It’s been almost four years since the last time I sat at my computer and decided to upgrade my online portfolio’s image, content and design. Since then this has been far from a static website, going through several and constant updates. At least, this was true for the first couple of years. This website’s information has always been up to date, and some of its content was, in fact, altered and upgraded, however, the same could not be said about its design, its logo, and its overall look.

Sure, I’ve made a few changes a few months ago, replacing my old logo and the section markers with vector versions more adequate for this medium, but most of these changes went unnoticed. The truth is, it was time for a fresh new look, a new logo, new design, and new updated content.

New information was added to ‘Publications’ and ‘Video’. The pages ‘Multimedia’, ‘Media Relations’, ‘Journalism’ and ‘RTP’ are now gone, with some of its content being merged with some of the new sections, as the rest of it was dropped for being too old, less appealing, or for having too many dead links.

Home has a new and a more clean design, with a brief bio and direct links to my main portfolio pages, and my CV information has been moved to its own page. ‘Design’ and ‘Photography’ are two new pages with a wide selection of my most recent work on both of these fields.

Of all the dropped content, I’m still trying to figure out a way to include my multimedia interactive project, ‘Shall We Meet?’. In the meantime, my Master’s thesis is still available for browsing in the ‘Publications’ section, so not all references to it have been lost.
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I find that this new design meets my current needs for an online showcase and archive of my most recent work in the several fields in which I excel as a multimedia content manager.

Hello and welcome to my new online portfolio. 

...And to all a Good Night!

To be honest, not really. But with over two thousand views on facebook, and a little over five hundred views on Youtube, On the Right Track is soaring ever higher. If you haven’t seen it yet, which is highly doubtful (no, seriously, I hate to be one to brag, but it’s really good), I’ve just uploaded it to the Video section of this portfolio.

On the Right Track has been featured on two online news sites, Ovar News and Urbi. It has also been mentioned on Vontade de Viajar’s twitter feed, with quite a few retweets and mentions to its name. Vontade de Viajar, or Will to Travel, is a Brazilian blog about, you guessed it, travelling. On occasion, I’ve written a few guest posts for Vontade de Viajar, and I’m working on one right now about a less known side of Amsterdam. Be sure to check it out!

Our first anniversary, well, kind of

It’s been one year since this online portfolio has been online. Well, actually this domain has been around for over four years, however, for most of that time it was a dead url with little, to no updates. Last year, I decided it was time to build a professional looking online portfolio. With a new design, a more organized feel to it, and brand new sections, this portfolio has become my main source of employment over the last year.

It’s been a great tool to promote my work, doubling as an archive for past publications, and personal news clipping.

Too Much Information…

…is the title of my latest article on Her Ideal. This time, I’ve decided to put the matters of the heart a side for a little bit and focus on the overwhelming stream of personal and pointless information that drowns us on facebook. How many times have you found yourself thinking: Is he really posting that on facebook? Don’t they realize anyone can see this? Do they have no self-respect? Since finding new friends can be a hassle, why not share my article with them? Maybe they’ll learn a thing or two about privacy settings and about self-control of what they publish online.

I will be visiting London over the next few days. Hopefully I’ll find some time to promote my portfolio. Who knows? It’s always a great asset to have around if you ever need it.

August is the month many of us choose to spend relaxing on a sandy beach, travelling around the World, partying every night, or simply staying as far away from work as possible. For me, my soon to be annually two-week vacation, turned out to be everything but relaxing.

Sure, I did spend a few days visiting some friends in Lisbon, after a week off to catch up on some much needed sleep, however, an interesting new project swept me away from my days of R&R. Long story short, a friend of mine was interested in shooting a short film about Ovar, my home town, and some of the villages around it. I just couldn’t say no.

300 Km, 18 locations, and five days of shooting. If you count the two days of pre-production and location scouting, this was the fastest production stage I’ve ever had. Luckily, everything turned out ok. I’ve finished the final touches on the post-production of this short film yesterday, and it’s now ready to be shown to the public.

Called “On the Right Track”, this short film tells the story of a young traveler who visits some of the most historical landmarks of the city of Ovar. It will be presented on an event that will be held at the Aqua Hotel in Ovar (Portugal), this Saturday, August 31st at 6 p.m., local time. Soon after, it will be available online for everyone who isn’t going to be able to attend this ceremony.

It was my first time working with a Nikon D800. It surprised me how a full frame camera, more suited for photography, was able to record such amazing high-quality video. I guess Canon has to be on the lookout for it’s main competitors technological advancements.

Since it was a small production with limited resources, I ended up doing pretty much everything. Still, my main responsibilities were Director of Photography, Camera Operator, Director, Editor and Video Post-production.

This isn’t the best article in the World, this is just a tribute

“Come sit with me, Maria, by the river” is the title of my article, published in this month’s edition of Her Ideal. This August I tell the story of Maria, a young adventurous architect, who sets out into the World, ready to sacrifice everything to accomplish her dream. You can read it right here in the latest edition of Her Ideal.

What is there to say when you have nothing to say? I’ve used to brag about being able to write long dissertations about nothing and everything. Once, I actually wrote a post for my blog about nothing. It wasn’t one of my longest texts, but if you take into account the nature of the subject, it was impressively long.

My research project is running smoothly. I am now in the process of writing two articles, focusing on the findings of the task that is currently coming to an end. The first article is about how a scientific journal’s website can influence the citation results and popularity of its articles. While the second one is a mere comparison between two journal databases in the fields of Biochemistry, Applied Physics, Communication Sciences and Sociology.

Her Ideal is growing in popularity. This month we’ve organized a fantastic and glamorous party in Algarve. Unfortunately I was unable to attend, which might’ve been for the best, since I have nothing fancy enough to wear to such an event. Maybe I should ask for some tips from the fashion editorial of the magazine.

“Where have all the dreamers gone?” is the title of this month’s article. Have we given up on our dreams? Is money and stability a substitute for happiness? These are just some of the questions I try to answer on a brand new edition of Her Ideal.

Alas, my life has been a bit uneventful over the last couple of months. I’ll keep you updated on any relevant news as soon as they come to pass. Until next time, be sure to keep an eye out for any news and updates on my facebook page. I’m always just one like away.

At that moment, my triumph was not a state championship, but simple clarity. The realization that we had always been meant for each other and every instinct to the contrary had simply been a denial of the following truth. I was now, and would always be, in love with Peyton Sawyer.

One Tree Hill is one of my favorite teen drama series. A refreshing storyline, made up of profound and complex characters, with some of the best writing I’ve seen on a television series in the last decade. Well, at least for the first four seasons, the others just seemed a bit presumptuous and unnecessary, especially after the sixth season. But I digress. As a teenager I always dreamed of becoming a writer. I thought about it every night. I hoped to write the great Portuguese novel. A great romance inspired by beauty, freedom, truth, and above all things, love.

As soon as I heard about this new thing called “blogging”, I decided to try it out for myself. I created a blog and named it Blue Dove. It was a symbol of freedom and inspiration. One day, I too will fly high, and my work will be acknowledged. I started Blue Dove in December 2004. It had a short run of a little more than a year. The platform where I was publishing, although popular, was a bit outdated. I decided to switch to Blogger, and remained a faithful publisher, with my current blog No Sense of Reason, which I started back in 2006 and, to this day, is still regularly updated.

Blue Dove had a fine run. Even though I stopped updating it, I often found myself reading some of its posts. Strolling down memory lane, looking for some sort of inspiration hidden in between the hopes and dreams of my teenage self. Most of the time, I just ended up reminiscing about old flames, letting myself be flooded with emotions. A flood that could only be stopped by shedding a couple of tears.  

I often wondered back to that moment when Lucas declared his love for Peyton. The endgame. That moment that every fan anxiously waited for since day one. I only wished I could have such a resolve. I only wished I could truly find love. Truly be in love. And thus, find my story, my greatest inspiration to write.

Earlier this year, I found out that, without my knowledge, Blue Dove had been put offline. Never to rise again. Luckily, I kept a record of every post I’ve ever published in that blog. For months I struggled with a way to bring them back. At last, the solution was obvious, I need to bring back Blue Dove. Not the old one, but a new, revised and improved version.

A little over a month ago, A Flock of Blue Doves was born. My new blog, that is actually nothing more than an old archive of short stories, opinion articles, thoughts, and poems that I’ve written over the years.

A Flock of Blue Doves couldn’t be just another copy of Blue Dove. It was a fresh start, a new platform where some of my best private work of the last few years would have a second chance to let itself known to the world.

Every day, from Sunday to Thursday I post a new, revised version, of every post ever published in Blue Dove. When I’m finished, I’ll continue to use this new blog to republish all of the short stories, articles and poems published in my other blogs, 25 de Julho, Story Writer and Antologia do Eu. After that, all these three blogs will be closed, and only accessible by invite. A Flock of Blue Doves will be the latest platform to promote my work in storytelling and poetry. No Sense of Reason will continue to be updated like it always has. Its older posts will too be revised and republished, but they won’t leave No Sense of Reason’s atmosphere, at least not for the time being.

In the near future, instead of five, I’ll only be managing three blogs, No Sense of Reason, A Flock of Blue Doves and Mercúrio do Porto. I’ve recently updated their design with new logos, taglines, and I’ve also installed a couple of new widgets, such as a recent post slider and a Like Button for my facebook page.

Sweet Tempation

I know that June is almost at an end, and that we’re closer to a new edition of Her Ideal, however, I couldn’t sign off without promoting the latest opinion article that I published in this magazine. “Sweet Temptation” is a journey through Portugal’s most exquisite examples of desert cuisine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Until next time, be sure to read the latest edition of Her Ideal, and don’t forget to check out A Flock of Blue Doves for a little journey to the past, with the delightful company of my teenage self.  

Adapting to a new job takes a lot of free time away from you, especially when it means moving to a new town. It isn’t easy to get used to the new schedule and the slower rhythm of living on the mountainside, but I’m getting there.

The last few weeks have had a few ups and downs, both literally and figuratively. RTP fits in the second category. Last summer I was part of a project called 100 Seconds of Science. Since we were full on focused on Reação Espontânea’s and 1+1’s pre-production stages, this extra project ended up being more of nuisance than anything.

We had to go to Lisbon to interview a researcher in the field of molecular biochemistry about the blending of metal nanoparticles in graphene molecules. The first interview went ok but we had a little problem with the sound. They told us to go back and redo it.
I was busy scouting locations for 1+1 so they asked me to edit the interview since the previous editor had to take my place as cameraman. I did it in about two days and uploaded the rough cut and the rest of the material to their in-house server.

Months went by and we never got the official green light from the company that ordered this video. Last month, RTP decided to air the full range of 100 Seconds of Science videos as public service adds. I was surprised to see that the video that ended up on TV had nothing to do with the version I submitted. They used footage from the first interview and did a poor job editing the video. The graphics were appalling and the b-roll made no sense. Unfortunately, due to legal issues I am unable to publish my version of this video. I will try to find a way around it, but until then you can watch the aired version here and see for yourself.

Not all news from RTP are bad, they’ve just announced that they’ll be re-airing Magneto. Starting this Saturday at 19h30 on RTP 2 you can rewatch your favourite episodes of Reação Espontânea and 1+1. For those of you with short memory, don’t forget to check out these shows first episode overview.

Living Portugal

A new month is ahead of us and Her Ideal’s latest edition is already out and making some noise. This May, Her Ideal is celebrating their first birthday and my article “Living Portugal” has the honour to showcase in the front cover of this month’s edition.

Be sure to read it! I will do my best to keep you up to date on my new life in Covilhã and with any new developments relevant to my current and previous positions. Until then, don’t forget to rewatch Magneto. This time it’s on a friendlier schedule.

“Whether it is impossible or laughable, great men open up paths of battle!”

After a long walk through the desert I finally found my promised land on the steep landscape of Serra da Estrela’s Mountain range. Unlikely as it may seem I’ve managed to find work in one of the inner districts of Portugal. Ovar will forever be my home but for the next six months Covilhã is where I’m living.

I could say I came for the view, the great food or the picturesque charm of a small college town caught between the mountains and plains of eastern Portugal. I could, and believe me, these things actually helped sway my decision, however, I owe this recent life event to a successful job interview at LabCom (Laboratory for Online Communication) where I’m currently working. I’m part of a project called Communicating science and publication cultures in the humanities. Long title, isn’t it?

I’ve been here for over a week and, for now, there isn’t much more to add about this project other than what’s already been published on its website.

Her Ideal, Your Ideal, My Ideal

Some of my facebook followers may already know, but I’ve recently started writing for a fashion magazine called Her Ideal. My first opinion article “First Impressions” was published on page 57 of this month’s edition. You can check it out right here or read it straight from the source on the magazine’s website.

I’ll be writing similar articles forHer Ideal in the near future, so don’t forget to have a look at each month’s new edition.

New job, new personal project, and a bit of a writer’s block. I’m guessing this April will not go easy on me.

I know, I know. It’s been a while since my last entry. I’ve been a bit busy with some personal projects over the last couple of weeks. I also decided to put my free time into good use and got around to doing some spring cleaning that I’ve been putting off for a few years now. You can’t imagine the ton of cool stuff I had stored away in the attic. Fortunately, my long-term neglect didn’t do much damage other than the occasional pile of dust. All this journey down memory lane got me thinking about old projects that for one reason or the other just didn’t made it to my portfolio’s latest version.

As some of you may know I enjoy writing fiction. Mostly they’re just romantic short stories that end up mirroring some episodes of my love life. I have some ideas to write a book one day but I haven’t found the right motivation to getting round to do it. However, my exploits into fiction writing have not gone unnoticed and I did manage to get one of my short stories published in a magazine called 9páginas (9 pages) back in 2009.

I completely forgot about this until a few days ago when I came across a copy of that magazine. At the time they sent me a PDF version of my short story and here it is for all of you to enjoy. Sadly it is written in Portuguese and there’s no translation available.

To sum it up it’s a story about a high school crush. The protagonist walks his crush home after school every day, however he’s unable to tell her how he really feels. It’s written in a somewhat poetic way and I believe the scenery description is one of the best work I’ve done in this regard. Anyway, don’t take my word for it, just read it and see for yourself.

This other blast from the past is actually a bit of clipping from my old English School’s newsletter. I was asked to write a short essay about my experience in Windsor School and my teacher, Andy Murphy, wrote a short profile about me. It’s all on page 6 of this newsletter.

As for the season finale of Magneto, what can I say? It was a good run, I can’t really describe the feeling one gets after watching six months of hard work premiere on national television. It’s simply breathtaking. That aside, I still feel the show wasn’t publicized in the right way. Mixing together five segments that had nothing to do with one another was simply an amateur move from the network. In my opinion, the five shows should’ve been split individually and as some have suggested, they should’ve aired a few minutes before or after RTP’s main news section on week days at eight o’clock in the evening. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the one in charge of such a decision and in the end all that matters is that we’ve done an excellent job and that our work got the recognition it deserved.

I have a few surprises in stored for you this April. Stay tuned and don’t forget to check out this section for further details.