Do you know this man?

Wanted alive! Always alive! eheheh Is this face familiar to you? Anything? Well, it's supposed to be me, through the eyes of a street "artist" in Paris! :P

If you walk in some tourist spots at this town, is very easy to be approched by artists who wants to sketch your caricature and sell it, obviously.

Why did I asked to sketch mine? Well.... I didn't! eheh It was a quiet weekend afternoon, not so many tourists, and there was this "artist" who "offered" his service. Naturally, as always, I said no. But how can I pretend not to be a tourist if everytime I go out I carry my camera with me? It's the international standard for "Tourist here"! eheh

Anyway, this guy didn't accepted no for an answer, and he kept lowering the price, lowering, until was almost for free! So I felt sorry for this guy, because he was bored and he wanted to kill time (before real tourists would arrive)! eheh

So I sat down on a small bench and we drew my best side... so I think! eheh A quick sketch which took around 10min, but it was long enough to change ideas, to show to him that I wasn't a tourist, our point of view of Paris and France, because he was also an immigrant.

Et voilá... this was the result of a quick caricature sketch on a parisien square. You can even notice a weird sketch of the Eiffel Tower, which looks more like a space rocket lifting off! eheh

But, and to answer the title question, do you know this guy? I think it doesn't look like me, but what was I expecting from a "fast-food sketch"? eheh There's no such thing as a free lunch! ;)

Hulk movie premiere smashed Paris

Finally! The green mean guy arrived in France! After being release all over the world in June "The Incredible Hulk" finally opens in France! At least the director was present to answer all our questions! eheheh

In 2003 the Hulk movie didn't get a positive reaction, besides the gamma reaction! eheh A too long movie, slow paced and a very light green super-hero were some of the negative reviews.
Now, 5 years later, the taiwanese director Ang Lee was "replaced" by the french Louis Leterrier. The result? Well, the french green touch is a lot better! ;)

I like this new Hulk. It's not a sequel from the first movie, because Leterrier tries to present another kind of Hulk, from scratch, with a great Edward Norton has the hero. The cast is completely new, which reinforces the idea of a "renewed Hulk movie".
Tim Roth is a convincing bad guy as The Abomination and I enjoyed seeing Liv Tyler as the girlfriend (instead of those "big" names like Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron etc).

For me the movie highlight was at the end, when Louis Leterrier stepped in to answer all kinds of questions from Hulk and movie fans.
And it was during this question and answer session that I found out how cool and down to earth guy Leterrier is.

Thanks to all the comics he read as a child/teenager, he got this opportunity to bring "new blood" to the Hulk series. From his first reactions from Universal Pictures, to the dinner to convince Edward Norton to jump aboard, the bad things from the first Hulk movie (yep, he also didn't like it! eheh) and even about the upcoming superhero movies, the night was full of interesting question and amusing answers.

As the movie theater had to close (it was a late night session), Leterrier proposed to continue the chat outside. How cool is that? :)





More Hulk videos (in french)

The french day

Vive la France! Hooray for the 14th July! No, I haven't become a french nationalist, but I like the 14th July... just because it's one less day of work! eheheh

I took the opportunity to see the famous parade which is held every year at Champs-Élysées. This time the french United Nation's force was invited to be present.
I enjoyed the parade, nothing amazing, but it's a good opportunity to see la créme de la créme of french military forces, aircrafts and vehicules.

In a time where everyone is talking about peace in Middle East, specially the french president Nicolas Sarkozy, it was funny to see almost a demonstration of force, like in communist countries! eheheh

Well, at least my tax money was used in a peacefull parade :P

Welcome to the jungle

Finally I managed to get some time to choose some photos from my wild adventure in the Amazon forest and river!
It was one full week of walking, hiking, rowing and being bitten... by insects of course! eheheh

Now that I look back I realize the one thing that I really enjoyed: no communications with the rest of the world. It's a fact: it's possible to live without mobile phones and internet! :)
Fishermen, local villagers and simple people in general, it was amazing to exchange ideas with all of them and all the good times around a fireplace in the jungle or by the river.

But there was also the dangerous part of the trip: piranhas, tarantulas, poisonous snakes, scorpions, wild boars and weird food :P I survived all that! eheh
Sleeping in a hammock in the heart of the jungle is one of my best memories, and waking up the following morning under heavy tropical rain.

Now I'm back to the city stress, while everyone and everything still lives calmly in the Amazon, away from traffic jam, projects' deadlines, bad internet connections, and all other modern life "diseases". :P

Enjoy the photos!

Alive and kicking!

From a jungle to another! This was my thought this morning, when I was going to work. Why? Well, there isn't a big difference between a tropical rainforest and the subway in Paris, specially if there is a strike.
Try to imagine a super-crowded subway, on a hot day with everyone sweating and voilá... you have another kind of jungle! eheheh

As you can realize I managed to survive all kinds of animals and weather conditions, but I would repeat it :)
It was a very rich experience, where I had contact with local villagers, fishermen and some pseudo-indians. Of course, the gastronomy was even better and spicy.

The second part of my vacation took me closer to the beach, to popular feasts and even more food! :P
In Brazil you eat well, and that doesn't necessary means quantity.

Well, I'll post more about my vacations (with pictures)... but I still have unpacking to do! ;)