Igreja de Santo Ildefonso (Porto)

Bridges:

King Luis Bridge (Porto)
Throughout Porto, it is scattered with many bridges that seem to frame the city.

Porto e o Douro (Porto)
As you can see here, the nightlife cityscape is really remarkable.

Praca da Ribeira (Porto)

GQ - New Issue

GQ Cover Page - March Issue

Zhang Ziyi, was visiting Austria on a promotional tour for one of her new and upcoming action movies, which had portions of it filmed in Austria. The movie premier is this Summer.

The actor, Tobey McGuire, wasn't available for the shoot, and they needed a model,...so they asked me to step in. I think the picture looks much better with me in it, and if Zhang has to be in the photo, than so be it. I've always wanted to make it into GQ, and I guess things just happen to those who wait, huh?

*Now, of course, this is a completely fabricated lie, which I used Photoshop to create, but it does go to show you how believable Photoshop can make images.

** Worth1000 has many contests for Photoshop, and it's truly amazing to see the accuracy at which these artist manipulate these images... http://www.worth1000.com/cache/gallery/contestcache.asp?contest_id=9551&display=photoshop

My Ad for Gold's Gym...

We had an assignment where we had to advertise Gold's Gym,
and this is what I came up with...

Cinco de Mayo = Austria

*From time to time I like to post information on this website that I am certaint no one will read, however it helps me personally to keep track of the random information that I come across.

**As well, living here in Austria, I try to pull out some really great things about this country's history, other than that of the Hitler regime we all know well of. I also try to draw comparissons from Austria, to my own culture or life experiences, and being that today is "Cinco de Mayo", I wanted to see if there was any connection with Austria. It might sound odd, but I came across some information that proves Austria had a great deal to do with the celebratory events surrounding Cinco de Mayo (at least in America). I found an article that I reference throughout, but I've some personal changes to the article to make it more interesting to my audience.


What would Cinco de Mayo be without Austria?
How Austrian influence has made our Cinco de Mayo celebrations just that much more enjoyable!

If you have not yet had the unique pleasure of tasting Negra Modelo, than you should pick some up this Cinco de Mayo. Negra Modelo is a thick, dark ale; its base of caramelized grains gives it a rich fruitiness that make it perfect as an accompaniment to peppery foods. I learned, further, that Negra Modelo owes its original inspiration not to anything home-grown Mexican, but to Austria. "Austria?" you exclaim. "What does Mexican beer have to do with the land that gave us Strauss, Waltzes, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, or our current Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger?" The historical connection is almost as complex as the beer itself.

Mexican Beer History 101A:
Beer has been brewed in Mexico for hundreds of years, stretching back several centuries before Europeans even discovered the area. In days gone by, Mayans and Aztecs used to brew beer from fermented corn stalks or sprouted maize. The brewing industry in Mexico really didn't flourish and develop until the reign of Austrian Emperor Maximilian (1864-1867; installed as Emperor of Mexico by France's Napoleon III). During Maximilian's brief reign, German brewing techniques were introduced and Mexico started brewing malty, dark beers that were similar to those brewed in Maximilian's home of Vienna, Austria.

Negra Modelo Dark Ale is one of the few dark beers brewed in Mexico today. The Beer, Negra Modelo, literally means "black model." It isn't exactly a black beer, though. This 5.3% alcohol by volume brew pours with a deep brown, almost nutty color and produces a short beige head, Carbonation levels are moderate. This medium-bodied beer is something of a hybrid... like a blend of a spicy amber ale from Vienna, Austria, and a dark lager from Munich, Germany. The nose features some spicy fruit aromas, and a hint of chocolate. In the taste, this beer features some soft, spicy plum tones, some citric tones, and a good hop finish. Today, this beer is brewed by Cerveceria Modelo, S.A., one of Mexico's largest brewers. Based in Mexico City, it also owns the largest brewing facility in the entire country. It also produces some other popular beer brands, including: Corona Extra and Dos Equis (Both Vienna-style lagers).

Mexican Beer History 101B:
About the time of the American Civil War, Mexico was forced to default on huge debts it owed to France. Using the default as an excuse to build an empire, French Emperor Louis Napoleon sent troops to Mexico and set up his cousin Archduke Maximilian of Austria as ruler of the country. It's a long story, but basically Maximilian was eventually defeated, and executed, by forces under Benito Juarez, however the Austrian connection and significant Austrian immigration to Mexico continued.

The history that we are all familar with is the blip in the long Franco-Mexican struggle which was known as the Battle of Puebla where on the Fifth of May, 1862, Mexican forces under General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin defeated a larger French force and temporarily checked the French advance. Until recently Cinco De Mayo was celebrated primarily in the Mexican state of Puebla (the real Mexican National Independence Day is September 16, commemorating the country's break with Spain in 1821). Of late, however, Cinco De Mayo has become the occasion for American promoters to sell a great quantity of—you guessed it—beer.

Back in nineteenth century Vienna, a new style of beer called Marzen was introduced, after the German word for the month of March (März), which during that time created real waves. These were strong beers, aged in alpine caves for months longer than traditional lagers; the use of ale yeasts resulted in higher concentrations of esters and hence richer flavors. The beer style rode piggyback with Austrian immigrants to Mexico where it thrived among a host of watery competitors. The original Negra Modelo people were one of the last to make the jump; they were refugees from that somewhat-less-than-jolly Austrian, Adolf Hitler, in the late 1930s. While not quite as strong as the original Austrian Marzen beers, since it also has some German influence, Negra Modelo owes a tangible debt to the original Austrian style (now called oscura, in Spanish). Ironically, true Marzen beer no longer exists in Austria.

The other beer, widely celebrated in America during Cinco de Mayo is the ubiquitous Corona, which a few years ago supplanted Heineken as the number one imported beer in the United States. As you may or may not be aware, most beers in Mexico are brewed for hot weather consumption; they are light (in terms of color, hops, malt sweetness, and flavor), quench thirst well, and go down easy. American breweries have perfected the manufacture of these taste-alike, soda-pop style lagers, but Corona, backed by huge advertising and promotional campaigns, which include the exploitation of Cinco De Mayo, has managed to connect to a beach and vacation mystique. American beer purists almost never add limes to their beer, but if Corona is the only choice, you might reach for the citrus to mask Corona's formaldehyde flavor. Though Corona is as light as a lager can truly get, Corona Light has also begun to capture market share. Corona Light may require two limes instead of one to compensate for its mass-produced astringency. Corona's clear bottles may beautifully highlight the "beach for spring break" artwork, but they also allow light into the beer, which does nothing to improve its keeping power.

On another somewhat unrelated note...
Cinco de Mayo for me is one of the great celebrations in American that I'll have to miss while being here in Austria. And, not to put a damper on the festivities, but Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that is in fact more beloved by Americans than Mexicans. "I couldn't get over how it was a big holiday on one side of the border, the American side," commented a mystified Mexican student studying in El Paso who's quote I found on the internet. One American traveler, after spending a lackluster Cinco de Mayo in central Mexico, learned from a shopkeeper that it was just "a gringo holiday made to sell Mexican beer to Americans."

So why is the holiday a subdued event in its country of origin, while Americans are donning sombreros? One theory is that Cinco de Mayo, first brought to the U.S. by Mexican immigrants during the 1920s, grew in importance when the 1960s Chicano movement adopted the holiday as an avenue for generating ethnic pride. Its political purpose gradually diminished, thereby opening the holiday up to a wider Mexican-American population, and finally to mainstream America via advertising. Beer and cigarette companies manufactured rowdy Cinco de Mayo fetes that invite comparison to another piggy-backed celebration, that of St. Patrick's Day.

A great majority of the historical and beer ingredient facts were taken from the article entitled; "Can the Corona for Your Cinco de Mayo Party"
: by Elliot Essman

In case anyone is interested...












The unfortunate thing about my MFA studies is that it emphasizes on 'Account Planning', which deals more with research methodology and isn't a creative focus at all. And in a Spring Show, they're only showing creative work. Luckily for me, my instructor allowed me to do an assignment for this Cheer Dark advertisement campaign, and it was received quite well. So now my Cheer Dark advertisement campaign below will be featured at this year's Spring Show.

1st Day at Practice...

Well, this last Tuesday marks the 1st official day of basketball practice since 1999. Over those years, I've managed to find myself in a few pick-up basketball games/leagues, but never really committed myself to a steady diet of practicing. Just warming up, with a few up-and-backs while dribbling, had me gasing and looking for my stunt double. Lucky for me, the coach and the rest of the players gave me a break in consideration of these facts, but ironically they never gave me an actual break from playing.

As soon as we completed warm-ups, they placed me on the 1st team (which usually doesn't have subs) and had me play the entire hour without breaks. Sure, there were a few times that I shined and gave them a glimpse of those dormant skillz, but my defense was horrendous! I gave up so many free baskets due to a lack of oxygen, that you would have thought I was on the other team.

In the end, I think they found that I could be an assett to them with some conditioning, and most importantly I began to see that I could help them as well. Oh, and last but not least,....my dream came true...as they let me play on the wing as a Small Forward!! ;)


Yes, the next day was rough!

Guess who might be coming out of retirement?

Team website
http://www.eurobasket.com/team.asp?Cntry=AUT&Team=1385

The other day while I was at the 'Graz Giants' game, which I've mentioned below as being an American-style Football team, I spoke with my Austrian friend about possibly getting back into shape. The best way, and most enjoyable way for me to get back into shape, is to do alittle basketball training. So anyway, I told him that I would go to the local sports outlet here in Graz and buy a basketball so that I could begin my training at some of the park courts in the area of where I am currently staying.

Thinking the conversation had passed as just another meaningless bullshitting session, my friend here actually took that information and ran with it. He contacted the President of a local professional basketball program in Graz, and unknowningly to me, proceeded to introduce me to him over the phone. Later, I received a call from my friend, explaining to me the conversation that had just transpired between both himself and the President of this basketball club. The President wanted to meet with me at their next basketball practice. I was alittle shocked, and thought to myself, "well maybe I could help coach or something".

So, I turned up yesterday to their practice, met with the Head Coach, the President of the Club, the Sports Facilities Manager, an American that is playing on the team there, and a few other Austrian players. In all, I met quite a lot of people that were, again surprisingly to me, looking for not an assistant coach, but an additional player for their upcoming season. Everyone by this time, was informed that I used to play with Gonzaga University, so they gave me the benefit of the doubt and perceived me as a ''player'' and not a coaching figure.

After an hour of watching their practice, speaking with the responsible folks there, they asked that I come back this next Tuesday and begin practicing with them. Now, they only have 3 more league games, so they can't exactly throw me into the mix this season, but they would like that I begin practicing with the team to get back into shape, and for them to further assess any residual basketball skills that I might have lingering inside me.

Their next season begins in October, so they told me that I have plenty of time get in shape, and they would give me an honest shot as a future player for them this upcoming season. Crazy, huh?! I'm all of 30 years old, and there's a good chance that I will begin my rookie season in the professional leagues here in Austria at this age. Anyway, there's a lot to do in that time, and I didn't even bring basketball shoes with me so I need to purchase them now.

It's amazing how things sort of line themselves up, and as one window closes another door is opened, and all due to the simple echoing of an interest in something. Honestly, the only thing I hoped to gain out of attending is that I gain free access into this Sports Facility, but if I decide longer here in Europe than this might be an option. So now all I need to do is prepare myself alittle, and hope to God that my body holds up and/or I don't get hurt in the process. So, stay tuned. :)















Union Sporthalle Graz, Gaußgasse 3, 8010-Graz
Telefon: +43 664 1327875; Fax: +43 316 829761 17
ubsc@basketball.at

My assignment for 'Cheer Dark'...

So, I had this assignment the other day for 'Cheer Dark', and I was to come up with 10 concepts for print advertisements which included; both the image and headline text that would add to or compliment that image. Below, you will find the 10 concepts that led to one (3 advertisement) approved campaign.

Quickly...

Cheer® Dark Formula is a great way to help prevent the fading of black and dark-colored clothing. Specially designed with 2x the Colorguard technology of regular Cheer, Cheer Dark prevents the dye on your clothing from bleeding. Great for your everyday wash, Cheer Dark helps your blacks stay black and your dark colors stay true. http://www.cheer.com/cheer_dark.shtml

10 concepts...
*(Click on the images to view them larger)

Final Campaign...

I didn't think these were my best advertisements, but with the help of my instructor's suggestions and opinions, I was able to come up with some decent campaigns for the Cheer Dark product. So, after some discussions with my instructor, she suggested that I axe the images and just use the text and the bottle image, which I have done below. Even better, I was honored that the Director of the Department for Advertising asked me to submit this final campaign to the "Annual Spring Show" there in San Francisco.

AFL Football Season Begins...

Cineplexx Blue Devils
Carinthian Black Lions
Turek Graz Giants
Swarco Raiders Tirol
Dodge Vikings






Knowing that I was craving something "American", a friend of mine here in Graz asked me to join him for some 'American' football. To my surprise, I found out some interesting facts about the team, and also had an opportunity to meet some of the players and the head coach.

I sat with not only my friend that invited me, but next to a woman from Venezuela that spoke english well. She was very pleasant to sit with during the course of the match, as she was kind enough to offer me loads of predictions on defensive calls by the opposing team. And to her credit, she was 100% correct. Now, the most interesting fact that she told me was that she was the coach's wife, and that he was from Northern California. Moreover, the two met eachother while he was serving in Venezuela as a Peace Corps volunteer! Crazy, huh? The head coach had spent his tour of duty in Venezuela about 25 years ago. Later, he would move back to Mount Shaska, build a family, and become the head coach at College of the Siskiyous (Junior College).

*The first game of the season ended in a win for the home team, Giants, but they lost two players from an already slim team. Another interesting fact I learned is that the Austrian players pay their own way, as this is considered a sort of club to them, while the American or British or Canadian imports are paid to play. Overall, I would say that the football team was as good as any American Junior College team. Nevertheless, it was fun, and I plan on attending all the games through July while I'm here in Graz.

Alittle bit more about the Giants team...

With the obligation of not only the Head coach of the Giants, Phil Maas undertook the responsibility as the only coach for this team. Phil and his wife have traveled to Graz every Spring/Summer since 2003, to help take this team to a championship. As I mentioned before, he already has another obligation when he returns to California as the assistant coach at College of the Siskiyous.

Phil was at College of the Siskiyous (Weed, California) as Athletic Director, Head coach and finally as an offensive Coordinator. This I found out was a necessary qualification for a job that pretty much has him making all the calls. Unfortunately, the Giants don't have as large of sponsors as other teams in the league, so they can't afford more coaching staff.

What's cool is that in the 2003 season during his first year, Phil led the Giants into the Austrian Bowl. I should also note here that this is Division 1, but is still remains one step lower than the European NFL (http://www.nfleurope.com/). Also impressive was that the Giants and Phil beat 'Team USA' (http://teamusafootball.org/) in that same year.









This year the Giants have obtained three Americans; Sheldon Cross (QB), Darvin Lewis (LB), and Jeremy Bohannon (DB/WR).








2006 Season Schedule:
http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.afboe.at/spielplan.php%3Fliga%3D1.Liga%26jahr%3D2006&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dgraz%2Bgiants%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D

What causes a double rainbow?

After experiencing a small rain storm yesterday outside of the apartment window, I anticipated a rainbow to appear. However, I was thrilled to see not only one rainbow, but two. I then began to wonder, why that happens?







With a basic understanding, I know that rainbows only appear when light is present along with rain. And that a rainbow appears when the path of a ray of sunlight enters and is reflected inside the raindrops.

However after some research, I read that not all of the energy of the ray escapes the raindrop after it is reflected once. A part of the ray is reflected again and travels along inside the drop to emerge from the drop. The rainbow we normally see is called the primary rainbow and is produced by one internal reflection; the secondary rainbow arises from two internal reflections and the rays exit the drop at an angle of 50 degrees° rather than the 42°degrees for the red primary bow. Blue light emerges at an even larger angle of 53 degrees°. This effect produces a secondary rainbow that has its colors reversed compared to the primary.

Furthermore, the area of unlit sky between the two bows lies is referred to as "Alexander's band". Light which is reflected by raindrops in this region of the sky cannot reach the observer, though it may contribute to a rainbow seen by another observer elsewhere.

*Lastly, here are some short videos of the storm that happened just before it...



(Lighting Strike at the 1 second mark)



(Lighting Strike at the 23 second mark)



(Lighting Strike at the 8 second mark)

Red Bull Paperwings Contest

Yesterday, I participated in the 'Worldwide Paper Plane Contest' which was sponsored by RedBull. There was a contest for distance, hang-time, and artistic flight. I decided to only enter in both the distance and hang-time competitions. Unfortunately, I didn't represent the (209), (916), or the (415) very well, but I did manage to build a paper plane that had a hangtime of 7 seconds. It doesn't sound like a lot, I know, but you'd be amazed how difficult it was. The top hang-time for this Graz tournament was just over 10 seconds. However, the world-record for hang-time is 26.7 seconds!! The other competition I entered in was the distance competition, but I'll not even mention to you how poorly I did there. Nothing but crash-n-burn! Anyway, here are some pictures from the event...















For those who don't know the history of this energy beverage, RedBull was first conjured up by an Austrian named Dietrich Mateschitz who was the creator of the drink. He actually got the idea for from a Thai beverage called Krating Daeng. However, he took was he learned and partnered with a local pharmacy to manufacture the beverage in 1984, and they took stakes in his firm, Red Bull GmbH. And that was the start of it all!

This was my hang-time design.















The competition was held indoors, in order to cut-down the "wind" factor.




















This guy was the winner, with a hang-time of just about 11 seconds.

















Check out the form, nice!!





















There weren't many girls or foreigners in the competition, and so this drew some attention by the local media and after a small interview with us, they placed this picture in the local media. :)

















The award ceremony was pretty fun as you see below.
Plenty of free RedBull and Vodkas for everyone!















Here is the website to the event, which may still be open for participation in your area... http://www.redbullpaperwings.com/

News Article: Islam and Divorce

Tue Mar 28, 4:06 PM ET NEW DELHI

Village elders ordered a Muslim man in eastern India to leave his wife after he accidentally divorced herin his sleep, a news report said Tuesday. Aftab Ansari uttered the Urdu word for divorce, "talaq,"three times in his sleep, prompting his worried wife todiscuss the matter with her friends, according to the PressTrust of India news agency.Under Islamic law, a husband need only say "I divorce you"three times to secure a permanent end to his marriage.Muslim leaders in the couple's village in West Bengal statefound out and decreed that Ansari's unconscious utterancesconstituted a divorce, PTI reported.But 30-year-old Ansari said he had no intention of leavinghis wife of 11 years."I have not given talaq. When I uttered talaq three times Ihad taken medicines to help me sleep," he was quoted assaying in the report.The religious leaders said that before remarrying, thecouple would have to be apart for at least 100 days and thatthe wife, Sohela, would also have to spend a night withanother man and then be divorced by him.PTI reported that the couple has been ostracized because oftheir refusal to abide by the decision of the villageleaders.

Die Riegersburg

This last weekend, I managed to do alittle exploration with my girlfriend, as we were both in need of a break from the sometimes claustraphobic surroundings of Graz. It was a surprise that she was planning for me, and she took me to a place called "Die Riegersburg", which I came to find out was a castle just 45 mins from Graz in a region of Südoststeiermark.















History:
The Riegersburg, which has been around since the 11th century and is roughly 850 years old, is quite visible as it rises far away on a volcanic mountain rock. This offered us a wonderful view over the gentle valleys, the green forests and the magnificent wine gardens of the south Oststeiermark.















They say that the Riegersburg Castle is one of the most beautiful castles left over, and that on clear days you can see as far as Hungary from its top. The Riegersburg Castle is about 108 acres and has over three kilometers (roughly 6 miles) of military walls whose main purpose was to keep out the advancing Turks. And since 1822 the Riegersburg has remained the private property of the fuerstlichen family Liechtenstein.















I came to find out that it was an imposing fortress, which was NEVER conquered in the centuries of its history. And I could see why that was, now that I have first-hand knowledge of its sheer rock face. And the ascent to the castle provides further proof to its undefeated record. But, this shouldn't deter tourist these days, because they have a very modern elevator that takes visitors up to the top to not only enjoy the views, but to witness the two exhibits they offer. This Sprin, in particular, there is the opening of their most famous...

The "WITCH MUSEUM" in the basement!
This is the continuation of the successful national exhibition 1987, and can only be witnessed here at the Riegersburg. From what I gather, there were certainly more than a few "witch hunts" in this region, as this was said to be the largest concentration of wizards and witches from Austria. And up to the middle of the 18th Century, these witches were pursued in Steiermark. There were approximately 300 alleged witches and wizards, that were tortured during this witch hunt. The former owner of the Riegersburg, count Johann Ernst Purgstall, ranked among the most prominent witch judges of the Oststeiermark. The witch museum leads with its exhibits into these dark and puzzling chapters of national history.
















Even though the best time of year to visit the Reigersburg Castle is in the late summer to early fall when the scenery is changing, we still managed to have a great time viewing it in the early parts of Spring.

In April, we will once again visit the Riegersburg Castle once the "Witch Museum" opens up.

















Tourist Information:
http://www.riegersburg.com/index.php4