VisioSphere

Thursday, September 28, 2006

What I've seen, felt and hurt in Romania

This month, HotNews organized an interesting photo contest meant to bring amateur and professional photographers together. The theme is very generous considering the many posibilities for the artists to capture beautiful scenery, emotional moments from day to day life of Romanians all over the country and painful portraits. It makes no difference if the photos were taken in the Carpathian mountains, in the frozen Black Sea or in the vast fields of Muntenia, they are altogether fascinating. I personally took an hour to view the final selected photos which comprise of 100 images. They are found here:
http://www.hotnews.ro/concursfoto/concursfoto_finala.php

I have inserted a few pictures which, in my opinion, follow the requirements of the contest: to capture the theme, to not be digitally modified or already published.



Autumn sunrise in Semenic Mountains


Morning thoughts


Autum in Iliesti



Childhood on a sidewalk in Bucharest


Drawings in water, at Jdioara



Tag: Romania

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

White night in Paris

Maybe you are wondering about the purpose of a white night in this European city. This event is a celebration of setting the sleep aside just for one night in order to join a party or a relaxing discussion. This year's edition of the extravagant Parisian "Nuit Blanche" is scheduled for October 2nd. This modern awakening has inspired other cities such as Rome and Montreal, to host artistic all-nighters. During this annual nocturnal fiesta, various monuments and sites, not usually open to the public until the late hours, become the backdrop of a series of “insomniac” art installations and performances. In the spirit of this tradition, during this night, insomnia becomes a virtue for the participants. All the museums, libraries, cinemas, parks, public gardens, swimming pools, shops and universities are open until dawn. Last year over 600.000 people didn't get any sleep, enjoying the night out in Paris.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Miyazaki's Manga




Given the fact I previously wrote about Miyazaki , the famous manga director, in the post about the anime/manga festival, I considered necessary to insert here short descriptions of my favorite Miyazaki mangas.

The Howl's Moving Castle presents a love story between an 18-year-old girl cursed by a witch into an old woman's body, and the notorious wizard Howl in his a flying castle. The characters have magical powers and obviously they are fighting in the eternal 2 sides: for the good and evil. Even though the plot seems somewhat childish, this manga, as awell as all Miyazaki's creations, presents symbols of modern society.

Pricess Mononoke is a symbolic battle between man and nature. The Mankind evolved by taming the nature which led to its eradication. The plot is described as the fight between the mighty clans of animals and the humans.

Spirited Away is, in my opinion, the metaphore of modern society presented to its peak in the consumption era. The inhabitants of such a society appear as never having enough consume of products and services. The story presents a different world, in which each citizen needs to work hard for satisfying the master. Humans that arrive, by chance in this world, have to pay for being greedy and the only chance is the young girl whose character has not been compromised yet by consumerism.




Festival for anime/manga fans



Otaku festival is held in Bucharest and Brasov starting from this year. Incredible news, at least for me, and in the same time thrilling. I can't consider myself an otaku which means obsessed fan of anime and manga. I am somewhat a regular fan of manga. Probably most of us have watched Miyazaki's famous Spirited Away, Mononoke Princess, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds and Howl's Moving Castle (presented at TIFF event last year).
This festival promises to promote the young Romanian artists in the anime/illustration/3D industry, who have been inspired by Otaku culture. The expo will contain a great deal of magazines, posters, Tshirts, badges and so on. Obviously the movies will not be left out and also documentaries. The location is at Centrul National de Dans Contemporan in Bucharest and at Centru Cultural REDUTA in Brasov. Very good news for all of us is the free entrance so we can all enjoy this event. Surely, it will set the trend for future festivals to come. The date set for Brasov is 30 September and for Bucharest 07-08 October.

More information is available at the festival official website:
http://www.otakufestival.com/

TMBase Again

This year is time for the 9th edition of Drum&Base festival held in the old city of Timisoara. Last year I travelled for 500 km to enjoy this form of trendy urban electronic music and I would say that definitely this event is a must do. The location is also unique being a deserted industrial building. The location is a vast space and tall columns with no tables, chairs or anything that can be considered furniture. However, do not worry, the entire atmosphere in which the laser show is included, obviously, gives one the feeling that the event is indeed underground. Therefore one can except to see interesting characters and for sure, not one trace of "manele" or "latino" lovers.
Some of the artists are: Adapt, Alex S, Dr.Dan, Makunouchi Bento, Mr Pit, P Nal, Qewza, Sensorship, Sneila, Toxica, Ufo&Ummo, Urban Experience.
The conclusion is we need to free some time from work, university and other irrelevant activities, between 19th and 21st of October and join this base party. If you are interested in more details, here is the official website:

http://www.tmbase.ro/festival.php?lang=en