“All thinking men are atheists.” Ernest Hemingway

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” Miriam Beard

Once vilified, street art now carries a vast amount of cultural cache. Gone are the days when spray paint on a wall signified blight; today you’re as likely to find a wheatpaste or woodblock inside a gallery as outside. Pieces by renowned artists like Banksy and Swoon fetch thousands of dollars and are collected by rock stars, actors, and museums. Street art has always been cool, but in the twenty-first century it’s become an art.

Nevertheless, the best place to see street art remains the street. Around the world, street artists express emotion, give voice to the marginalized or downtrodden, protest, or simply create beauty. They use a variety of tools, including yarn, stickers, magazines, found objects, tiles, LED or laser displays, and brooms, as in the case of “reverse graffiti,” in which a dirty area is cleaned such that the removal of dust or detritus forms an image. Most of the time, street artists don’t have permission to put their work up in public spaces.

One city noted for its art and artists is São Paulo, Brazil. Known as “Sampa,” South America’s most populous city features lots of very big, collaborative murals, as in a large wall with pieces by Nunca, Vlok, Nina, and Os Gêmeos.

sp2Artists come to São Paulo to both play and display. Paris-based C215 has put up several solemn portraits. In 2008, Eric Maréchal (also known as urbanhearts) began pasting other artists’ work as he travelled around the world; as part of his Street Art Without Borders project, recently he put up lots of pastes here, including edgy skeletons and women in pinup poses by German artist Mittenimwald.

In terms of local artists, the influence of pichação, a type of graffiti that uses single colours and cryptic writing, appears in the drippy, fractal-like pieces by Zezão and long loopy lines of Bárbara Goy. Titi Freak’s stencils often combine hues and patterns. Urso Morto captures cartoony teddy bears in death throes.

Perhaps paradoxically, one of the best districts for urban art, Pinheiros is also one of the city’s wealthiest. Praça Rooselvelt (sometimes called Crackolandia) has a rotating display of murals, posters, and stencils. Riotous colour covers almost every inch of Beco do Batman (Batman’s Alley) in Vila Madalena, probably the city’s most-tagged area.

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” Oscar Wilde

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Today is the celebration of the Summer Solstice. It is at this time that the Northern Hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun (the opposite being true for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere). June 21 marks the beginning of summer and the day with the longest time between sunrise and sunset in the Northern Hemisphere. From here on out the days get shorter and the nights get longer. Today is also international World Music Day which is celebrated with free concerts and other musical events in countries around the globe including Argentina and Costa Rica. Happy Solstice and World Music Day wherever you are.

The Guatemala sinkhole (or Guatemala crater) is running rampant on all of the search engine hot lists including Google and Yahoo. The sinkhole in Guatemala is second on Google’s list of search terms with the most significant growth worldwide over the last seven days. People have been searching for images of the now famous ’sinkhole Guatemala,’ hoping to see images of the pit that swallowed a three-story high building. If you haven’t seen it yet check out this short video on YouTube.

If you are seeking a little audio holiday away from the norm you should check out the French radio station Fip. Musically, the station has everything the listener could possibly want.

The concept behind FIP has scarcely changed since its founding: music interrupted by traffic updates and cultural information with a short news broadcast at 10 before the hour, with no advertising.

FIP’s programming is an eclectic mix of musical genres: chanson, rock, world music, classical music, film music, jazz and more, but connected with a theme. FIP is one of the few stations with this type of programming in the world.

“Age shouldn’t affect you. It’s just like the size of your shoes – they don’t determine how you live your life! You’re either marvellous or you’re boring, regardless of your age.” Morrissey

A pair of Brazilian dog lovers have spent almost £6,000 lavishly wedding their pet Yorkshire Terriers.

Surrounded by more than 200 dog-lovers and their pooches, the bride Bruna, 5, and her two-year-old groom Lui barked their vows before planting their paws on the official registry documents.

Then it was time to pose for photographs in front of a right dog’s dinner: the cake specially made of canine food.

Such a feast risked ruining the bride’s custom-made £270 wedding dress and the groom’s elegant tuxedo after the ceremony, which was held at a pet shop in the Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro.

Bruna’s owner Raquel Mendes admitted to ulterior motives while planning their honeymoon.

“We have been thinking and it should be on July when she will be in heat, the ideal time for them to mate,” she said.

“And if everything works out right, I’ll have a little puppy arriving soon, one more for the family.”

The groom’s owner, nine-year-old Artur Telles, said the smooching pooches were a match made in doggy heaven.

“They (Bruna and Lui) get along well,” he said. “Bruna is usually very agitated but she doesn’t bark when she is near him.

“He wants very much to be close to her and she also wants to be near him, I feel that, I can see that.”

So could the rest of the crowd attending, with the wedding drawing loud sighs and laughter from the public who avidly photographed every moment of the celebration.

The event’s organiser, Marco Antonio “Toto”, said other pet owners had already requested he arrange other dog weddings after being bow-wowed by the ceremony.