I know it's late and all, but I've had millions of reasons not to post as often as I would've liked to. You know when people say that the country stops when Brazil plays in FIFA World Cup? Here are some examples of what that actually means.

The first is a video of a motobiker going through the streets of São Paulo, the biggest city in Brazil, the economic hub of the country, city that doesn't stop (except for being stopped in traffic), etc, etc, etc. The streets he goes through are cities where you would expect to be crowded with bumber-to-bumper traffic. However he finds something else, as he is there during the second half of the Brazil vs Netherlands match, which took place at 11:00am local time, on a Friday. Funny enough, the Brazilian team was also completely stopped at that point...


Another important observation came from the Google blog. They compared different countries and the variations of searches during the World Cup. You can see how that analysis turned out in Brazil.





And one last thing, you might have also seen the logo for the World Cup 2014 in Brazil. Here is a small explanation about the creative concept behind our #facepalm logo. Enjoy!

Sometimes it can rain too much in Rio. But there's always a way to deal with it with a smile on your face.

Baixo Gávea Debaixo D'água from Mellin Videos on Vimeo.

You know when you plan things one way, but then nothing goes according to plan? And that is not a problem, actually may even be a solution?

This picture is part of that. A beautiful night in Rio, too bad it doesn't show how fantastic the scenery and the night actually was.

My team may not be the best in the world on the pitch all time. But there's no other team in the world with supporters like ours. We lost a match that we should have won on Wednesday. But we got 80000 people helping them yesterday. The video tells it better than I can. But still, you'll only understand once you go and see us at our home, the Maracanã stadium.



And by the way, we won.

I don't think it will be a surprise that I'm writing a text about my thoughts... Seems to be quite a topic here in the blog. This time it's not only about thoughts but actions. The question is:

What are YOU doing to reduce problems with Climate Change?

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When I was back in Rio, I must be honest that I don't feel I did much, in some cases because the solution doesn't work as well, and in other because maybe I couldn't be bothered. But here I've noticed that a lot of these actions are actually related to the Norwegian culture too. After all, Norwegians are very proud and love contact with nature. "Gå på tur!"

Here is my to do list, which I'll include things I haven't been doing very well, but I'm trying to get better. Based on the classic 3Rs:


- Reduce

• Take backpacks or other bags to the supermarket.
  I always try to do that, not only because they charge for the supermarket bags here, ok?
• Have a mug and a glass at the office, then you don't use as many paper and plastic cups.
  Just started with that recently.
• Bike and walk if you can, if not, use public transportation. Much more efficient to the world.
  Works for me better in Oslo than Rio for several reasons.. But I did take the bus a lot back home.
• Try to find out how to reduce your junk mail.
  I still have to find out where I get the "Ingen uadressert reklamen takk" sticker for my mailbox...

- Reuse

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• Make the most out of the bags you actually need.
  When I do get a supermarket, duty-free or whatever bag, in the worst case scenario I'll use them again as trash bags. In the best, I'll use them of everything else before that.
• Be creative. Find new uses to "old things"
  At my house, I like using coke and wine bottles for flowers, every so often. (Tip that I got from Maren)
• Flea markets, book sharing, etc. Those are very good examples on how to reuse something that you don't want any more. "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
  Btw, that's how I got a lot of things for my house...

- Recycle

• Find out how the recycling system works where you live.
  I have to learn about some things like plastic for example...
• If you don't have a system where you live, start one! I'm sure there is some way of doing things in your city.
• Don't be lazy. Separate things and throw them out accordingly. It's easier than you think...

Let's try to make things better, I don't wanna keep wondering where I should visit next hoping it's still going be there, before we get our world, and our future (or current) kids worst than we have so far.

Don't forget to make your contribution to the Blog Action Day too.