This Day In History: Florida Becomes 27Th State

On March 03 1845 Florida became the 27Th state and therefore becoming the top Winter destination for American Northerners, retirees and Brazilian tourists.

Veteran's Monument - Rio de Janeiro

I spent most of 2007 in Rio de Janeiro visiting with my folks. As I had plenty of free time I also did quite a bit of sightseeing, rediscovering my home town with the eyes of a tourist. I cannot recall the last time I had been to the monument on these photos, maybe on a field trip in grade school, who knows. This has to be one of my favorite ones in Rio, in a city where there are plenty of cool places to visit. I just love the main statue style and design. Though done in the early 60's they look so modern and dare I say, sexy? A brief history for you:

The "Monumento Aos Pracinhas", located at Aterro do Flamengo in downtown Rio de Janeiro, was projected by architects Marcos Konder Neto e Hélio Ribas, whose project won a nation wide contest. It was inaugurated in 1960 and it's Brazil's first construction done in exposed concrete, a very futuristic approach for the time. This monument and museum honours the fallen Brazilian soldiers of World War II and features two lofty columns either side of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A changing of the guard display can be seen here on the first Sunday of every month. The monument museum displays medals, documents and military uniforms that belonged to soldiers. The ensemble consists of three main pieces: a metal sculpture by Júlio Catelli Filho, in honor of the Brazilian Air Force - or FAB, a granite sculpture by Alfredo Ceschiatti depicting air force, army and navy men in uniform and a ceramics mural by Anísio Medeiros in honor of military and civilians dead at sea (image below).

If you happen to be in Rio de Janeiro go check it out as it is a only 2 minute walk from the Museum of Modert Art in Aterro do Flamengo.

More Orlando, Florida

At Islands of Adventure they have this amazing area for kids called Seuss Landing. The place is chock full of incredible visual stimulation, colors everywhere, a real acid trip - not that I ever took one. It's all based on Dr. Seuss books and characters and whoever came up with the park's concept should be very proud of the work accomplished. The kid in me loved it!

Not to be outdone Universal Studios also has a great kid's area called Woody Woodpecker's Kid Zone and as you might already have guessed is all non-Disney characters (duh). Besides Woody you will see areas dedicated to Barney the purple dinosaur and Curious George, that has this awesome little landing depicted on the images below. It's a faux town center where every button you press, every rope you pull, every flap you open will squish water right on your face. The kids there (and their adults) were having a blast with all the water pistols located on the building's balconies. The piece-de-resistance happens every 15 minutes or so when two giant wood vats reach their fill and splash an amazing amount of water down below, soaking whoever happens to be standing about.

The goof-ball below got goosed by that horny little Woody, that is not so little as you can see!

So you think that the parks are all just for kids you are in for a ride. The lovely little roller coaster below is called Incredible Hulk Coaster, that takes you from zero to 40 mph in 2 seconds flat. The Hulk launches riders upward 150 ft. and reaches top speeds of 67 mph. The ride has a total of seven inversions (loops) and two subterranean trenches during the 2-minute 15-second ride. I went twice (against my will) but I have to say I loved it afterwards. You walk out of it with wobbly legs but it's totally worth the thrill!

More Universal Studios Orlando

Say what you may but I had a blast during my Orlando theme park excursion. These images are all from Islands of Adventure, a connected park next to Universal Studios Orlando. Some of you may pooh-pooh it by saying it's cheesy/infantile/plebeian but the kid-in-me loved every minute of it. I was awed by all the graphics and the store & restaurant displays they had inside the park and you can guess that it's all very cartoon-based, Marvel meets Sunday comics, times 10!

The park has some amazing (and scary) rides as expected and today's new technologies makes them even more believable and exhilarating. The 4-D effects of rides like Spider Man, where you experience the feeling of a real roller-coaster thrill, wearing 3-D glasses in front of giant digital screens, startling you with strong gusts of wind , fiery heat and water sprays are too complex to explain. I really loved it!

Universal's Classic Monsters Cafe

I took these pictures at the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando last week. This is a small fast-food kiosk selling hot-dogs and stuff like that, but what makes it extra cool is the decor on top of it. This rotating display features the classic Universal Studios movie monster icons like the Monster of Frankenstein, The Werewolf and the Creature From the Black Lagoon enticing our stomachs with yummy carnival food offerings. I actually have a small collection (one of many) of limited-edition classic movie moster figurines and dolls.

Love it!

It's A Small World After All

Take the legendary boat ride around the globe on this musical tour of nations!

Hundreds of international dolls sing and dance to the famous "it's a small world" medley!

But after it's over, just try to get that tune out of your head...

The ride features a multitude of audio-animatronic figures in the style of children of the world singing the ride's title track which has a theme of global peace. The little boats travel through a tunnel into the show building, which is much larger than the facade, on a 15 minutes world tour. About 400 of the cutest dolls ever will charm you with their wooden-stiff movements, very 1960's, through a very psychedelic-looking Willi Wonka world.

In 1956, Walt Disney attended a conference, along with many other notable celebrities of the time, at the invitation of President Eisenhower. The conference was about founding a national organization to help promote world peace through international civilian travel. Inspired by the ideas from the meeting, Disney returned to California and set to work, creating the It's A Small World ride at Disneyland.
Like several other Disneyland attractions, "It's a Small World" originated with the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair. After the fair closed, the ride was transferred to Disneyland along three other attractions from the fair that year. The attraction's design was by Mary Blair, who was also an art director on several Disney animated features (including Cinderella and Peter Pan). Like many Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions, scenes and characters were designed by Marc Davis, while his wife, Alice Davis, designed the outfits of the dolls. Many of the dolls were created by Joyce Carlson who is honored with a shop window along the Magic Kingdom's Main Street U.S.A. The name of the ride was originally "children of the world". When Walt Disney demonstrated it to songwriters, the Sherman Brothers, the ride's soundtrack featured numerous national anthems all playing at once. Disney said, "I need one song." In response, the brothers wrote what would arguably be one of the catchiest songs ever: It's a Small World.

Disneyland (California) plans to temporarily close the ride in January 2008 for 10 months to refurbish the ride as well as deepen the boat channel due to multiple layers of fiberglass repair patches that have caused boats to bottom out and get stuck during portions of the ride. It will also feature the original boats, a fresh coat of paint, and the original spires. Despite rumors to the contrary, Disneyland does not blame the issue on overweight tourists (yeah, right).

It's a Small World is also a feature ride in all Disney's parks around the world, with small changes from place to place. Very Kawaii!!

The Orlando Chronicles

The first time I went to the theme parks in Orlando was in the 80's and so not to date myself I will keep mum about how old I was at the time, but let's say "early" teens. I had all these great memories of Disney World, Sea World and several other parks I had been taken to in this excursion trip. My sister and I were abroad for the first time and without parental supervision, though the tour guide was supposed to keep an eye on us and on other 30 kids or so in the same group. We had a blast and as good Brazilian tourists we shopped like crazy, buying all these silly souvenirs, tee shirts and related dust magnets.

Now, many years later I return to this magical land of illusion to relive those wonderful memories of a time gone by. Disney's Magic Kingdom remains exactly the same as I remember, not a topiary out of place. With the exception of a few new rides and Mickey's Toon Town the layout remains the same as in Walt Disney's 1970 opening day. The place seemed smaller than in my teen year's memory as we were able to cruise most of the park's rides in a few short hours. Maybe it was because I skipped several of the ones that were a bit too infantile for me now (20 some odd years later) or because I was more focused on what I wanted to experience. They also have this great "Fast Pass" system that allows you to "book" a ride a couple of hours in advance, skipping 40 minute waiting time standing in line for Space Mountain, a in-the-dark roller coaster, and other popular rides. I remember the long lines that Disney was known for and that was not my idea of a fun time.

I won't bore you with all little details but will force-feed you some lovely pictures I took there this past weekend.

I love the little girl in the shot above. She is covering her ears during one of the many musical numbers that take place throughout the day in front of Cinderella's castle . The music is loud as it's all happening outdoors and she looks so cute dressed as a little pink princess sitting on her dad's shoulders. At Disney they have this kid's beauty salon called Bibbity Bobbity Boutique that transforms little girls in head-to-toe Disney princess make-overs. It's so cute to see all these made-up Jon Bennets, covered in face glitter and sporting adorable Snow White dresses or Jasmine's harem pants! And they are all over the park! I am sure that this make-over costs a pretty penny because the outfits, hair and make-up were quite elaborate. Love it!

Year-Round Christmas @ Williamsburgh

I took this picture in Williamsburgh - NY, way back in early October and for whatever reason never had the chance to post it. Now with the holiday season upon us why not share this delightful image with Little-Pumpkins readers? Enjoy!

The Book on VEGAS

In celebration of Las Vegas's centennial, Greybull Press has put together the ultimate visual tribute to sin city. An exceptional collection of images of the city as seen through the eyes of many of the most important photographers, artists and filmmakers of the past 50 years, it also includes classic archival images that capture the true essence of what makes Vegas the high/low pleasure capital of the world: its entertainers and celebrities, its winners and losers, the dealers, divas, players and dreamers. The Book on Vegas features landmark images of the desert city's architecture, street life, weddings, casinos and surrounding landscape. The phone-book-size tome, edited by Lisa Eisner and Roman Alonso, is done in sparkling gold lamé-like fabric covering and it's a joy just to look at, not to mention what's inside. With over 300 pages, and 226 exquisitely produced color images, The Book on Vegas is luminous, loud and spectacular--like the city itself. Some of the highlights include William Claxton's intimate backstage portraits of Marlene Dietrich and Sammy Davis Jr.; Helmut Newton's photograph of the secret money room at Caesar's Palace; Bruce Weber's portfolio of Siegfried & Roy at home with their tigers; Lauren Greenfield and Philip-Lorca diCorcia's intimate portraits of pole dancers; stunning film stills from Casino, Koyaanasquatsi, Godfather II and other classic films--and much more. It also includes works by Guy Bourdin, Sophie Calle, Robert Crumb, Eliott Erwitt, Lee Friedlander, Ron Galella, Mary Ellen Mark, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha, etc.

Available through Amazon and Tower .