thecages

When we visited Brazil in 1998 the city most amazing to me was Curitiba (I loooved Curitiba). It's a relatively small city (nestled in atlantic forest), but with a very dense city centre (centro da cidade).
It has a continental feel (partly due to the mild weather) and a large part of its population is of German and Italian descent.

Its architecture is one of its best features - a strong modernist feel.
Now they've built this cool thing - the Suite Vollard.

The Suite Vollard is an apartment building located in Curitiba, Brazil. The building is unique in that it has 11 floors that rotate independently.

Also, I yesterday had blood drawn for a blood test required by our new insurance company.
They test for HIV, Cholesterol and Cotinine.
Cotinine is produced by the body as a result of metabolising nicotine.
If you categorise yourself as a non-smoker on an insurance application form the fuckers actually check you for it.

Apparently it stays in the bloodstream for 3-4 days, but may survive for as long as 7 days.
If they bust Anita and I for smoking one handrolled ciggie a week (together; we share one!) I'm going to either (a) be really upset but pay the higher premium, (b) lie and claim it is due to second hand smoke from going to bars all the time, (c) cry.