High off the fumes from bringing Vibrations home, I made a "room" for all the lyrics I've accumulated over the years from capoeira classes, deep listening albums, and learning languages, motivated because there were too many mixed into my notes and other stuff to find anything when I needed it.

informal to structured, automatically

Each song lives in a collection, which is a text file representing my personal tie to where it came from: maybe the year or place or group or album.

The lyrics in a collection are just separated by one # character, which represents a Markdown heading. New heading, new song; no need to "make one file per thing" and manage it.

…

quem ama mesmo prefere o ofício de amar.

# Joyce: Mistérios

você chegou feito um silêncio

…

With just this one semantic unit to divide the information, each song can get it's own page automatically. But I can still easily move things around if I change my mind. This fulfills my principle of "presenting things consistently regardless of how I organize the files".

Adding a topic to collections lets me combine collections from a certain context (such as my Brazilian popular music). As it shows recent items first, I have a list roughly in order of discovery without any 'blog post' system; time is somewhat relevant but it doesn't need to be super precise.

I had tried to do this with my non-chronological garden, but it was too much effort to manage pages and ended up crowding other stuff without being easier to find. Reverse chronological order is much more relevant here to me than other ways I've tried, as I often want to revisit newer things first; the order is a helpful reminder of where I got it from and orients me to other details I may have forgotten.

cool benefits

About 150 individual song notes were purged from my Simplenote and condensed into 21 collections. I no longer need to carry them around in my notes, and they're also 'liberated' as public data that anyone can benefit from as text or through my site's web interface.

Collections are presented without pagination so I can just scroll, with sticky headings for orientation, using the browser to search when needed: this way I can easily save one page offline with the Reading List in Safari and have lyrics with me even without internet access.

The page for any song has links to search the title via YouTube, or translate text via DeepL, or a 'Source' link so that anyone can edit things on GitHub.

There are bidirectional links between lyric and Vibrations pages, connecting published songs from my personal history to the lyrics.

other reflections

I'm generally not using my blog brain when I deal with music and don't always know very specifically what I'm looking for when it comes to songs I may want to reconnect with. It's nice to browse through what I've gathered as easily as physical albums or photo collections—an example of how technology can support more 'fuzzy' approaches.

I have another less public collection somewhere with compilations of more lyrics than I will ever use in my lifetime, but those are more like a large 'dataset' and not personally meaningful. The songs I've encountered along my way have more significance to me, and it's nice to express that through files, markdown, and some rough technical transformation.

My endeavour in writing this is not really to focus on the technology but an attempt to share why I do things a certain way, which can be applicable to other things.

Hugo gives me the rush of making apps, but applied to organizing information—something that disproportionately seems to satisfy me.

I would close with a quote from Heddi that describes what it's like for me to have a personal website or corner of the Internet where I can do niche things like this without some company's blessing:

"Having a platform profile is like living in a single-room apartment, whereas having your own site is a castle with unlimited rooms."

High off the fumes from bringing Vibrations home, I made a "room" for all the lyrics I've accumulated over the years from capoeira classes, deep listening albums, and learning languages, motivated because there were too many mixed into my notes and other stuff to find anything when I needed it.

informal to structured, automatically

Each song lives in a collection, which is a text file representing my personal tie to where it came from: maybe the year or place or group or album.

The lyrics in a collection are just separated by one # character, which represents a Markdown heading. New heading, new song; no need to "make one file per thing" and manage it.

…

quem ama mesmo prefere o ofício de amar.

# Joyce: Mistérios

você chegou feito um silêncio

…

With just this one semantic unit to divide the information, each song can get it's own page automatically. But I can still easily move things around if I change my mind. This fulfills my principle of "presenting things consistently regardless of how I organize the files".

Adding a topic to collections lets me combine collections from a certain context (such as my Brazilian popular music). As it shows recent items first, I have a list roughly in order of discovery without any 'blog post' system; time is somewhat relevant but it doesn't need to be super precise.

I had tried to do this with my non-chronological garden, but it was too much effort to manage pages and ended up crowding other stuff without being easier to find. Reverse chronological order is much more relevant here to me than other ways I've tried, as I often want to revisit newer things first; the order is a helpful reminder of where I got it from and orients me to other details I may have forgotten.

cool benefits

About 150 individual song notes were purged from my Simplenote and condensed into 21 collections. I no longer need to carry them around in my notes, and they're also 'liberated' as public data that anyone can benefit from as text or through my site's web interface.

Collections are presented without pagination so I can just scroll, with sticky headings for orientation, using the browser to search when needed: this way I can easily save one page offline with the Reading List in Safari and have lyrics with me even without internet access.

The page for any song has links to search the title via YouTube, or translate text via DeepL, or a 'Source' link so that anyone can edit things on GitHub.

There are bidirectional links between lyric and Vibrations pages, connecting published songs from my personal history to the lyrics.

other reflections

I'm generally not using my blog brain when I deal with music and don't always know very specifically what I'm looking for when it comes to songs I may want to reconnect with. It's nice to browse through what I've gathered as easily as physical albums or photo collections—an example of how technology can support more 'fuzzy' approaches.

I have another less public collection somewhere with compilations of more lyrics than I will ever use in my lifetime, but those are more like a large 'dataset' and not personally meaningful. The songs I've encountered along my way have more significance to me, and it's nice to express that through files, markdown, and some rough technical transformation.

My endeavour in writing this is not really to focus on the technology but an attempt to share why I do things a certain way, which can be applicable to other things.

Hugo gives me the rush of making apps, but applied to organizing information—something that disproportionately seems to satisfy me.

I would close with a quote from Heddi that describes what it's like for me to have a personal website or corner of the Internet where I can do niche things like this without some company's blessing:

"Having a platform profile is like living in a single-room apartment, whereas having your own site is a castle with unlimited rooms."

Minha Velha: Capoeira Music Practice

Mixture of leading and harmonizing. Big sound with 7 people; sounds like there's more instruments than there actually are.

Capoeira Angola: Contra Mestre Gato Preto (GCFA) e Contra Mestre Reny (Oke Aro)

Seems like they escape so fluidly that they must stop to appreciate.

Mestre Gato Preto e CM Jorge

Crazy flying cartwheel at 5:50.

Treinel Onça Branca (Ngoma) e prof. Negao (Capoeira sem fronteira)

Example of how someone with more experience can make it easy to play beautifully together.

I'm starting to train capoeira again with some new groups and thought to reflect on how many different places I've done this.

My accountant brain enjoys a good spreadsheet, so it naturally manifested in this list:

order	group	place
1.	🔁 Kadara Capoeira	Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦
2.	🔁 🎟 Capoeira Raiz	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
3.	🎟 Xará Capo	Göttingen, Germany 🇩🇪
4.	Pressinha	Mannheim, Germany 🇩🇪
5.	Arte Nacional	Stuttgart, Germany 🇩🇪
6.	Capoeira Corrupio	Freiburg, Germany 🇩🇪
7.	🔁 🎟 Capoeira de Besouro	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
8.	🎟 Senzala	Stuttgart, Germany 🇩🇪
9.	Capoeira Angola Bangkok	Bangkok, Thailand 🇹🇭
10.	Associação de Capoeira Angola Dobrada	Freiburg, Germany 🇩🇪
11.	Capoeira São Salomão Roma	Rome, Italy 🇮🇹
12.	Mojubá	Los Angeles, United States 🇺🇸
13.	Terrêru	Belo Horizonte, Brazil 🇧🇷
14.	Escola de Capoeira Angola Ifé	Recife, Brazil 🇧🇷
15.	🔁 Centro de Capoeira São Salomão	Recife, Brazil 🇧🇷
16.	Nzinga DF	Brasilia, Brazil 🇧🇷
17.	Capoeira Angola Toronto	Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦
18.	🔁 🎟 Mojubá	London, England 🇬🇧
19.	UR Capoeira	London, England 🇬🇧
20.	Capoeira Bemvindo	London, England 🇬🇧
21.	🔁 Oxford Capoeira Society	Oxford, England 🇬🇧
22.	Dendê de Maré	London, England 🇬🇧
23.	Academy of Capoeira	Goa, India 🇮🇳
24.	🔁 Axé	Goa, India 🇮🇳
25.	Semente do Jogo de Angola	Montreal, Canada 🇨🇦
26.	Escola de Capoeira Angola Irmãos Gêmeos de Mestre Curió	Basel, Switzerland 🇨🇭
27.	Preservação da Mandinga	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
28.	🔁 Grupo de Capoeira Filh@s de Angola	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
29.	Associação de capoeira angola navio negreiro (ACANNE)	Lyon, France 🇫🇷
30.	Mucambo Capoeira Angola	Brighton, England 🇬🇧
31.	🔁 Associação de Capoeira Angola Relíquia Espinho Remoso (ACARER)	Porto, Portugal 🇵🇹
32.	Academia de Capoeira de Lisboa	Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
33.	Memórias De Angola	Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
34.	Ngoma	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
35.	🔁 Mukânda	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪

These groups are in 21 places across 11 countries; 🔁 means trained regularly, and 🎟 means participated in a workshop or special event.

I'm not sure how to make sense of time versus experience.

My first class was on December 13, 2021, which amounts to about 4 years ago at time of writing, but regular training in groups and solo during that time probably amounts to about a year and a half.

But also some training is more impactful than others, so what is the best measure of experience here?

I think about two quotes.

One is "Do you have ten years of experience? or ten of the same year?" which I heard from Jess Martin.

It can certainly be valuable to have a broader perspective from diversity of experiences, but, also…

when it comes to the body, maybe there's more potency to practice Bruce Lee's single kick 10,000 times.

I'm far from good at this, and as with other aspects of my life, my skills would be deeper if I stuck around and solidified a kind of 'base'.

I do like how this shows an aspect of how I travel to connect with people rather than tourist attractions, more-so than my list of cities; Mestre Mago told me it shares the idea that capoeira lets you feel familiar in unfamiliar places.

I definitely value meeting so many great people, and feel grateful for being welcomed into so many places to be part of the movement, music, and camaraderie.

Someday I'll have a nice game I can share. For now here's me practicing and singing on my own.

---

If you're interested to learn more or try capoeira, there's probably a group near you even though it's invisible to most people. Here are some games I like:

I'm starting to train capoeira again with some new groups and thought to reflect on how many different places I've done this.

My accountant brain enjoys a good spreadsheet, so it naturally manifested in this list:

order	group	place
1.	🔁 Kadara Capoeira	Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦
2.	🔁 🎟 Capoeira Raiz	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
3.	🎟 Xará Capo	Göttingen, Germany 🇩🇪
4.	Pressinha	Mannheim, Germany 🇩🇪
5.	Arte Nacional	Stuttgart, Germany 🇩🇪
6.	Capoeira Corrupio	Freiburg, Germany 🇩🇪
7.	🔁 🎟 Capoeira de Besouro	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
8.	🎟 Senzala	Stuttgart, Germany 🇩🇪
9.	Capoeira Angola Bangkok	Bangkok, Thailand 🇹🇭
10.	Associação de Capoeira Angola Dobrada	Freiburg, Germany 🇩🇪
11.	Capoeira São Salomão Roma	Rome, Italy 🇮🇹
12.	Mojubá	Los Angeles, United States 🇺🇸
13.	Terrêru	Belo Horizonte, Brazil 🇧🇷
14.	Escola de Capoeira Angola Ifé	Recife, Brazil 🇧🇷
15.	🔁 Centro de Capoeira São Salomão	Recife, Brazil 🇧🇷
16.	Nzinga DF	Brasilia, Brazil 🇧🇷
17.	Capoeira Angola Toronto	Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦
18.	🔁 🎟 Mojubá	London, England 🇬🇧
19.	UR Capoeira	London, England 🇬🇧
20.	Capoeira Bemvindo	London, England 🇬🇧
21.	🔁 Oxford Capoeira Society	Oxford, England 🇬🇧
22.	Dendê de Maré	London, England 🇬🇧
23.	Academy of Capoeira	Goa, India 🇮🇳
24.	🔁 Axé	Goa, India 🇮🇳
25.	Semente do Jogo de Angola	Montreal, Canada 🇨🇦
26.	Escola de Capoeira Angola Irmãos Gêmeos de Mestre Curió	Basel, Switzerland 🇨🇭
27.	Preservação da Mandinga	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
28.	🔁 Grupo de Capoeira Filh@s de Angola	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
29.	Associação de capoeira angola navio negreiro (ACANNE)	Lyon, France 🇫🇷
30.	Mucambo Capoeira Angola	Brighton, England 🇬🇧
31.	🔁 Associação de Capoeira Angola Relíquia Espinho Remoso (ACARER)	Porto, Portugal 🇵🇹
32.	Academia de Capoeira de Lisboa	Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
33.	Memórias De Angola	Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
34.	Ngoma	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
35.	🔁 Mukânda	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪

These groups are in 21 places across 11 countries; 🔁 means trained regularly, and 🎟 means participated in a workshop or special event.

I'm not sure how to make sense of time versus experience.

My first class was on December 13, 2021, which amounts to about 4 years ago at time of writing, but regular training in groups and solo during that time probably amounts to about a year and a half.

But also some training is more impactful than others, so what is the best measure of experience here?

I think about two quotes.

One is "Do you have ten years of experience? or ten of the same year?" which I heard from Jess Martin.

It can certainly be valuable to have a broader perspective from diversity of experiences, but, also…

when it comes to the body, maybe there's more potency to practice Bruce Lee's single kick 10,000 times.

I'm far from good at this, and as with other aspects of my life, my skills would be deeper if I stuck around and solidified a kind of 'base'.

I do like how this shows an aspect of how I travel to connect with people rather than tourist attractions, more-so than my list of cities; Mestre Mago told me it shares the idea that capoeira lets you feel familiar in unfamiliar places.

I definitely value meeting so many great people, and feel grateful for being welcomed into so many places to be part of the movement, music, and camaraderie.

Someday I'll have a nice game I can share. For now here's me practicing and singing on my own.

---

If you're interested to learn more or try capoeira, there's probably a group near you even though it's invisible to most people. Here are some games I like:

Capoeira Podcast

[Advice should be like snow: the more gentle it falls, the longer it stays.]

Camafeu de Oxóssi: Berimbaus da Bahia (1964)

Percussion layer with a few instruments becomes a solid rhythmic foundation for singing. Some tracks of chanting with what I call "vowels of African origin", followed by some classic songs from the Capoeira tradition.

'Capoeira should be fun' can extend to the game itself; the movement you admire is never in frenzy; always calma, giving time and space, not allowing someone else to make you hyperventilate; how can it feel more like effortless language exchange?

We can even extend this farther: how can everything be fun? more like that? fluid conversation with yourself and the stars.

Capoeira movements as drawing the form of their body through your movements. Maximize awareness of your self with surroundings. Maximize control (!) of your gestures.