Scrappin' Scarps • Blogs

These have been really busy days for PanTV, with several new shows already up at www.pantv.ca !

You can catch interviews with Brazilian Olympic gold medalist, César Cielo, who came to Canada to carry the Vancouver Olympics Torch, and Gal Costa, one of the most important Brazilian singers, who came recently to Toronto for a show at Massey Hall. Those two interviews are part of the latest 7News.

On the lastest Panorama, you find a coverage of bars in São Paulo. We went out at night to Bar e Boteco Praça, at the neighbourhood of Vila Madalena, to talk to Brazilians and Canadians about their opinions about bars in that city that never sleeps. The show is really interesting and, at the end, we also talk about the traffic in São Paulo and a different option to go out instead going to a bar with friends. Oh yeah.

At PanTV, you can also watch the latest Gravando!, with a debate about hosting major sporting events, and the similarities and differences between Brazil and Canada. On the discussion, we talk about the 2007 Pan-Am Games in Rio, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup, 2015 Toronto Pan American Games, and the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

Hope you watch all those shows and have fun! See you soon.

Just like winter and great summers, PanTV always comes back.

I’m really sorry for being away for this long, but several other projects and issues through these past months kept me a bit away from PanTV. During this time, we were also working and testing the new website, blogs, concepts, the whole user interaction experience, to the point we now feel confident that things are ready to be launched again!

So here I am, with a brand new show for you in which I visit a Brazilian “feira livre”. In the show, you can catch charateristics and curiosities of this Brazilian tradition, including the vending stalls and its vendors, with food and drinks typical from “feiras” such as the Brazilian pastel and garapa, the sugar cane juice.

The show was recorded last January while in Brazil, in my native city of Santo André, and there are more of those to come! Hope you enjoy it and get ready for more shows. In the meantime, check our blogs, other content, and I’ll be back on screen in 2 weeks with another Gravando!, and much sooner than that with another post here.

Buckle up and I see you soon!

This has been another busy week of reformulation for PanTV. To help us with that, I got really sick with flu and couldn’t quite get what I wanted done. But hey, almost March already, which means winter is flying by and PanTV will soon be back with new shows!

And this past Thursday was another important date for us. We went to Caju to be interviewed for Canada Contacto, a TV show produced in Canada for the Omni channel that also airs over the world on the Portuguese RTP International network. It was our first interview for a traditional TV station (by traditional I mean not online) and hey, you can watch the shows from anywhere you are! I’ll post the date here when I get to know the date it airs!

Have a great long weekend and Valentine’s Day!

Today’s Toronto Star brings an article about the integration of Brazilian immigrants in Toronto, highlighting PanTV’s mission and initiative.

The half-page article focuses on the initiative of Brazilians that work hard by themselves to integrate themselves and other Brazilians without governmental help or external support, utilizing PanTV’s proposal as an example of the Brazilian do-it-yourself approach.

Sandro Miranda comments on the differences of what is published and promoted to prospective immigrants and what is offered to newcomers in Canada. Felipe Scarpelli talks about the challenges of integrating a community that is isolated, and where many people intentionally close their eyes to what the Canadian society has got to offer.

You can read the full article online or on the GTA section of the February 5th, 2008, Toronto Star. Thanks to Lesley Ciarula Taylor.

Presents

Sandro Miranda and Felipe Scarpelli on February 04th 2009

Celebrating and reflecting on the first anniversary of Pan TV

Created in 2008 by a group of professionals from various areas, including journalism, photography, music, radio and television, the PanTV team approaches daily issues in a different and innovative way of education and entertainment. PanTV’s mission is to promote the integration between the English and Portuguese-speaking population in Canada through an online video/TV channel.

For the Portuguese speakers, it presents Canada in a way many viewers have never seen, while bringing information about Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries to our English-speaking public. Director and host of PanTv’s Panzine, Sandro Miranda and director and host of PanTv’s Panorama, Felipe Scarpelli will be sharing their thoughts and insights about the challenges they faced throughout its first year of production.

Furthermore, they will elaborate on the content and the style of PanTV’s webcast programs  that deal with relevant topics involving Canada and Brazil. We encourage participants to visit PanTV’s website prior to Sandro’s and Felipe’s  talk, to stimulate discussion and feedback: www.pantv.ca

Location of the seminar:
Room 280 York Lanes
4700 Keele St.
Canada  M3J 1P3
Toronto ON
Canada
Time: 12:30 to 2:30pm

Thanks to Brigitte Grossmann Cairus for the opportunity.

Have you checked the latest edition of PanTV? Two great new shows are up!

First, Panorama shows you a coverage of the second Brazilian Film Festival of Toronto, from… guess.. Toronto, Canada! We went to film screenings, cocktails, parties, ceremonies and bring you a coverage of the event interviewing directors such as Cesar Fernando de Oliveira, Gilberto Scarpa, Halder Gomes and Igor Pitta Simões. In addition, we talked to organizer Barbara De La Fuente and the Brazilian band Donna Lolla, who came specially for the Brazilian Film Festival. Don’t forget to check the full edition of Panorama on PanTV, and get ready for some serious culture and intensive laughs.

Panzine, the other show on PanTV, brings a discussion about immigration and integration. Sandro Miranda talks to Jose Tufy Cairus, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu researcher, Brigitte Cairus, Brazilian Studies Seminar coordinator at York University, as well as Shaolan Zhao, traditional medicine practitioner, to understand how the immigrants’ adaptation and integration process works, how long it takes, it difficulties and what one can do to become integrated to society.

Hope you all enjoy the show, questions and comments are welcome and I’ll see you soon! This is Felipe Scarpelli.

We’re more similar than most would think. We’re more similar than you’d think. In fact, we’re so much similar it may be hard to tell wheter something is happening in Canada or Brazil. Yep, I’m talking about the similarities between Canada and Brazil, Brazilians and Canadians. And it’s not about something good today.

So, I open the Toronto Star the past morning and read an article titled “Audit finds credit card abuses at tax agency“. Wait a minute, was that in English or in Portuguese? Am I talking about Canadian tax audits, or Brazilian ministers using what’s called the Government Corporate Cards (translated from Portuguese)?

Anyhow, this show corruption, misuse of public funds and frauds exist anywhere around the globe, and yes, in fact, we’re much closer and similar than many would first think. At least on the rotten side.

A tip for all of you, Brazilian culture lovers out there. Get ready for this year’s Brazilian Film Festival of Toronto, which is happening this weekend in T.O!

The festival goes from Thursday to Sunday at Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St. West, in the Bloor x Bathurst area. There are 16 Brazilian productions, including ‘Not By Chance’, ‘My Name Isn’t Johnny’, ‘1958 – The Year The World Discovered Brazil’, and a short film festival called Up to 3.

For a full list of films and events, check their official website. I also remind you that all screenings have English subtitles, so there’s no reason not to go!

Don’t forget to also check the festival official parties, including shows with the Brazilian band Donna Lolla in bars and clubs of Toronto. PanTV will be present in cocktails, screenings and parties covering the event. I’ll see you there!

iPhone, Ipod, MacBook e iMac are some of the Apple products

It’s been some time since buying an apple was as easy as going to a street market, bargaining, and taking home a dozen bright red ones.

Recently, I saw myself looking for an Apple laptop, notebook for working on the go. I use Apple to work on my desktop computer, with my calendar, contacts, files, everything synced online and with my iPhone, from Apple. My notebook had to be Apple and that wasn’t just an option.

I wanted a MacBook, but that wasn’t all. I wasn’t willing to spend at least $1299 for a model without features I need for work, or $1999, the price of the cheapest MacBook Pro, the “tuned” version of the MacBook. That’s when it all started.

The first resource for one going after any Apple product is its own store. Nothing better than buying it from Apple stores. There are 9 Apple Stores in Canada. Two in Alberta (Calgary and Edmonton), two in Quebec (Laval and Montreal), one in B.C. (Vancouver) and four in Toronto. Here, you find Apple Stores at Eaton Centre, Yorkdale, Sherway Gardens and Fairview Mall.

In case you can’t or don’t want to go to one of those stores, you can always check their online Apple Store. I always had great experience with online Apple purchases. It’s fast, they usually ship it for free and it’s safe.

If you are not happy, just like me, with the prices of the Apple stores (both online and retail), there are still some more options. The first is, again, the online Apple Store, on the Special Deals section. They sell refurbished computers and iPods with a 20-25% discount. Those are equipment that were demo, got returned or had some problem that got fixed or replaced. I’m not a big fan of refurbished products, but Apple has a solid policy on them, and the quality is just the same as of a new one. Buying it this way gives you a better price with the same warranty, security and advantages of buying directly from Apple.

In case you still can’t find the price you’re looking for, and you don’t have any problems with buying online, I’d look for something used on craigslist or eBay. Used products are always cheaper and on craiglist are the lowest prices you can get. It’s like reading an ad places at a bus stop, calling and making the deal, and beacause of that, you need some excess caution when doing that. On eBay, however, sales are a bit safer since there’s always eBay or Paypal involved in the transactions. Anyhow, extra care is never enough when buying used products online.

If you don’t want to negotiate online, there are still retail stores selling used Apple. The one I recommend is  Carbon Computing, with stores in Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and in Ottawa. There are several others and a Google search can do the trick to find many more.

Before I forget, a website you must check as reference before buying any Apple is ehMac, a Canadian website about Mac, iPods, iPhones and everything Apple. You can even find a classified section inside ehMac, and also message boards with experienes, tips, stores and much more.

Last thing before I go, if you decide to buy something directly from Apple, don’t forget to also purchase the Apple Protection Plan. This extends the warranty time to three years, and although I don’t usually buy extended warranties, I always do from Apple because they have the best customer service I ever experienced. I’ve exchanged iPods more than 5 times, keyboard, mouses and much more. The plan also offers phone support and all the assistance at Apple stores. Definitely a good call.

At the end, I bought a refurbished MacBook from Apple. It arrives tomorrow. I’m happy, paid less than a new one, and also have all advantages of buying it from Apple. I hope this helps. Good luck.

Last wek I took an important decision. After starting university in Brazil, graduating with honours from two colleges in Canada and living by working here and there with what I learned, I got ashamed of all that, listened to what my parents told me years ago, and felt a university degree is missing in my life.

I’m not saying a university degree is as necessary in Canada as it is in Brazil. Here in Canada we have the colleges, widely accepted, especially in areas like multimedia and entertainment, which is what I do. Even though, I still miss a university degree, and it’s not because of the diploma, the hours of study, not because I need a better job, need better recognition outside Canada (including Brazil), nor because I want to continue my studies after university.

Many people graduate from colleges and start missing university degrees for various reasons. That’s why there are many programs offering credits towards university. Mine were not some of those. I’m going after people inside universities to check for credits and those kind of stuff by now.

For me, on top of all the reasons mentioned above, a university degree is missing because of something that’s not of the degree itself. I’m a perfectionist, I always want to do the best, on the best possible way, being the best in that. How can I ask for perfection in my career if I don’t even have a university degree? How can I be the best in my area without going to university?

By the way, there’s a paragraph above that can be improved…