It looks like one of the creatures from Guilhermo del Toro's movies, but is real. And cute!     
     But, despite of its looks, this tiny animal who spends its life floating upside-down wherever the currents and wind take it, on the surface of the Pacific, Atlantic or Indian Oceans - thanks to an air bubble inside its belly -, the blue sea slug is not that innocent.
      In fact,  it stores the swallowed poison of highly poisonous hydrozoans ir feeds upon (such as the Portuguese Man-O’-War) inside the up to 84 finger-like structures or cerata sticking out of its body, and then uses this poison to defend itself against other predators! Like some other sea slugs, it can swallow the prey’s stinging cells (the nematocysts) without hurting itself by releasing protective mucus and by hard barrier-like discs inside its skin. The ocean slug also has a form of camouflage called countershading that protects it from both flying and swimming predators while it floats: the underside of the blue glaucus (which faces upward) is blue, helping it blend into the water’s surface when seen from above, while its back (which faces downward) is a more grayish color, helping it blend into the ocean when seen from below.

~Ally

     The biggest cave in the world has been found! It is located in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam, in the Qyang Binh province. It is over 200m width, 150m high and about 9km extension, which makes it capable of accommodating a 40 floor skyscraper inside, along with the residing several stalactites, waterfalls and even a jungle with many native animals.
     The name "Son Doong" means something like "mountain river cave" and researchers believe it arose about 2-5 million years ago, through erosion caused by a river. Before it was discovered, the Deer Cave in Malasia was considered the biggest cave in the world. Son Doong is twice as big.
     So far, the only people who can visit Son Doong are researchers but, in 2014, it will be opened to some tourists - in order to preserve it.

~Ally

     Did you know that this kind of circus routine is called "Icarian Games"? I didn't! Well, as you can imagine, the name comes from the Greek myth of Icarus and his flight across the sea... That was a little bit to close to the sun. His poor father Dedalus had to watch him fall from the sky and perish tragically after they escaped the minotaur's labyrinth.
     But in the circus, things are sunny and fun! The "Icarian Games" can be described as a discipline of the circus arts that was rarely seen in today's contemporary circus culture until a while ago, but it's now a big centre stage attraction. It is very traditional, and usually presented by members of the same family (which also alludes to the legend). The human juggling is done by using one person's (the porter) feet as a catapult and catcher and the other one (the flyer or voltigeur) as prop for tossing and juggling.

~Ally

      My friend Leo was very kind to show me this documentary. He knows I'm crazy about Vikings, swords and documentaries, so this was a perfect combination! Learn about how this powerful ancient people developed their weapons, which helped them to conquer many territories. Enjoy!

~Ally

     Four days ago I started working in the Timberland® store in Shopping Iguatemi here in Sao Paulo. So today, as a celebration for the 150th post and my new job, I decided to tell you a little bit about the brand's history!
     Timberland® is a North American brand who focuses in shoes and clothing for outdoot activities. The company started as the Abington Shoe Company, which was half aquired by the Swartz family in Massachussets in 1952. The name "Timberland" was only developed in 1973. Since then they made special boots, initially for lumberjacks (given that the Massachussets area had many men working in this field): the shoes had to be strong, durable and capable of protecting the men's feet. The first waterproof shoes produced by them were made in 1965, when the Swartz family introduced an injection-moulding technology to the footwear industry. This new technology fused soles to leather uppers without stitching, producing truly waterproof boots and shoes. Timberland® arrived in Brasil in 1996, brought by the major company Alpargatas.

~Ally

     I'm in the mood for some documentaries this week!
    This one is about Italian illustrators and how their art reflects the transformations the internet has brought for the industry. Alessandro “Shout” Gottardo, Emiliano Ponzi, Olimpia Zagnoli and Francesco Poroli offer their views on the subject and how the world of magazines, publishing and commercials has changed.

~Ally

      By now, if you haven't been out of Earth in the past 5 years or so, you've probably heard about Banksy and his art. "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is a documentary made in 2010 and was directed by Banksy himself. It shows the story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. The film contains footage of Banksy and also of Shephard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work. You can watch it here.

~Ally

      Imagine a calendar whose sheets are made of tea. 365 different types of tea, that is. That's what the German tea company Hälssen & Lyon have done for 2013. These calendars were distributed to some of the company's partners and, unfortunately, weren't available for sale.
     The herbs were pressed and cut into square shapes of 1mm thickness. Then, they were stamped with the date. The users, then, only had to detach each of the fragments a day, dissolve it in hot water and enjoy their tea.
      I want one of those soooo much.

~Ally

      Ancient folks were very creative when it came to killing people.
     The idea of throwing flames as a war weapon is suposed to be thought by the first time during the Byzantine Era. It employed a device that appeared to be a hand-held pump that was capable of shooting fire. The weapon had a piston and siphon-hose, and once ignited, it could shoot fire to the victims. With this powerful weapon, it was possible to kill a whole army and ignite anything that the fire lands on.

~Ally

      Brazilians didn't feel the hard stroke of WWII as much as northern countries - although we DID send some soldier to help the Allies -, and, so, there aren't many interesting stories that I know of about that time.
     Nevertheless, today I came upon a story that made me feel proud of my German ancestors: the American B-17 pilot Charles Brown had the task of dropping thousands of pounds of munitions on Nazi territories. In December 1943, a sudden German attack on his plane left half of his crew wounded and their plane almost defenseless over enemy terrain. Then, as things couldn't get worse, a German Messerschmitt plane approached them with all the mean intentions. On the manche was 2nd Lt. Franz Stigler, an ace fighter who had just lost his brother, killed by American pilots. But then, just as Brown thought he and he wrecked crew were doomed, Stigler gave him a friendly nod by the window and escorted his aircraft to safety.
     This happened because Franz noticed that Brown's plane and crew were incapable of any resistance - it was riddled with holes, their gunner was dead and the few survivors were all huddled, tendind to their wounds -, so, killing them would be a coward and unfair act. He decided, instead, of flying in formation with the American bomber, which tricked German anti-air crews below into thinking it was one of their own captured B-17s. Stigler continued this until they reached the North Sea, when he gave the Americans one last salute and returned back to base. Brown, after a while, was able to land in Allied territory.
     Believe it or not, forty years later, the two pilots found each other and became the best of friends, even calling each other brothers and going on several fishing trips.
     And all of that because, in 1943, Stigler remembered his commanding officers words: "You fight by rules to keep your humanity."

~Ally