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benjamin júnior
24h of Le Mans
It is a right decision to congratulate the 24h of Le Mans with the title of the most famous car race of the world. For this French circuit (which route is a common road in the rest of the year) passed the most fabulous bolides conducted by the best pilots -- some of them found there the death. At this racetrack happened the most courageous and exciting duels, the...
henrique monteiro
Caricature - Michelle Obama
Illustrations by Henrique Monteiro, text by Priscilla Santos In August 2008, Radar Magazine put a picture of the new American First Lady on the cover with the following headline: "What's so frightening about Michelle Obama?”. At the beginning of the month, unfavourable impressions hovered over the wife of the democratic candidate; it was said she was sarcastic and that, during the few times se agreed to speak publically, she...
henrique monteiro
John Buscema - the last Marvel master
When I was little, I had a passion for drawings with impacient, quick lines. The artists never called my attention in particular, but rather the drawing situations. My first praise to art was over a logo for a cement factory of a muscular figure in an Herculean pose where its simple and precise lines stood out....
benjamin júnior
Old drugs and home medicines
If you think some of the today's medicines, such as Prozac or Vicodin, are too strong and you are afraid to take them, perhaps you are right. Only a specialist can prescribe them, under very specific conditions, as each pacient is a different case. However, our ancestors took other kinds of medicine that were more aggressive, without a care in the world, trustingly. The times were certainly different, but...
benjamin júnior
LHC - the end of the world machine
It seems like, this time, the largest particle accelerator in the world, the LHC - Large Hadron Collider will actually start working. With a budget of 4 billion euros, it is the largest machine on the planet, with a perimetre of almost 27km and a total of 9 300 superconducting magnets in its interior....
andré montejorge
Stunning wine-cellars
Those who appreciate wine know that you can't just take the cork off a bottle and drink it. Everything has to have a certain magic. From the choice of the kind of grape to the harvest, from opening the bottle to the glasses used, the aromas, the waiting for a special occasion, the people gathered together, the place chosen. In short, drinking wine is, for many, an art....
movinup
Glastonbury - one of the biggest UK festivals
During festival season in Europe, Glastonbury is one of the biggest, or biggest outdoors, gigs. One hundred and ninety people attended the 2009 edition of this event (virtually a Woodstock), that was wrapped-up last 28th of July. Among the hundreds of attractions, some of the best were Neil Young, Nick Cave, Fleet Foxes, Bruce Springsteen, Kasabian, Dizzee Rascal, Spinal Tap, Blur, Prodigy, Bon Iver, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Jason...
benjamin júnior
The evolution of Michael Jackson´s face
Until recently, Michael Jackson was considered eccentric, demented and, even, a pedophile. Now that he has passed away, the "king of Pop" title was finally given back to him. Personal opinions aside, one thing is for sure, the American singer has always been controversial and, apparently, enjoyed it. He thrived on eccentricities and obsessions. One of his most apparent and baffling compulsions was the transformation he imposed on his...
andré montejorge
Undemocratic pins
Truth be told, there was a lot of creativity behind this sad invention. Using pins or needles placed on the shirt collar was a pretty creative technique found to ensure that the pompous Chinese military parades were flawless. After all, who would (literally) want to risk their neck during the Olympic Games' year? All for those perfect, syncronized movements. Like the old animal trainers, who would inflict painful punishments...
benjamin júnior
Kalinin K-7 - a massive aircraft
During the early 1930s, a team of scientists led by Konstantin Kalinin tried to solve some of the most complex problems in aviation design. Thus the idea to create the Kalinin K-7 was born. It would be a plane of huge proportions, especially designed for overseas flights....
priscilla santos
Literary destinations
Paris Yes, books are able to help us travel through many places, be they real or not; but what would it be like to extrapolate fiction and get to know the senses of the places where the stories, as imagined by the writers, are set? What was, not so long ago, an adventure exclusive to intelectuals, avid literature lovers, has become a new area in tourism all over the...
benjamin júnior
The hearts of the Earth
Mangal em Voh, New Caledonia (photo by Yann Arthus-Bertrand) This pictured travelled the world. It hasn't been airbrushed and it isn't a digital manipulation. The heart shape of this clearing was not designed by men, but is rather a natural process of vegetation elimination due to the water's salinity in the region. It became one of Yann Arthus-Bertrand's most famous pictures and served as the symbol for his "Earth...
seven
Nereus - submersible watercraft
Nereus is an innovative concept by designer Mathias Koehler, which combines a water bike with a paper kite. The control of the vehicle is assured by two pedals, while the handlebars allow the Nereus to perform its most notable feature: its ability to submerge. The immersion, however, is short-lasting, as the vessel's light structure impels it to the surface....
andré montejorge
a bird`s sight - a never-before-seen Russia
From up there, it seems splendid. And it is. The economical problems, the social wounds, the dirt, alas, everything that doesn't matter and ends up disappearing when you watch the a place in this way. Just like a big bird that looks down while it flies, the helicopter flew over thousands of kilometres. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Rostov, Novosibirsk, along with several other cities, in the urban and rural...
priscilla santos
Michel Tcherevkoff: Shoes made from plants
Artists share with the insane the uncontrollable urge to always see something beyond what is seen. That's how they transform objects, nature and bodies into new objects, with new natures and new shapes. It's in this category that French photographer Michel Tcherevkoff's productions fit in: photographing things that are simply there doesn't interest me. In this way, from manipulation to manipulation of what he saw, he arrived at the...
São Reino
Geography of music: Fiona Apple, books to put away, wood sounds
When I don't like a musician or a writer that everyone tells me I might like, I keep my mouth shut and/ or keep myself in the security of indifference, more or less polite, although, I admit, I may be forced into speaking nonsense. Or I may take the initiative myself. Inside, when I think about it, I defend myself with silly arguments. But I never give up, I...
benjamin júnior
The colours of the Nudibranch
The nudibranch are small marine mollusks, about 2 to 6 cm long, similar to "sea slugs". They live wherever there's salt water, so their variety is huge, reaching the 3000 different species. Their main trait is the richness of their colour, that covers their body and allows an effective camouflage in coral reefs, their main habitat. The nudibranch are as graceful as they are repellent, but deserve a closer...
priscilla santos
Feist and the lyricism of the senses jumping off the window
Leslie Feist, the name of the girl with a peculiarly velvety voice with unpredictable tones who was born in Canada, 32 years ago, doesn't have a career that is easy to describe; none of that playing in a band, being discovered and going straight up in the Billboard charts. Somewhere between wanting to be a writer and walking in her socks through the dressing rooms of an electronic music...
andré montejorge
Land Rover sculpture
It was unveiled in the middle of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which is the biggest event about vehicles in the world, nowadays and takes place in England. In 2006, it recieved more than 150 000 visitors during 3 days of celebrations that displayed from common cars to F1 cars. Now, imagine placing a giant sculpture with 5 dangling Land Rover cars in the middle of all these visitors:...
seven
BMW GINA concept
The acronym GINA stands for Geometry and Functions In ‘N’ Adaptions and its concept is simple: make a car body out of fabric. However, its advantages are not only its lightness, the car can also change its shape thanks to its "skin"....
benjamin júnior
Sudenly, the world steps out of the shadows and into colours - the Lumière brothers
Far from what the modern techniques of producing colour pictures would be, the Lumière brothers developed a few of their own, inspiring future approaches and technologies in this art. In 1903, a photographic process named "autochrome Lumière" was patented and, afterwards, in 1907, commercialized, remaining the main technique used in the market until the 1930s, when it was replaced, with the arrival of colour films, introduced by a certain...
andré montejorge
Castellfollit - A city on a hill
Castellfollit de la Roca would be a minimal point according to planetary geographical patterns. Its exiguous area is of merely 0,67 km² and has a population of under 1.000 inhabitants. However, it is a real show that mixes hillsides and houses in an almost surreal harmony. The small town is sorrounded by the rivers Fluvià and Toronell and at the top of the basaltic wall that rise from the...
andré montejorge
Illustrated photographs by Tebe Interesno
The images speak for themselves. And even when they are paired up with poetry and simple explanations, they still convey a sort of child-like view of reality. His photo-collages or illustrations about photos play up popular imaginary, take advantage of childhood dreams and have fun with monsters that don't scare anyone a bit....
benjamin júnior
3D exploration of Guernica
During the Spanish Civil War, the village of Guernica was attacked and practically destroyed by the Luftwaffe, inspiring one of the most famous paintings by Pablo Picasso. Due to the horror of the nearly 1600 deaths caused by the bombing, this work of art, that was already in the making at the time, was named after this village. And thus, Guernica was born and has remained in History....
benjamin júnior
Voluntary image invasion
Julius von Bismarck created a device that allows you to physically manipulate a landscape while it is being photographed. This ingenious device allows you to project an image, a sentence or a mark of some sorts everytime someone takes a photograph using a flash, altering the scenery or the objects that the unsuspecting tourist might be photographing....
benjamin júnior
Dynamic architecture in Dubai
I don't usually get excited about architecture - it's a topic I usually leave for seven - because I'm a complete outsider in the subject. Regardless of my pre-disposition for the topic, though, something that attracts me to this art form is the purely aesthetic component of some works, which are fantastic and functional. I can safely say that few were the times when I was absolutely delighted with...
seven
Misha Gordin - conceptual photography
"Do I aim my lens outside, toward the world surrounding me, or inside, toward myself? Should I photograph the existing reality or create my own world, believable, yet non-existent?". It's with these pertinent questions about the nature of photography that Misha Gordin introduces us to her work and, looking at it, there are no doubts about which road she took. Images of minimal shapes, harsh contrasts, rigorous compositions and...
seven
Poseidon Mystery Island - underwater hotel
The idea is simple and fascinating: to live at the bottom of the ocean with every luxury, surrounded by large glass surfaces through which you can contemplate the imense beauty of the marine landscape. Nothing Jules Verne hasn't imagined when he idealized the fantastic Nautilus in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea... However, while at the time the famous sci-fi novel was written, it was no more than a...
seven
Moonstream
If the exploration of Mars goes ahead in the next few years, then Moonstream might become a reality. The strange vehicle was built to travel the irregular, bumpy surfaces of the red planet, carrying cargo or passengers with every luxury and comodity. At this point, however, it is still a design exercise by young designer Anthony Sims, based on the earthly and famous SUV (Sport Utility Vehicles), that seem...
andré montejorge
Angel Falls
Angel Falls, Salto Angel or Kerepakupai-meru, its native name, is located at the Canaima National Park, in Venezuela, and is a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 1994. Stuck in a region close to the border between Brazil and Guiana, the water that free falls from its top comes from the river Churun....