Blue headed Parrots (Pionus menstruus)

In South America, the Blue-headed Parrot is mainly an Amazonian species, including in the southeast the neighboring Araguaia-Tocantins River system as its eastern limit; a disjunct population lives southeastwards on Brazil's South Atlantic coast, a coastal strip from Pernambuco in the north to Espírito Santo state in the south, about 1500 km long. In northwest South America the range continues into Central American Panama to Costa Rica. It avoids the northern Andes cordillera spine, and a smaller contiguous area of central Venezuela and northern Colombia. A Pacific Ocean coastal strip continues the range, from southern Ecuador, north to Caribbean areas of northwestern Colombia and western Venezuela.
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World Most Extreme Homes - The Sphere - Sao Paulo, Brazil

World Most Extreme Homes - The Sphere - Sao Paulo, Brazil. LINK: Youtube

Rare ‘fire tornado’ filmed in Brazil

A fire tornado caused by brush fires and strong winds has stopped motorway traffic as drivers in Brazil gawped at the rare phenomenon.

The whirlwind of flames burned through fields beside the road in the northwest city of Aracatuba in Sao Paulo state. But, as quickly as it appeared, the roaring twister fizzled down and just a smouldering line in the land remained.



The firestorm followed a drought which has led to brush fires across Brazil. Fire tornados, also known as fire whirls or fire devils, are rare and depend on certain air temperatures and currents to create a vertical, rotating column of air.

In 1923, a fire tornado ignited by the Great Kanto earthquake in Tokyo grew to the size of a large city and killed 38,000 people in 15 minutes. At the time most of the buildings in Japan were made from wood and fire spread from house to house, destroying the city. LINK, Via: Youtube

THE DWARF MONKEY

“The Pygmy Marmoset or Dwarf Monkey is a New World monkey native to the rain forest canopies of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. It is one of the smallest primates, and the smallest true monkey, with its body length ranging from 5.5 to 6.3 inches (excluding the 5.9 to 7.9 inches tail). Males weigh around 4.9 oz, and females only 4.2 oz.” w/ photos. LINK

Tonight on National Geographic Explorer: Your Nightmares

Tonight, the National Geographic Channel visits a rural Brazilian town where "the 80 households in a one-square-mile area have reportedly some 38 pairs of twins. Blond, blue-eyed twins." Nat Geo then attempts to trace rumors connecting that creepy phenomenon to Nazi medical monster Joseph Mengele, who was on the lam in Brazil in the 1950s.

National Geographic Channel: Nazi Mystery: Twins From Brazil, Via: Boingboing

Shattering Door by Leandro Erlich

Incredible art installation by Leandro Erlich, a talented artist from Argentina. It is currently on display at Luciana Brito gallery in São Paulo, Brazil. LINK

Artist James Hoisel's Funhouse

"AE Investment - Surreal"

James Hoisel is an artist from São Paulo, Brazil who has a great sense of humor. He uses a variety of different mediums to create fantastic caricatures that range from the famous to the obscure. Most of his work is created just by using Photoshop, where he spends countless hours perfecting every last detail.

You can see where he's been inspired by revered artists like Salvador Dali to underground artists like Mark Ryden. His modern twists, however, make his pieces fresh and unique, showing us how art can be built upon by personal taste and experience. LINK

The Mundano Building in São Paulo, Brazil

Those distinctive eyes, nose and lips are the hallmark of a Brazilian street artist Mundano. But instead of graffiti, this particular one graces the whole facade of a building in São Paulo. I can just imagine the lower "lips" rolling up when the store opens for the day.

More of Mundano’s street art on Flickr, Via: Neatorama

Four Gemstones Rarer and More Beautiful Than Your Average Diamond

Paraiba Tourmaline

I can picture myself floating adrift on a raft in the center of this stone, just off shore a deserted island. Relaxing with this crystal clear blue ocean beneath me. Paraiba is one of the most magnificent natural gemstones in the world. First found in Paraiba, Brazil, it’s color varies from intense blue to green. It gets this beautiful color from copper being added to its composition. As the rarest and most expensive of all Tourmalines, this bad boy can easily reach tens of thousands per carat. LINK

Bizarre and Intriguing Bus Stops

Check out this large collection of interesting bus stops all over the world, Some have whimsical touches, some are covered with art, some are designed to surprise you, and some are interesting in their decline. The bus stop shown is in Curitiba, Brazil. Passengers pay when entering the bus stop, then go directly from the tube into the bus! Link, Via: Neatorama

World’s Largest Skateboard Ramp

In 2006, professional Bob Burnquist built a skateboard ramp in his backyard. But it’s not just any skate ramp … the $280,000 mega ramp is 8-story tall and longer than a football field! (It has an acrobat’s net to um, save a skateboarder from plunging to certain death)

On a recent sunny afternoon, the ramp’s owner, Bob Burnquist, a renowned 30-year-old professional skateboarder from Brazil, peered over the side to treetops below and said: ”I’m not afraid of falling. I’m afraid I might jump.”

That mind-set helps on the Mega Ramp, where skaters reach speeds of up to 55 miles an hour and soar like stuntmen.

Approximately 360 feet long, the ramp is 75 feet high at its apex.
That is where riders begin their run, speeding down a 180-foot-long roll-in to a ramp that launches them across a 70-foot gap with trapeze netting below. Landing on a 27-foot sloped section, they then boost up to 50 feet above the ground from a 30-foot quarterpipe. A shorter route begins with a 55-foot-tall platform leading to a 50-foot gap, and the 30-foot quarterpipe. LINK, Via: Youtube

Font Art

Iconic celebrities rendered in typeface, using whatever font will work. Folha de S. Paulo newspaper in Brazil used these images to advertise the movie posters they included in Sunday editions. Brilliant! See Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, and James Dean as well. Link, Via: Neatorama

New Legless Lizard Species Found in the Brazilian Cerrado

Scientists from the Conservation International and Brazilian universities found 14 new species in the protected wooded grassland of Brazil’s Cerrado. Amongst the new species is this legless lizard of the genus Bachia:

This species of lizard of the genus Bachia is one of the new species discovered during the expedition. Although there are other species of the genus in the Cerrado (almost all discovered and described only recently), this new species has only been recorded in the Ecological Station. The absence of legs and the sharply pointed snout help in locomotion over the surface layer of sandy soil, predominating in all the Jalapao, formed by the natural erosion of the escarpments of the Serra Geral plateaus.

Link | View the new species at CI’s gallery. Via: Neatorama

7 Incredible "Natural Phenomena " You've Never Seen

Brazilian's longest wave on the Earth.
Twice a year, between the months of February and March, the Atlantic Ocean waters roll up the Amazon river, in Brazil, generating the longest wave on the Earth. The phenomenon, known as the Pororoca, is caused by the tides of the Atlantic Ocean wich meet the mouth of the river. This tidal bore generates waves up to 12 feet high which can last for over half an hour.
The name "Pororoca" comes from the indigenous Tupi language, where it translates into "great destructive noise". The wave can be heard about 30 minutes before its arrival, and it's so powerful that it can destroy anything, including trees, local houses and all kind of animals.
The wave has become popular with surfers. Since 1999, an annual championship has been held in São Domingos do Capim. However, surfing the Pororoca is especially dangerous, as the water contains a significant amount of debris from the margins of the river (often, entire trees). The record that we could find for surfing the longest distance on the Pororoca was set by Picuruta Salazar, a brazilian surfer who, in 2003, managed to ride the wave for 37 minutes and travel 12.5 kilometers. A surfer's dream: riding an almost never-ending wave.
Video below. LINK: Youtube, VIA: LINK

Cool Brazilian Graffiti on Street Walls

Cool Graffiti,like Surreal Art. LINK