The Rocker

More robberies, more reasons to rob, toilet humor and a woman's right to touch.

PLUS - São Paulo rock legend, Silvio Lopes tells us what not to do on stage and what he has for breakfast.

J: What does an eighteen-year, rock-band veteran eat in the morning?

S: I don’t know the other guys. Er...I eat Serial Killer!

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J: Good morning São Paulo!

G: Hello, once again, from a wet afternoon, in fact, in São Paulo.

J: Very wet and humid, right before Christmas, getting ready to do some ho-ho-ho, and the governor has put in new Covid-19 restrictions, hasn’t he?

G: He has, although you would never believe so if you saw the number of people wandering around outside with no masks on.

J: I agree. That’s, er...there’s quite a few people out here in the street, out and about. Um...I think he...he just changed the status from ‘green’ to ‘yellow’.

G: So what...what’s the difference, then? What’s the yellow signal mean exactly?

J: Well, the green is 60% you can have your restaurant full, and yellow is something like 40%.

G: Oh alright.

J: And they...they made some alterations in...in opening times and closing times as well.

G: Hm, interesting. And they introduced this the day after the elections, didn’t they?

J: They did. They knew about the problem before the election and that...that hasn’t changed anything, not in one day.

G: So, obviously you don’t get many votes for doing the right thing, then, in their opinion?

J: No. Th...that’s...that could have been a reason to vote against them, so, yeah.

G: Yes. Sad but true.

J: Sad but true. So, er, Gee – what do we have today?

G: Well, today, we have...

J: We have an interview, don’t we?

G: We have an interview with...

J: Fabio.

G: Silvio. Silvio’s coming in.

J: Oh. I thought his name was Fabio.

G: No, The Rocker – and he will be here to entertain us with his guitar hopefully.

J: Ok. Good.

G: And...er...he’ll tell us all about his new...er...album.

J: But...but is he an American rocker or a Brazilian rocker?

G: He’s a Brazilian rocker who likes American rock.

J: Ok.

G: Particularly Jimi Hendrix, so...

J: Ah, very nice! So, well, maybe he’ll play a little bit for us?

G: Exactly. Hence the intro.

J: Great!  

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G: I am going to start this week with something we’ve talked about a lot in some of these pods actually – it was the big robbery. Did you hear about the big robbery?

J: Which big robbery?

G: Well, there...

J: There...there’s been several!

G: Well, there are so many, I guess, but there was a very big robbery in Criciúma, in Santa Caterina, near Florianopolis. Do you know it?

J: No, I haven’t heard about this.

G: This was last night, actually, and it took two hours and there were many...um...ladrões – many robbers involved.

J: Right.

G: And...um...it was extremely well organized in that they knew what they were doing, and they used explosives. They were very heavily armed and they actually deployed six department of transport hostages to help them block the roads to delay the police response.

J: What did they actually rob?

G: Well, they stole cash.

J: Ok.

G: And they stole a large amount of cash. I don’t know how much.

J: But...but is this from a bank or a financial institution?

G: Bank of Brasil.

J: Ok.

G: And they stole from the treasury room.

J: Ok.

G: And some of the cash got left lying around, actually. There were a couple of bags full of cash that four other guys just happen to pick up and run off with and...

J: But they weren’t related to the robbery?

G: ...and they weren’t related to the robbery and they were discovered in their apartment later and they were sitting on R$300,000.

J: My god.

G: And that was just the...the leftover that was...

J: That was just the leftover – the...the...the small change.

G: And they found...um...they found a whole bunch more money lying on the street too.

J: So, but...but they took it from the treasury?

G: From the treasury room, yes.

J: But, this...this starts to sound like the Casa de Papel – the...the Netflix series.

G: It sounds very much like that, actually, doesn’t it? And one of the things that caught my eye is they all drove off – like our NFL friends – in luxury cars! They had this big convoy of...um...BMW, Landrover, Mitsubishi...er...Audi...and...

J: My goodness.

G: ...they drove them 18km to...um...a place called...um...Nova Veneza and they abandoned them all there. So all the cars got abandoned in this town. That was...um...one robbery, and there was actually another robbery that caught my eye too, actually. And this was somewhat less well organized. Um, this took place in Jundiaí.

J: Ok.

G: And, a chap decided he wanted to...um...rob a company that supplies lojas femininas, so feminine stores. I don’t know what they sell in feminine stores, actually.

J: Well, probably something they don’t sell in masculine stores! So, lingerie? I don’t know.

G: Things that only women use or wear, clearly.

J: Ok.

G: Um, so anyway, he arrived on a bicycle, and he used his bicycle to help him get over the fence that surrounded the stores, cos this...the store had a fence with a barb-wire top.

J: Ok.

G: And...um...so he’s in there and he’s obviously...he’s looking around through this...um...supply of feminine products – whatever they happen to be, and then the alarm goes off. So, of course, he panics a little bit.

J: But did...did he grab a bunch of these feminine products and try to make off with them or what?

G: Well, I...I guess he’s got some of them stuffed under his arm and then he’s trying to get back over the...he gets back over the wall and he discovers someone’s stolen his bicycle!

J: Now, that’s funny!

G: So, he hasn’t got anywhere to go.

J: My goodness.

G: So, anyway, he managed to get away. They just caught all this on camera, apparently, so...

J: Ok.

G: ...he...um...he managed to get off with his loot on foot. Whether he actually stole enough to cover the cost of his bike, I don’t know.

J: I...it...it depends on the bike, I suppose.

G: We’ll have to find out how much those feminine products are worth, I guess.

J: Nice!

G: So, what about you? Um...wh...what have you got for us this week?

J: Ok, well, my...my first story comes to us also from Brazil. And it’s also related to economy, by the way.

G: Ok.

J: So...er...you kind of have this, let’s say, the Black Market economy here with their taking money from the Banco Central, or whatever. This comes from...er...Economic Minister, Paulo Guedes. He announced on Monday, so the 23rd, that from the point of the view of the Brazilian Government, there...they won’t...will not be extending the emergency relief programs into 2021.

G: So, what are the emergency relief programs?

J: Well, that...that was...that was when they print excess money and they...they...they...they inject that into the banks, and the banks then try to give that to the Economy in the form of lower prices for loans and try to stimulate...er...business, let’s say, through financial stimulus.

G: So, this is where the...er...R$600 payments came from, was it? Did they come out of this?

J: Exactly. And according to him, he said...er...well, they could have continued the...the economic stimulus package...er...payments up to one year if they had stayed at two hundred. But for political reasons, six hundred was chosen and they...now they have to stop because it’s just too expensive. But I think what...what is strange for me is that, basically, United States  and Brazil are following the same economic stimulus package, meaning they print more money than they normally do and inject it into the Economy.

G: Ok.

J: But in the United States the dollar goes up in value and in Brazil the real goes down, so, I mean, how was this possible? There’s...there’s a disconnect here!

G: Yes.

J: It doesn’t make sense.

G: Well, I think in the United States...um...the dollar defies economic gravity, basically.

J: I think that...that comes from the fact the dollar is, let’s say, the...the basis of all trade.

G: Yes.

J: Global trade, and that’s, you know. So, I...er...I would just a little bit of...er...er...follow up on Paulo Guedes. He said that there’s also a lot of political pressure, at the moment, to extend the assistance program, and he considered that the executives actions would be based on evidence, and they hope that the...the Government will know how to handle (sic) in an emergency situation. But, for the moment, he’s saying – ‘No more stimulus.’

G: And what’s...what’s the impact of that, do you think? What’s the impact of this. What’s the forecast impact.

J: I don’t know. I...I think we should bring an economist in to...to ask somebody about that – somebody who’s well-versed in the...the...the Brazilian economy.

G: Ah, I know an economist, actually. Maybe I could call him in?

J: Hm...yah...I think... Didn’t we have an economist earlier this year?

G: I think we did.

J: What was his projection again?

G: Yes, we should probably bring him back and put him back over the coals.

J: Put him on the spot now!

G: Yes.

J: Ok. Er, Gee, what else do you have for us?

G: I have something that’s...um...quite close to your homeland, actually. You go to public parks, I guess. Have you been to public parks in the United States?

J: Yeah, lots of public parks in the US. Sure.

G: And have you ever felt...um...the need to relieve yourself there? Have you...er...

J: Well, yeah, but typically they have, like, those...those porta-potties, those outlets...tho...those plastic toilets that they set up.

G: Oh, ok.

J: Or sometimes they have fixed facilities for that as well.

G: And how...how are those? Are they clean? Are they nice? Are they nice to use or...?

J: Well, I’d say it depends on the budget of the park service that’s taking care of that.

G: Have you ever heard of Bancroft Park in Colorado Springs?

J: I’m from Colorado Springs!

G: Well, you can be very proud to know that your park has the best restroom in the whole of the United States – the winner of the 19th Annual Best Restroom Contest!

J: Best restroom?

G: In the United States.

J: Yay! I win! I win! I win! I didn’t even know they had that thing.

G: They do, and it’s the nineteenth, so it’s obviously popular.

J: My goodness. Th...they...they gotta do something.

G: They have a toilet there, in the park, that self-cleans every thirty users. Um...that’s...

J: Wa...wait a minute. L...l...let’s pay attention to how you... It self-cleans every thirty users, meaning it cleans itself or it cleans every thirty users?

G: Well, I...I...I hope...I hope it’s itself, yeah. Self. It has touchless, automatic toilet paper. It has soap. It has water dispensers – all automatic – and when things run low, then it has an app that alerts the park maintenance to replace things.

J: Wow. Fantastic.

G: And they have a push-button sliding door. They’ve got 7,800 people have used it in just two weeks.

J: So they’re...they’re really lining up for it.

G: And, the strangest thing of all is they got an alarm that sounds every seven minutes.

J: What’s the alarm for?

G: To prevent vandalism because, apparently, that used to be a problem.

J: But every seven minu...imagine you’re...you’re in...in the loo, in the middle of...er...a number and...and the alarm goes off?

G: I...I honestly don’t know how that works but...um...yes, that would...that would be quite scary, wouldn’t it?

J: That...that...I don’t... that...I can’t understand why a line of people would be wanting to have that experience.

G: So, how much do you think that this wonderful toilet in Colorado Springs has actually cost your local people.

J: Er....$50,000.

G: It’s $300,000, actually.

J: Oh, I was on the...the sh... I don’t know, man. That’s...it’s starting to sound like the golden toilet price.

G: Exactly.

J: It is.

G: Well, obviously they have moved up in the world, you know.

J: They have.

G: And anyhow...um...they would get serious competition, however, from the Japanese.

J: Ok.

G: Because...um...the Japanese have gone even further with their park bathrooms.

J: How’s it possible to go further than $300,000?

G: Well, it’s funny you should say that because in...in England we’ve always considered the bathrooms in public places like parks to be some...somewhat seedy, you know?

J: Ok, so...not...not so clean, like...like unpleasant really.

G: Yeah, and you get some unsavory characters who go there and they...um...you know, they’re seeking sexual favors, and all that sort of thing.

J: Oh no.

G: It’s all kind of nasty.

J: Right, right.

G: So, what...what the Japanese have done is they have got around this.

J: Ok.

G: So, basically, what they have come up with is they have come up with toilets that are completely transparent. They are made of glass!

J: Huh? So...so how does that make it attractive to...to...c...to go use?

G: Well, they got...they’ve got this pastel-shaded lighting, which just sort of illuminates so when you see the photo, each of the...the toilets has sort of got this nice pale pink glow or yellow, orange glow...

J: So, you can pick your...you can...

G:  So, you can see, straightaway there’s nobody inside there...

J: Ok.

G: ...lurking to do horrible things, and you can see that it’s clean, and you can go in there and relax.

J: Ah, ok. So...so as soon as you go in, then what? The lights go off and it’s you’re in a black hole?

G: Well, what happens... Luckily, what happens is it doesn’t stay transparent once you’re in there. They actually have a way that the pastel shadings, sort of, become opaque and you can’t actually see. It’ s a pastel...’powdery pastel shade’ is how they describe it. And then you can see that obviously somebody is using it...

J: Right.

G: ...and you don’t actually see what they are doing in there.

J: Right. Right.

G: So, they’re using technology to try and make the park toilet experience that much more pleasant.

J: Well, now that’s...that’s just a very Japanese way to see things. I like that.

G: Exactly. Now, of course, actually, this...I...I hate to keep continuing with toilets but actually this reminds me.

J: No, it’s quite interesting actually. Please, keep...keep going!

G: We’re going to have a toilet...toilet episode today. Toilet humor. Um, you remember your most famous toilet – the golden toilet?

J: The golden toilet, yes, and that was...that was...had something to do with a duke, or a nobility in England as well. Fantastic story.

G: And how much was that toilet, do you remember?

J: Um, no, but I think it was more than a million. 1.2 million, or something.

G: 1.2 million. Well, that’s actually pretty cheap.

J: Is it?

G: Because I know...well there’s been...

J: It was solid gold!

G: There’s another toilet that is worth no less than $23 million.

J: Now how...aagh. Seriously.

G: Seriously. Because...

J: Because? Wh...what’s it made out of now? Titanium? I don’t know.

G: I don’t know what it’s made out of. It’s...

J: Is it on the moon?

G: It’s a zero-gravity toilet. It’s actually a new toilet for the international space station.

J: Oh, it is a zero-gravity toilet.

G: It is. It’s a zero-gravity toilet, and it uses vacuums to...to...to hoover up the waste from the body.

J: Well, I think it would have to because otherwise it just kind of floats around there. I mean, that’s... Ugh. I’m not even gonna go there.

G: Well, it...it’s...basically it’s kind of designed so, you know, you get...you get two different chambers – one for each part, and the...the...the liquid is particularly designed for females.

J: Ok.

G: Because, apparently, the...um...old design wasn’t ideal for females.

J: Ok.

G: Anyway, the liquid, of course gets recycled.

J: Right.

G: So, then the...the toilet...toilet can process and recycle urine into drinking water. Or in the words of the NASA spokesman, he said – ‘Today’s coffee is tomorrow’s coffee.’ And that’s a very nice way of looking at it, izzit? (sic)

J: That’s a positive pull...you could...you could also say the same thing but in a different way. Yeah, but ok – I’m not gonna go there!

G: So, that’s the...er...the toilet news from three different places.

J: Well, I think that pretty much covers all of 2020 – any...any...any questions I had about that!

G: So, what else do you have for us this afternoon, Jay?

J: (Oh my). I’m gonna go a little bit further away. This is not in Brazil. This is from Nepal.

G: Nepal. Wow.

J: Yeah. And actually my story is kind of tied into Pod 16.

G: Ok.

J: A little bit. Because, now if you remember, that was the Women in Business.

G: Yes.

J: Talking about all of the issues that women in business face. Er...an...and all the things that they go through. And to expand on that, I just want to sh...give a little glimpse into what it’s like for some women in Katmandu.

G: Right. Nice.

J: So, in Nepal. Now we’re going to Nepal.

G: I’ve been there. It’s a lovely place.

J: Is it?

G: It’s a little bit scary when you land but it...it’s a lovely place.

J: Ok. But, anyway, so, here just to have some idea. Until recently, or actually until today, it’s...it’s...it’s a taboo for a woman to touch a dead body, in Nepal.

G: Well, why would she want to?

J: That’s a different question.

G: Oh, ok.

J: But wo...women are prohibited fro...from touching dead bodies.

G: It is strange the taboos about women, isn’t it? Especially in places like Afghanistan and...yes.

J: Oh, ok, it’s...it’s som..

G: What...what they are not allowed to do is..is ridiculous, really.

J: Don’t ask me why but it’s just something they’re not supposed to do. Anyway, in the middle of this...er...Coronavirus pandemic that has forced, let’s say, on the native tradition...er...a new outlook, and now you do actually have women in protective gear that are allowed to...er...help take the dead out and remove the dead from...er...areas where they are. And that was, let’s say, even like three or four years ago that would have been unimaginable.

G: So, what...what is this reason, do you think? Wh...why...is it that men are more spiritually enlightened or they take better care of the body’s spirit, or what?

J: Well, actually, I...I don’t know about that. Er...the...the typical idea was that women...erm...in the past, they had...had a different role and taking care of, let’s say, th...the dead bodies just wasn’t part of it.

G: But are they allowed to collect garbage?

J: I don’t know. That’s a good question. I don’t know if they can collect garbage.

G: Maybe it’s a cleanliness thing. Maybe they’re not allowed to contaminate their bodies. Cos they...they get very upset about things like the menstrual cycle and stuff, don’ t they...

J: Right.

G: ...in some countries.

J: So...so perhaps linked to that then they thought that a dead body might have certain, let’s say, enzymes, or spirits, or just bad Juju in general.

G: Yes.

J: So...but now, in that particular country, since 2006...since the change in government...and there was also a conflict in the...in the country, and that has, kind of, resolved in, let’s say, a little bit more modernizing the...the country. Er...so, now women are allowed but the women are soldiers, by the way.

G: Ah, ok.

J: So, it’s...it’s kind of strange. The women can go off to war and they can kill and get killed, but they’re not supposed to touch a (sic) dead bodies. God prohibit.

G: Well, in some countries they are not allowed to become soldiers either, are they, so...?

J: Well, I guess that in Nepal they...they’re totally fine with that.

G: I...I’m sure women in Nepal are delighted that the government have given this wonderful concession that they can now touch dead bodies.

J: Yes.

G: They must be delighted with that.

J: They’re allowed.

G: Things are improving for women everywhere. In astr...in space, they now have a nice toilet. So, I mean, you know, what more do they want?

J: Equal rights? Of course they’ve got equal rights!

G: Exactly.  

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                                                            End of Part 1

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