Read and Go!: 2011

domingo, 3 de abril de 2011

5 most most expensive paintings ever sold.

5: Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Bal du moulin de la Galette" Adjusted price: $132 million (Original price: $78.1 million, sold May 1990)

4: Vincent van Gogh's "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" Adjusted price: $139.5 million Original price: $82.5 million, sold May 1990)

3: Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" Adjusted price: $145.3 million (Original price: $135 million, sold June 2006)

2: Willem de Kooning's "Woman III" Adjusted price: $ 149.1 million. (Original price: $137.5 million, sold November 2006.)

1: Jackson Pollock's "No. 5, 1948" Adjusted price: $151.8 million (Original price: $140 million, sold November 2006)

The World's Most Expensive Paintings

15: Francis Bacon's "Triptych, 1976" Adjusted price: $87 million (Original price: $86.3 million, sold May 2008)

14: Peter Paul Rubens' "Massacre of the Innocents" Adjusted price: $93.0 million (Original price: $76.7 million, sold July 2002)

13: Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II" Adjusted price: $95.2 million (Original price: $87.9 million, sold November 2002)

12: Vincent van Gogh 's "Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe" Adjusted price: $95.3 million (Original price: $71.5 million, sold November 1998)

11: Andy Warhol's "Eight Elvises" Adjusted price: $100.9 million (Original price: $100.0 million, sold October 2008)

10: Vincent van Gogh 's "Irises" Adjusted price: $102 million (Original price: $53.9 million, sold November 1987)

9: Pablo Picasso's "Dora Maar au Chat" Adjusted price: $102.7 million (Original price: $95.2 million, sold May 2006)

8: Vincent van Gogh 's "Portrait of Joseph Roulin" Adjusted price: $101.7 million+ cost of works (Original price: $58 million plus exchange of works, sold August 1989)

7: Pablo Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" Adjusted price: $106.6 million (Original price: $106.5 million, sold May 2010)

6: Pablo Picasso's "Garcon a la pipe" Adjusted price: $120.3 million (Original price: $104.2 million, sold May 2004)

5 most expensive painting ever sold >>>

jueves, 31 de marzo de 2011

Most expensive cars of modern society.

Bugatti Veyron

The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a rear mid-engined supercar. It is the most expensive modern car in the world at $2,600,000. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal car in the world, with a top speed of 431.07 km/h (267.85 mph). The original version has a top speed of 408.00 km/h (253.52 mph).

Designed and developed by the German Volkswagen Group and produced by Bugatti Automobiles SAS at their headquarters in Château St. Jean in Molsheim (Alsace, France), the Veyron's chief designer was Hartmut Warkuss, and the exterior was designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen, with much of the engineering work being conducted under the guidance of former Peterbilt engineer and now Bugatti Engineering chief Wolfgang Schreiber

Ferrari Enzo

The Enzo Ferrari is a 12 cylinder mid-engine berlinetta named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. It was built in 2002 using Formula One technology, such as a carbon-fibre body, F1-style electrohydraulic shift transmission, and Carbon fibre-reinforced Silicon Carbide (C/SiC) ceramic composite disc brakes. Also used are technologies not allowed in F1 such as active aerodynamics and traction control. After a downforce of 775 kg (1,709 lb) is reached at 355.6 km/h (221 mph) the rear wing is actuated by computer to maintain that downforce.

The Enzo Ferrari typically trades above $1,000,000 (£800,000) at auction.

Lamborghini Reventon

The Lamborghini Reventón is a mid-engine sports carthat debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the most expensive Lamborghini road car to date, costing one million euros (~US$1.31 million, or ~£840,000). Its top recorded speed was recorded in Los Angeles, California at 340 kilometres per hour (211.3 mph). The official press release stated that only 20 vehicles would be sold to the public, with one additional car (marked as 0/20) produced for the Lamborghini Museum. Although early rumors indicated the total number would actually be 100, each Reventón is clearly stamped with its number in the sequence of 20 between the driver's and passenger's seats.

Maybach 62S Landaulet (© Sandro Campardo/Keystone/AP)

Maybach Landaulet

The Maybach Landaulet, based on the Maybach 62S, revives the classic landaulet car body style, which was popular in the 1920s and 30s. Powered by the 62S's 612 horsepower (456 kW) biturbo V12, the Landaulet's front seats are fully enclosed and separated from the rear passenger compartment by a power divider window. Back seat passengers get a sliding soft roof that lets them take in the sun from the comfort of the back seats. The chauffeur's area is finished in black leather, while the rear is done in all white with piano black and gold-flecked black granite inserts. Also, the opacity of the glass partition separating the driver from the passengers can be electronically controlled.

Maybach automobiles are priced to directly compete with Rolls-Royce. As of early 2008, European and United States prices were, Maybach Landaulet - € 900,000 / $ 1,350,000

Koenigsegg Trevita

The Koenigsegg Trevita is a special edition car of which only three were made. The Trevita, which translates into "three whites" in Swedish, has a body made entirely out of Koenigsegg's proprietary material consisting of diamond-colored carbon fiber. The Trevita is based on the Koenigsegg CCXR, and therefore produces 1,018 hp (759 kW) when running on biofuel. The Trevita features a Koenigsegg proprietary glittering silvery white carbon composite fabric. Apart from the unique composite material and the partially painted wheels it has the specification as the Special Edition CCXR.

SSC Ultimate Aero

The SSC Ultimate Aero is an American-built mid-engine supercar by Shelby SuperCars. The higher-performance limited production version, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT produces more emissions-legal horsepower than any other production automobile in the world and previously held the Guinness Book of World Records record for being the fastest production car in the world (succeeded by the 2010 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport), with a recorded speed of 412.28 km/h (256.18 mph).This speed was achieved during tests on September 13, 2007 West Richland, Washington, United States and verified by Guinness World Records on October 9, 2007. This speed however does not reflect the Ultimate Aero TT's full potential. SSC estimates that the newer, more powerful and lighter weight 2009 Ultimate Aero TT is capable of a top speed of over 270 mph (430 km/h). The SSC Ultimate Aero does not have electronic aids such as ABS brakes or traction control because (to quote Jerod Shelby) "Early design philosophy on the car was to make it a drivers car. I wanted a car that you not only throttled with your right foot but at times you could steer with your right foot.".

Ultimate Aero is still in production with an MSRP of around $650,000

McLaren F1

The McLaren F1 is a super car designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. Originally a concept conceived by Gordon Murray, he convinced Ron Dennis to back the project and engaged Peter Stevens to design the exterior of the car. On 31 March 1998, it set the record for the fastest road car in the world, 240 mph (386 km/h). As of Jan 2011, the F1 is still the fastest naturally aspirated road car in the world.

Up until 1998, when McLaren produced and sold the standard F1 models, they had a price tag of around 970,000 USD. Today the cars can sell for up to nearly twice that of the original price, due to the performance and exclusivity of the machine. They are expected to further increase in value over time.

Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster

The Roadster will have specs as the Cinque Coupé, and will likely maintain the same rigidity or more, as it was for the Roadster F and F Coupé. Like the Coupé from which it derives, only 5 units are built, with a price of £1.3-million/US$2 million plus local taxes.
And, without considering other One Offs, like the Tricolore, the PS and other special Zondas which will be built, makes this and the coupè the rarest Zondas. It goes from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in only 3.4 seconds and it has a top speed of 217 mph (349 km/h).

Leblanc Mirabeau

The Mirabeau is an open street legal race car with an rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, designed to the specifications of the FIA/Le Mans standards. The engine outputs approximately 700 horsepower (520 kW) and 850 N·m (630 ft·lbf) from a 4700 cc supercharged engine. The Mirabeau has a top speed of 370 km/h and a price tag of $650,000.

Egyptian man named daughter 'Facebook'

An Egyptian man in his early twenties has named his newborn daughter 'Facebook' following the 2011 Egyptian Revolution which was almost solely organized on the social-networking site Facebook. The father, Gamal Ibrahim, told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram that he gave his child the name to "express his joy at the achievements made by the January 25 youth."

The protests, which were largely organized on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, began on January 25 and led to the end of Hosni Mubarak's 30-year reign as president of Egypt.

The Al-Ahram report stated that, "The girl’s family, friends, and neighbors in the Ibrahimya region gathered around the new born to express their continuing support for the revolution that started on Facebook. 'Facebook' received many gifts from the youth who were overjoyed by her arrival and the new name. A name that shocked the entire world."

The Egyptian spelling of 'Facebook' is فيس بوك.

miércoles, 30 de marzo de 2011

Worldwide weird: International Pillow Fight Day

Boston's pillow fight, sponsored by Banditos Misteriosos. (Philip Gross)

Feathers will fly this Saturday, 2 April, as citizens of the world take up down-filled arms to celebrate International Pillow Fight Day.

With events organised from Caracas to Cincinnati, these flash-mob style fights have been held worldwide since 2008, with more than 100 cities joining in the fun this year.

The light-hearted pillow fights, which the website says were initiated by the decentralised "urban playground movement", aim to turn cities into "urban living rooms" where public spaces can be reclaimed for social and spontaneous use.

The New York City event, with 5,000 participants, was the world's largest last year, and the Facebook pages of other organising cities currently show hundreds and even thousands of attendees. While the basics of the fight are consistent from city to city, some cities add their own flair, whether by asking participants to wear pyjamas (like London) or rush in at the designated time screaming "PILLOW FIGHT!" (in Vancouver).

To keep any of the events from getting out of hand, most organisers set a few ground rules on their events page, such as: "Don't hit people with cameras or people without pillows" and "Swing lightly" Some of the larger events ask fighters to bring non-feather pillows to mitigate the mess.

The fighting starts when a signal such as an air horn or whistle blows, and can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Once everyone is tired out, organisers like Newmindspace in New York collect pillows to donate to no-kill animal shelters and remind participants to clean up any mess.

Want to participate in the pillow-flinging action? Check out pillowfightday.com to find your city, or sign up to host your own