The Mill is one of the oldest Sugar Mills in the State of Sao Paulo and is still in operation today, making both sugar and ethanol for Brasil.  The Mill sits on the edges of our town.  Well, back in the day, most of the employees lived on the same land as the mill, in row houses called Colonys. The Colonies were owned by the Mill and the employees lived there for free, just having to pay for some food and clothing, which were bought at the Cooperative in the Mill.  Ruy, my partner, lived in a Colony until he was 8 years old, when his family move...

Just a funny photo I took the other day.  Well, not really funny, kind of pathetic if you ask me.  The sign says "Don't throw garbage on the road."  Considering that there are no homes or businesses near this sign, Brasilians are dumping garbage near the sign as a joke.  Funny?  Not to me.