Petaluma, California - Speedway - 03/29/2009

Petaluma Speedway is a 3/8 mile medium banked dirt oval located in Northern California. It is nestled in the southern part of the wine country right off of Hwy 101. It features 360 Winged Sprints, Late Models, Dirt Modifieds, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, Dwarfs, and more. Each class uses All-Pro rules which you will find on its site. It also features special race events with various traveling series visiting it. This includes California Civil War Sprints, Golden State Sprints, Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA Sprints and Midgets, as well as others. The races are from March through October every Saturday night. Pit gates officially open at 3pm, but may be open earlier for drivers to enter and setup prior to checking in. Grandstand gates open at 4:30pm with heat races starting at 6pm. Main events start at 7:30pm and racing ends at 10pm.

Dwarf Cars

Late Models

360 Winged Sprints

Petaluma Speedway

Oscar’s Leading Ladies

Over the years, Vanity Fair has hosted some riveting, one-off performances by Oscar-minted actresses: Faye Dunaway as a destructive femme fatale, Reese Witherspoon as a prim English rose, Marion Cotillard re-enacting the shower scene from Psycho. Here, we present 14 dazzling best-actress winners shot by V.F.top photographers. Yes, we really like them. (V.F. April 2009 issue)

source: Vanity Fair April 2009

Annie Leibovitz - Something Just Clicked

Annie Leibovitz was born on October 2, 1949, in Waterbury, Connecticut. While studying painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, she took night classes in photography, and in 1970, she began doing work for Rolling Stone magazine. She became Rolling Stone’s chief photographer in 1973. By the time she left the magazine, 10 years later, she had shot 142 covers. In 1983, she joined the staff at Vanity Fair, and in 1998, she also began working for Vogue. In addition to her magazine editorial work, Leibovitz has created influential advertising campaigns for American Express and the Gap and has contributed frequently to the Got Milk? campaign. She has worked with many arts organizations, including American Ballet Theatre, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Mark Morris Dance Group, and with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Her books include Annie Leibovitz: Photographs (1983), Photographs: Annie Leibovitz 1970–1990 (1991), Olympic Portraits (1996), Women (1999), American Music (2003), A Photographer’s Life: 1990–2005 (2006), and Annie Leibovitz at Work (2008). Exhibitions of her images have appeared at museums and galleries all over the world, including the National Portrait Gallery and the Corcoran Gallery, in Washington, D.C.; the International Center of Photography, in New York; the Brooklyn Museum; the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam; the Centre National de la Photographie, in Paris; and the National Portrait Gallery in London. Leibovitz has been designated a Living Legend by the Library of Congress and is the recipient of many other honors, including the Barnard College Medal of Distinction and the Infinity Award in Applied Photography from the International Center of Photography. She was decorated a Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. She lives in New York with her three children, Sarah, Susan, and Samuelle.

Something Just Clicked
Some of these actor-director teams have a history together—remember Ron Howard and Tom Hanks’s breakthrough, Splash, a quarter-century ago?—while others produced their first mind-melds in 2008. Sam Mendes and Kate Winslet even brought marriage and kids to the Revolutionary Road set. But in each case the chemistry was profound, the effect exponential. From Gus Van Sant and Sean Penn to John Patrick Shanley and Meryl Streep, Annie Leibovitz photographs 10 partnerships that helped generate more than four dozen Oscar nominations this season. Related: Krista Smith goes behind the scenes at the shoots.

2009 film releases: actor's photographs shot by Annie Liebovitz

source: Vanity Fair April 2009

Zonda R - Final Fantasy

condensed from Evo Magazine.

Zondas are pretty dramatic devices at the best of times, but this is Zonda like you've never seen it before - meaner, more aggressive. And as is immediately obvious from these pictures, this is one Zonda that you won't find overtaking you on the public highway. Instead it is intended to be the ultimate trackday car; think along the lines of Ferrari's FXX. Price: 2,400,000 american dollars

Zondas são sempre consideradas máquinas dramáticas, mas esta é uma Zonda como você nunca viu antes - mais nervosa, mais agressiva. E como é imediatamente óbvio, através destas fotografias, esta é uma Zonda que você não verá te ultrapassando nas estradas. Ela está designada à ser a última palavra sôbre "trackdays car". Compara-se mais ou menos à uma Ferrari FXX. Preço: 2.400.000 dólares americanos.

SPECIFICATION

Engine.................................................... Mercedes Bens AMG V12
Location................................................ Mid, longitudinal
Bare x Stroke........................................ 89 x 80.2mm
Cylinder block ......................................Aliminum alloy, dry-sumped
Cylinder Head...................................... Alluminum alloy, dohc per bank, four valves per cylinder
Fuel and ignition.................................. Eletronic engine mamagement, sequential multipoint injection

Max power........................................... 739hp @ 7500rpm
Transmission....................................... Six-speed automated sequential manually gearbox,
rear wheel -drive, limited-slip differential, 12-stage traction control system

Front suspension................................ Double wishbone, coil springs, adjustable dumpers, anti-roll bar Rear suspension Double wishbone, coil springs, adjustable dumpers, anti-roll bar
.
Brakes................................................... 380mm carbon-ceramic disc front and rear, 12-stage ABs system

Wheels................................................... 19in. front, 20in. rear
Tyres..................................................... 255/35 x 19 front, 335/30 x 20 rear, Pirelli P Zero slicks
Weight (Kerb)..................................... 1070kg.
Power-to-weight .............................. 702bhp/ton.
0-62 mph 3.0 sec (claimed)
Top speed............................................. 233mph (claimed)
Basic price........................................... $2,400,000

Black Is Beautiful

King magazine/reprodução

Com esse post dou início uma nova série em honra à beleza da mulher negra.