Its cause of these things!

Yes, a few backstage photos. Not all the pictures I take are for artistic and commercial purposes of course, sometimes it's just for the fun of it. But I never get to show them to anyone... so why not use this blog to share some of them? I think it's a supercallifragilisticexpialidocious idea!

Starting with something scary. Has anyone actually seen what a worm looks like? Until a few days ago I thought they were just hundreds of rings, I never even thought about their eyes and mouth. Fortunately, I found a baby one in my backyard and had with me my supercallifr... my wonderful macro lens! So here's what I got:















(You can click to make it bigger.) Scary stuff. Looks like it was taken from an "Aliens" movie.

On other news, today was the practice day for the pilots of the Redbull Air Race, which will take place tomorrow and Saturday, in Porto. Thousands of people are expected to show up, and I will certainly be one of them. Despite the fascination of having planes flying at 200kmh just above my head and slaloming by the Douro river, the challenge of photo-shooting such an event is my greatest invitation. And today, the pilots were practising - and so was I.

I have shot and covered a few sport events - but no one was ever this HARD. It's almost impossible for me to shoot (correctly) an event such as this one, at least not with the equipment I have. The planes are too fast, too close, and too unpredictable. I wanted to take close ranged photos of them and I was totally unable too, they were just a motion blur! And I was shooting at speeds as high as 1/1000 of a second. It was incredible.

Even at 4 frames per second at 1/1000s, I didn't manage to get any close shot. It's well beyond my possibilities, so I just put my camera away and enjoyed the rest of the show. Here are two shots, so you'll know what Im talking about:

















The rush is amazing, a bit scary too. So I guess this is it for today.

Lets play doctors!

Sometimes I just can't believe in the incompetence of people.

I went to see a (new) doctor today, since my family doctor is on vacations, and, like in most hospitals in Portugal, I waited a few hours to get an appointement with this new doctor. Well, I'm used to it, so I didn't mind (much). Because I would finally know what's wrong, right?

I walked in her office, and she asked what brought me there. I quickly explained my situation, and she said "Well, that might just be a tumor". I stared, and asked her to at least take a look! She analyzed me for what, 10 seconds? Afterwards she said "Yeah, maybe. Just go on and do some Eco's and Xrays, and show them to your real doctor when she gets back". And she told me the session was over.

I asked her "well I already knew it could be a tumor, but can you at least tell me what YOU think it is, a bad tumor, a good tumor, what?" And she gave me this look like she was thinking "How am I supposed to know?". SHE'S A FUCKIN DOCTOR!! She said absolutely nothing. Zero. Gave me a piece of paper and sent me away.

Afterwards I had to pay to see a private doctor who actually was able to give me a REAL diagnostic, and the session DID took more that a minute and a half. God damn it, what's wrong with these new doctors? They simply don't care, at all. That woman really pissed me off.
I'm more relaxed now, hurray for money-sucking doctors whose money makes them care.

Sétimo Manifesto

[Portuguese only, sorry]

Estava por aqui a escarafunchar os meus antigos textos, quando me apercebi que perdi a maioria. Sei que devo ter apagado grande parte deles, mas ainda consegui recuperar três dos muitos que escrevi nos anos anteriores (os únicos que chegaram de facto a ser publicados). Durante 2003-2005 escrevi uma série de Sete Manifestos, sete peças distintas de literatura de variados formatos, com a intenção de, bem, já não sei. Mas decidi partilhar um, o último da série. O formato foi completamente novo para mim e, na minha opinião, funcionou muito bem.

Sétimo Manifesto

"chego a casa as duas da manha depois de um dia cheio de trabalho abro a porta devagarinho para nao te acordar fecho a porta ainda mais devagarinho sacudo o guarda-chuva mas deixo-o la fora para nao te dar que limpar limpo os sapatos bem limpos no tapete que compraste la em berlim e empurro-os para um canto e vou para a cozinha encharcado preencher o vazio que sinto ca dentro e abro o frigorifico e ainda nao ha nada para comer e nos armarios tambem nao lentamente tiro a roupa molhada e deito-me no sofa a ver televisao um dois tres quatro cinco seis canais e nada que valha a pena desligo a televisao e oiço a chuva a cair e levanto-me para abrir a janela e deixo o pobre do gato entrar cá para dentro vejo um dois tres quatro cinco seis relampagos e fico na janela mais tempo do que queria mesmo sabendo que amanha celebras os teus magníficos trinta e cinco anos de idade mas desculpa se nao me importo ja sabes que te digo que te amo todos os anos e que te beijo na suave e pequenina testa aquando escorres uma lagrima azul e abres os braços esperançada e eu nao te ligo nenhuma e que volto para a cama ponho o despertador para as sete da manha e nao dou de comer ao animal e nao te dou um beijo de boa noite nem te ajudo a carregar as compras que ainda deixaste na cozinha e vens para a minha beira poes o braço a minha volta e tentas dormir sossegada sabendo que estou contigo - nao eu nao estou contigo e tu sabes bem disso e nao me importo se e o teu aniversario estou cansado de trabalhar no cafe todos os dias a mesma coisa clientes a queixarem-se do pingo estar morno ou do cafe sem açucar e a contar a vida toda desde o alpendre que caiu e os quatrocentos escudos que vai custar a reparar a mulher do joaquim que fugiu com a roberta e todas a noite fecho o cafe caminho pelo passeio onde violinos choram lagrimas musicais e as dez milhas que faço ate casa sao gastas apenas a pensar em ti no que eu te fiz no que eu te faço e no que eu te quero fazer porque novamente nao foste as compras ficaste a ver a telenovela mexicana mesmo quando o comando da televisao esta avariado e te deitas no sofa a olhar para aquela porcaria e no dia seguinte a mesma rotina e feita mas ja nao ha açucar e assim nao posso tomar cafe mas caminho para o trabalho as dez milhas como sempre a pensar em ti, no que te fiz no que te faço e no que te quero fazer - ainda nao compraste açucar e afinal o alpendre do almeida vai custar seiscentos escudos e a mulher do joaquim morreu atropelada mas eu julgo que tenha sido suicidio apos um duro filicidio e quando chego a casa sacudo o guarda chuva descalço-me devagarinho e caminho para nao te acordar vou para a cozinha ainda nao ha açucar mas sabes que mais nao me importo.

nao existes. e mesmo assim eu odeio-te."

ricardo magalhães, 2005 - a última peça escrita até hoje.

Lost... and found!

Those who know me are fully aware of my terrible lack of orientation. I can't really tell where's North and where's South, I can't even find my own car in the parking lot most of the times, and whenever I'm stuck on a new street or city I get highly confused and never get out of there.

Everytime I had to go somewhere, I spent more than an hour visiting the place in Google Earth, taking notes, lots of notes, and still I managed to get confused. But those days are over! I got myself a GPS, and I shall find my way and purpose in life!

Well, maybe not the purpose, but certainly the way... It's a bit awkward having a woman telling me when and where to go, but hey, that's life. Maybe I'll improve my general orientation, but don't worry, I will still be the same old distracted folk you always knew and loved.

(The GPS voice's name is Catarina by the way, and she has a sexy metalic voice :D)

.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!

Teenage Wristband

I can't stop listening to The Twilight Singers, especially at night. It's the perfect company for a warm night, no matter what your mood is. Since a dear friend of mine introduced me to them, I fell in love with the music style Greg Dulli produces to this twilight package.

Some songs have that teenage rock feeling into them, which I typically hate. But I don't care, they rock, and they're good company when the moon rises.

And I just found out Greg has another band, featuring Mark Lanegan (from Screaming Trees) as the second member! That's promising, must get my hands in that one as soon as possible! The band is Saturnalia. Can't wait to hear it.

Just watch this freakin video, you'll know what I'm saying.

Complaint file #28735

I'm sick of this. Today was just a louzy fuckin' day and the last few days have been and felt like shit. Sometimes I just feel like telling people to shove their own words in their own big fat round asses. But apparently that's imoral...

I'm a very patient person, and I still like to think I'm a decent guy who doesn't deserve most of the crap I have to take. I love people, I would go to the very end of the world for many loved ones and pretty much everyone worth a sacrifice. But sometimes it just feels fucking ungrateful, I don't know why I still feel like I should continue to put up with it.

Morrissey had it right: "In my life, why do I give valuabe time, to people I'd much rather kick in the eye".

And thank god for Pink Floyd, for listening to my ramblings. I'll be just fine tomorrow.

Movies

I've been going to the movies a lot lately, mostly because I'm bored most of the times. Just like I am bored right now, so that's why I'm making this blog entry ;D.

The Simpsons - Not just a long episode of the series, it managed to really become a "movie"! Extremely funny since the very beggining to the very end, it didn't dissapoint at all. One of the greatest animations I've seen, for sure. You can really tell that all the jokes have been given a lot of thought, and they work really damn well. It was a really good surprise, highly recommended.

Hostile 2 - Blargh. Haven't seen such a bad movie in a long time. I honestly thought Hostel was different from the other terror movies, but I didn't see the first one. It's bloody awful! I bet it's the same story as the first one, only with different characters. A lot of hot chicks, summer vacations, they die, yada yada, it would be a nice horror movie in 1990. Fuckin bad movie, it was a waste of money.

Evan Almighty - I really enjoyed Bruce Almighty a few years ago, Carrey did a great job in it. It wasn't a superb movie and definitely not the best movie of the year, but I liked it. And since I've come to love Steve Carell, I was excited about this sequel! The director was the same, so I was expecting more of Bruce Almighty with Carell's charisma. Well, I was wrong. The movie is actually quite poor. Steve does a good job, the man is impossible not to adore. But the plot is weak, the funny parts are rather rare and frankly, rather poor also. It's more of a family movie than the typical comedy, so I'm sure it's gonna be a good movie when you're watching it on TV with your family...

Disturbia - After I saw the trailer I got really curious, it didn't seem like the typical teenage horror movie (*points to Hostel 2 review....*) and I enjoyed the boys' work in Transformers. First of all the movie is quite long, which wouldn't really be a bad thing... if, some action actually happened in the first 2/3 of the movie. 75% of the film is mostly talking and get-to-know-us scenes, which, altough not boring, are not what you expected and paid for! Only the last half hour is in fact, what you want to see. And even that is not so "disturbia" after all... you expected more by the end of it, but in general it's not a bad movie, I actually enjoyed it.

Die Hard 4 - Terrible plot! Must be the worst freakin excuse for a plot I've ever seen in a Die Hard! Remeber "Hackers"? How easy it was to hack whatever you want, from wherever you want, and causing pure chaos just like that? Die Hard 4 has the same premiss. Only we're not in the 90's! Despite that, the action scenes are good, which make the movie worth seeing for the fans. The humour is weak for a Die Hard, and it's ridicusly exagerated. For the fans, only.

Ratatouille - A lot of paint over this animation for the last months. Every single review was good for this latest Pixar animation, and of course I got curious. The movie is about a rat with excellent cooking skills, who wants to practice his art in a restaurant in Paris. And believe it or not, this actually works... greatly. I've never seen such a convincing animation before. You get to watch it mainly in a first person (first rat, actually) style, which makes you really get inside the story. You ARE the rat! It's a wonderful movie, full of rich humourous scenes which makes you eager for the next one. Not only I laughed a lot, but I also smiled a lot like all those children in the room. One hell of an experience, without a doubt one of the best animation movies this year, if not the best.

Shrek III - Just another Shrek. (I'm lazy now. Bye)

Opsye...

I'm listening to way too much music. For the past five or six weeks, the first thing I do when I wake up is set-up the playlist. I have breakfast listening to music on the living room's DVD; I have lunch still listening to music.

When I decide to stay home during the afternoon, no matter what I do, music is always playing. If I decide to go out, I keep listening to my playlist on the car, on the train, on the bus, wherever.

If I'm walking on the city, or just waiting for someone, I naturally plug the earphones.

When I get home, more music. I go to bed everyday at 3am, stopping the laptop's music... but then I fall asleep listening to my mp3 player. I fall asleep to music, and I wake up with music.

All this would be fine if music hadn't such an impact on me. I live my world based on what music makes me feel; so that creates lies, hope, false hope, expectations, pretty much anything one could feel. It's... driving me a little bit crazy. When I have nothing to do, I just keep searching for more music, or read and learn everything I can about my favorites. Silence bothers me for the first time, 'cause there's NO FUCKIN' MUSIC PLAYING!

It's a miserable drug, which sometimes resembles a painkiller, but lately is just feels like it grows emotions I'm definitely not used to have. The worst part?

Tomorrow I'll listen even more. I just can't wait for it.

Hello, my name is Richard. And I'm addicted to music.
The fucking thing keeps calling my name.

Covers

Lately I've been in a marvellous quest: finding all the musical covers artists have made to the songs I love the most. I don't even need to like the covering artists, I just feel like I have to hear their tributed version to whoever inspires them. I already got a few good ones, some of them were a real pain in the ass to find... Others are real rarities, which actually increases the pleasure of having them. Here's what I got so far, and of course I initially focused on The Smiths and Joy Division.

Belle And Sebastian - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (The Smiths)
Low - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (The Smiths)
The Smashing Pumpkins - Isolation (Joy Division)
X-Wife - She's Lost Control (Joy Division)
Primal Scream - New Dawn Fades (Joy Division)
Jeff Buckley - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (The Smiths)
Calexico - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)
Pearl Jam - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
New Order - New Dawn Fades (Joy Division)
In The Nursery - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)
Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)
The Divine Comedy - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (The Smiths)
The Divine Comedy - Radioactivity (Kraftwerk)
The Divine Comedy - Les Jours Tristes (Yann Tiersen)
The Killers - Shadowplay (Joy Division)
Pink Floyd - Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
Death Cab For Cutie - This Charming Man (The Smiths)
Psychedelic Furs - How Soon Is Now (The Smiths)
William Shatner - Common People (Pulp)
The Divine Comedy - Life On Mars (David Bowie)
The Divine Comedy - Vapour Trail (Ride)
The Divine Comedy - John Mathis' Feet (American Music Club)
The Cure - Creep (Radiohead)
Nancy Sinatra - Jackson (Johnny Cash)
Johnny Cash - Mercy Seat (Nick Cave)
Johnny Cash - Personal Jesus (Depeche Mode)
Metallica - Loverman (Nick Cave)
The Smashing Pumpkins - A Night Like This (The Cure)
Supergrass - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (The Smiths)
Pink Floyd - House Of The Rising Sun (Bob Dylan)
The Smiths - Across The Universe (The Beatles)
Girls Against Boys - She's Lost Control (Joy Division)
Muse - Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths)
The Smashing Pumpkins - Never Let Me Down Again (Depeche Mode)


A lot more are still on the list, I'll keep this update!

High

Low, one of the greatest indie slowcore bands ever, is back with another great album: "Drums And Guns". For long I have adored this group, mostly because of the extreme variety of their music style and of how good they can be at every one of them.

Low started in early 1993 as a grunge, post-punk sound, with a major target on the lyrics. Even then the delicious combination of Mimi Parker's and Alan Sparhawk vocal's sounded like heaven, I never heard two singing voices be so good together as these.

By the end of the last decade, they decided to improve which is now their main music style; slowcore. Slowcore can typically be very annoying, but Low had a way of their own. The rythm can be very raw, reminding us of the early post-rock days, sometimes being followed by small electronic touches. They work their music around the voice and the lyrics, and the result it's quite astonishing.

But it's live when Low really show their magic. A live concert of Low is like a zen therapy - perhaps with better results. I'll say no more and leave you with a few great videos.

http://scheduletwo.com/video/qt/low/last_snowstorm_of_the_year

Check them out.

Shadowplay

A lot of my works are inspired in songs. In fact, most of them are. Almost every conceptual work I did took it's meaning from a certain song, or just part of a lyric. Here's my last work;



I was listening to Joy Division on the way over, and Shadowplay hit me like a rock. I'll give a frisbee to whoever guesses where I took the photo from :D

You may find it in my deviantart gallery, as well as my portfolio.

T-shirts!

If there's one thing I have always wanted to do, was my own t-shirts customizations. I always envy the people who wear those clever-phrased tshirts, especially because I never actually found a place who sold them. And for quite some time I've been making a list of all the things I would put on a t-shirt, so that one day I would pick up my own lazy ass from the chair and start working on them.

Meanwhile, almost three years have passed. Lazy assed once, lazy assed forever. A few hours ago I stumbled with an online shop for music related tshirts - another thing I always wanted to have. But I never wanted to spend a lot of money for them - sure, everyone's proud about they really like and love. But paying €25 for it? No sir. If that wasn't enough, the only music related shirts which sell out there are death metal ones... and I don't like death metal. Sorry if you've mistaken me for a nervous headbanger.

So I thought, I have Google! Why not make my own groupie yay yay yay bands tshirts? I've been working on some previews for the last couple of hours, and I truly think this time, will be the time. There's a lot of work involved - most of the images I've found are low resolution, and it will take me a long time to perform some vectorization so I can make them bigger. But, I honestly hope to have most of them ready within a month or two. I'll let you sneak the previews I've made earlier.















Buzzcocks! Don't be fooled by their name; they rock and kick ass.


Mr. Johnny Cash. A tribute to my ol' country side.


Joy Division. Because love can tear me apart.


Ramones, my favourite old style polished punk.



New Order. So simple yet so appealing. Besides, I'll look like a "no" person.


No introducing needed.


I am currently working on Pink Floyd's tshirt. Next on the list are The Divine Comedy. I want so bad to make Jeff Buckley's, The Smiths, Fantomas, Screaming Trees, Depeche Mode, Pulp and Tom Waits t-shirts, but it's difficult to find some good art to work with. Or at least with decent resolution. So any help from these you can give me, I would appreciate. I'll keep this updated as I work on them - there are still a lot of fonts and artwork to vectorize.

Keep rockin'.

Sense Of The World

Karl Rove has quit! He's gone!

Today at Washington DC, the President's political adviser Karl Rove (aka, dumbass jerk) oficially resigned in front of the press. Well it's about damn time. Karl took the high level position at the White House in 2001, and it's now leaving "by himself". Apparently, no one insisted for him to leave, neither forced, he just wants to take his own life.. ops, sorry, his own time, to dedicate to "writing" and "teaching". Well, I think it's a great decision if he is to form an army of sensless republicans. Would he really be the greatest teacher?

I'm sure he would, I mean, after all he can identify secret members from the CIA and tell the world about it... that's something I can't do for sure. After all, he managed to succesfully lose both Congress's houses to Democrats. Bush will now get smarter than a monkey, I'm telling you.

But what do I care, it's not even my government.

So, on a brighter side, I give you this other news;

"An Estonian man who was caught driving a car even though he is blind has been at it again, police said on Monday, and this time he faces jail." (CNN).

Uau, I'm impressed. I bet that one did one hell of a highway chase :)

Death Of

A few days ago, Anthony Wilson (also known as Tony Wilson) has past away, at the age of 57, from a severe heart attack.

Tony Wilson was, among other things, the man behind "Factory Records" and the "Haçienda" nightclub in Manchester, which played a major role in the 70's music business. Tony was the manager responsible for great bands such as "Joy Division", the "Happy Mondays" and "A Certain Ratio". He became a true british legend back in the seventies, promoting what was then the beginning of the new era for the Punk Rock days. The man had ears just like everyone else - but he knew how to really use them.

To anyone curious about his life (which means, his work), I highly recommend a close watch to the 2002's movie "24 Hour Party People", which stars the actor Steeve Cogan as Tony Wilson, a remarkable character who dedicated his entire life to the musical industry.

I will never understand why I'm always so affected by the death of great music artists. I never knew them in person, and still it's just like I knew them my entire life. I still remember what I was doing when I heard about Johnny Cash's death, for example. The same goes for Elliott Smith's death... there was always this heavy atmosphere while I listened to the product of their geniality. And every song I heard felt like a tribute, my condolences to someone I never got to know. Funny feeling... ironic, too.

But I guess it's that exact same feeling that keeps us so close to the music we love. An addicting combination of respect and love for their work, for their minds, no matter how disturbed they may be.

To Mr. Tony, I just have to say "thank you".

The Street Lens

There's nothing as good as shooting someone. With a camera.

So you are on the big city. You're alone, it's a beautiful day and you just feel like walking around a bit. You walk carefully, because you're not used to do such thing alone... And then you realize you really don't recognize a single face you see. That... makes you curious.

...And longing for some kind of silent interaction. You want to get involved, get a piece of their minds, which you know nothing about. But fear keeps you from doing any action. You stare, and even the smallest reaction to your momentaneoum voyeurism kicks up your heart rate like a drug.

You start to be afraid; someone, the most insignificant other in the large world that surrounds you, noticed you noticing them. You expect the environment to feel smaller, but instead, you're the one who does. Everything else grows up before your very own eyes, and your only focus concentrates on the fact that you're watching what no significant other cares about.

And now you're really afraid, even to look at it again. You stop. Why did someone stop in the middle of nowhere? Because, it suddenly became the middle of everywhere.

With your heart rate firing up like a bullet from a Magnum, you reach out for your camera. You spend a few seconds preparing the scene, and it takes just about forever. You press the shutter button, its noisy and metallic sound distinguishes it from the ambience very well. And then you quickly take a look around, waiting for someone to yell at you, run after you, or even punch you.

You walk away like you never even cared. A whole new set awaits you by the other corner, and you know that well. Still, you never forget the very still image from the moment you pressed the camera's button. What you felt for yourself, and what you felt for others.

It just never goes away, grows up with you. And that, dear ones, is street photography. Just like a "Speed" pill inside a tea cup, waiting to kill you in order for you to feel alive.

It's just as beautiful as it's scary.

Today is the greatest...

There is just so much yet to be heard, as I stumble on the triumph of my tired eyes. And I mean it literally, it's not like I get to be a widow by the radio. Well, perhaps an orange one. Today I accidentally made some juice out of it. Here it is, and keep in mind I took the liberty to remove the seeds.

I hate people who talk out loud in the movies.
I hate getting lost in the parking lot.
I love unexpected kisses from people.
I love coffee still at only 50 cents.
I hate goodbyes.
I love trainstations.
I hate the fact that I cook much better when it's only for me.
I love when the most stupid thing makes me smile.
I hate driving alone at night.
I love driving alone at night.
I love underlining the most irrelevant words.
I love when somebody tells me forbidden secrets.
I hate when I'm involved.
I love writing the things I love.
I hate thinking about the things I hate.
I hate neighbours who'll do anything to turn me in.
I love my reasons to be happy.

All of these in just 24 hours. Ain't I a 24 hour party people? Damn those gipsies, they just ruined the movie.

One more to get tired of

My blogging days are over, and yet, their're about to start again.

Actually, the first blog I ever made was created when I didn't even know the concept of blog; it had the shape of a somewhat disturbed diary on a website of mine back in 2001. Only more than one year later I discovered Blogging as itself, and well, the thing just lost it's meaning. I kept updating my own thing, and people seemed to give it more attention. Unfortunately, I was more of a dark kid than anything else, showing to know more about life than what I was supposed to back then.

I made friends and enemies. Now the friends are my enemies, and the enemies are good friends. And it's quite interesting to interpretate that concept into someone's once disturbed mind - especially when the biggest secrets are now to be kept forever. I made a bad start.

I wrote a lot of literature back then. Fortunately, some of it got recognized and it was even published at some literature magazines I loved. And when people started to give me feedback about it, and telling me how they understood me... I stopped writing. Haven't wrote a single life of a poem or prose in 4 or more years. Some months ago, I found all of my text-works on a website, and I went through hell and the end of the world to have it removed for good.

So congratulations if you got my point. I don't know what I'll make of this (yet), but I may be... may be, putting back together some pieces I was always afraid to. At the most primate level of comprehension and misunderstanding, words can tear me apart, and I'm grabbing as hard as I can to that premiss.

Thus, it's been a rough night. I deserve my psychotic break for today.