Movember

It was in London that I was first exposed to the sponsored charity culture. That's basically people who set themselves challenges. Then they ask friends to sponsor them to do it, and the money will go to some charity organization. Examples:
Attach a cable to your ass and jump off a bridge. (some call it bungee) People will sponsor your idea because they wanna see you make pie out of yourself and they know the money will feed a good cause. Very simple.
Attach a rocket to your ass and run to your death (some call it a marathon). People will sponsor your idea because they wanna see you limp for a month and they know the money blah blah blah. Hopefully you got the general principle.
Of course, the english and aussie contingents reading this blog will know what I'm talking about, so I guess I'm focusing on any portuguese soul that trips over these lines.

Aussies came up with the most brilliant plan. Its called "movember". It's a yearly tradition that consists on growing a ridiculous facial hair lump above the lip (some call it moustache). People will sponsor your idea because they wanna see you looking like either the Beastie Boys or a complete idiot. It does have a flaw. Only men or gypsy women from the north of Portugal can do it.
You see, Portugal has a proud moustache tradition. I can say with so hesitation that we fight toe to toe with the Iranian and German moustaches! If you pick up a shaved taxi driver in Lisbon, leave the car! Chances are he might take you through the shortest most convenient way! What you want is an old school driver that takes you from the centre to the airport via Stalingrad, while telling you why Benfica needs to improve on defense. You're gonna pay 2 months rent for that ride, but will have the infinite joy of staring at that crown of facial hair with the occasional shrimp hanging off of it. Oh, how I miss the football and the porn of the 80's.... man with strong proud moustaches bouncing those balls! The good days! (at least for a Benfica fan!...)

Back to Australia, the result is the landscape becomes dramatically harry when movember hits Australia. And some of them just look so ridiculous you KNOW its a movember guy. The good thing is on average, each person gets 500$ for charity, which multiplied by all the braves out there, amounts to a lot. Not just money, but awareness. The great thing is the cheap laughs on every corner. Oh, such a simple way to keep one's spirit on a high! Brilliant!

I thought about it, but the longest I managed without shaving was 2 weeks, while in South America, and I couldn't take it any more. Like having cacti on my face! I didn't resist the temptation to keep the moustache however, and went out in Bolivia one night, looking like this:

A colombian drug dealer? A cuban gigolo? An islamic radical wannabe? A movember victim? A Lisbon taxi driver? I was going for Lech Walesa's bushiness, Emperor Hirohito's subtleness, Trotsky's intellectualness and in my wildest dreams Mr Mercury's class. I didn't quite pull it off. I looked THAT RIDICULOUS and didn't even raise a couple of dollars for charity to show for it...

Facebook bloody Facebook

Floydeanus Foxis Goofyus @ the zoo

The Buchaneers @ The Oscars

Weekend tourist alter ego @ Bronte Beach

Indoors rock climbing @ North Sydney

Glass bottom pool @ Lumiére Apartments

Darling Harbour @ sunset

Office BBQ @ some park too far away from my place

DIVISION (4) CHAMPIONS!!!! @ The Rocks Olimpic Stadium!

Concebida para um casal holandês, a Casa Van Droffelaar localiza-se no topo da serra de Monchique. A casa beneficia de uma extensa vista para norte, e pelo seu isolamento, é também um excelente observatório cósmico. O projecto consistia na concepção de uma moradia de dois quartos, com um máximo de 100 m2. A premissa inicial foi a de potenciar ao máximo a relação com o panorama magnífico, respeitando uma linguagem tradicional. Daí a ideia de transformar a casa num observatório em todas as direcções.
Este projecto foi desenvolvido numa fase em que tinha estudado em detalhe os observatórios espaciais do Chile, sendo o mais icónico destes VLCs (very large telescopes) composto por 4 UTs (unit telescope). A casa assumiu o nome Observatório UT5 como resposta a essa inspiração.

Procurei criar uma mistura entre linguagem tradicional e contemporânea, como se a casa assumisse duas personalidades. Para quem passa no pequeno caminho de terra que conduz á casa a este, esta assume uma subtil presença na paisagem, em linhas tradicionais mas contemporâneas. Para quem penetra na casa, a surpresa e o arrojo do alçado oeste, metálico e angular, como um objecto espacial.

Designed for a Dutch couple, the Van Droffelaar House was set on the top of Monchique’s Mountains. The house benefits from a long view towards north, and for its isolation, an excellent cosmic view as well. The program was for a two bedroom house, with a maximum 100 m2 area. The initial premise was to make the most of the tremendous panorama that dominates the site, following a traditional language. From there came the idea to transform the house into an observatory in all directions.
At this time I had developed an interest in Chile’s VLTs (very large telescope) and did some extensive study on one the most iconic ones, composed of 4 UTs (unit telescope). I names the project UT5 Observatory as a response to that inspiration.

I have attempted to create a mix between traditional and contemporary lines, as if the house assumed two personas. For those approaching from the road on the east side, the house assumes a subtle landscape presence. For those penetrating the premises, there’s the surprise and boldness of the west façade, metallic and angular, like a space object.

The Melbourne Cup

Last Tuesday, the world's most prestigious horse race event took place in Melbourne. This race became such a popular event, that the state of Victoria has decreeted a holiday. Billed as "the race that stops a nation", it lives to up to the reputation, and everyone all over Australia stops to watch it. We had a big BBQ lunch in the office, and an in house betting agency!

Everyone was nervous (some had a fair bit of money on the line) and my boss looked like he was gonna snap at any moment. I tried to get a little history on the event from him, but he didn't even blink, staring at the screen like a french by a brothel. Lets face it, this race is the equivalent to USA's Super Bowl, to Brazil's carnival, to England's FA Cup final, to Spain's Pamplona bullfights, and perhaps most metaphorical of all, to Lisbon's Santo António. Nothing compares.

I'm not the world's greatest gambler, but this time, to go with the tide, I invested the impressive amount of 7$! That's right, I lost it for a bit, but spirits were high and I got carried away. Turns out one of my horses came in 3rd, and I was able to collect the astronomical sum of 3$!!! Good stuff, the first time I bet, I'm a winner! Actually, as it turned out, I lost more than I won... The winner was a horse called "viewed". If the results were down to the names, this guy would have finished last.I liked "Mad Rush". More in touch with the whole point!