Teen Artout Nr. 3 by Art Out Magazine

Team

Teen Art Out nr 3 ISSN 2284 – 6549 ISSN–L = 2284 – 6549

Our editorial team Editor in chief: Cosmina Simona Mihalca Editors: Carmen-Mirabela Dan Dragos Dumitrache Andreea Simona Albulescu Mihai Carneciu Cosmina Simona Mihalca Laura Mihalca Gabriela Tudose Ramona Rahimian Marta Zamfirescu-Boceanu Andreea Ene Bianca Caministeanu Ilinca-Ruxandra Tone Photo credits: Ioana Stoica, Dragos Dumitrache, Marta Zamfirescu-Boceanu Cover design: Ruxandra Marin Cover graphics: Dragos Dumitrache We reserve the right to select the submissions received before publishing. Contact: www.artout.ro redactie@artout.ro

Table of contents

Storytime â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Letter from the editor

And they lived happily ever after

Food for thought 10 Let me tell you a story

Storytime

Mirror, mirror, on the wall

The tulip country 17 He felt

The dog, the cat and the bird

Horia Brenciu â&#x20AC;&#x201C;concert review

An evolved race 31

Storytime “‘Twas the night before, When all through the world, No words, no dreams Then one day, A writer by a fire Imagined all Gaia Took a journey into a child-man’s heart” (Nightwish- Storytime) Once upon a time… a story started. Or did life start? Everything is a story, a play, a game. As children, we are told stories. Sometimes, this is to teach us about life, values, history, nature… Other times we just need something in which to believe, a story that will take us away from the cruel and grey reality. Isn’t every little girl’s dream to be a princess? Or don’t boys want to be pirates? We read of perfect lives and even more perfect love stories and start to imagine our own. But what if stories came true? What were we left to do then? Open ourselves up to the universe of wonders? Maybe true love’s kiss can really break any curse. Maybe sacrifice is needed for everything that is great. Maybe hard work does pay off. Maybe children should be protected from the monsters under the bed. “Imaginarium, a dream emporium Caress the tales And they will dream you real A storyteller’s game Lips that intoxicate The core of all life is a Limitless chest of tales” (Nightwish- Storytime) Do caress the tales because they are what make you. Let your mind wander and create something amazing. Enter a realm of fabulous characters, go find Neverland. Because we are all storytellers and our life is but the story we’re writing. It’s up to us to make sure that it will be a good one, and more important than that, one that will last even when we won’t. Cosmina Simona Mihalca Editor-in-chief

Editorial

Storytime

And they lived happily ever after Isn`t “And they lived happily ever after” the line that ended most of our childhood stories? Isn`t this the line that we are hoping will be the concluding sentence to our life stories too? It makes us realize that in the end, we will ask if we did everything we wanted, and everything we had aspired to do in our lives, and if we ended up being happy with our life. Since we were little, our mothers read us the beautiful stories about princesses and the princes on white horses, who would save her from the horrible life she would have had with her dreadful stepmother and jealous evil sisters. Every night, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White were the tales that kept us hugging our pillows, tense and anxious for the princess. And every time, we realized that these are just stories with happy endings—that the good always conquers evil. The morals taught us that all that matter in this lifetime is happiness and love. Because now, growing up, we forget about those things. We just forget just how important happiness and love are. In this era, we cannot live without money, power, shiny cars, and big houses. Isn`t there a time you want to come back home to your parents, to smell the familiar aroma of your mother`s food, the smell of your nice clothes on your old bed? To reminisce about the pictures on the walls and the revisit the tons of books you read in school? Just wishing you could forget about all the bank accounts, the payments, the fact that you still don`t know how to cook your favorite meal, and the fact that you didn`t book the next flight for your boss, who is currently yelling at you through the phone? Or maybe the bad mark you have at Math and constantly worrying about it? Don’t ever wish that you could go back to those good old innocent times where the most pressing and stressful thing for you was how you were going to tie your shoes, or if your best friend could play that night? Being a grown up sincerely sucks. You don`t have time for enjoying life, freedom, and just being yourself. That`s what stories thought us. To fight for our love and lives and expect the best, because we need

to learn that after every storm, the sun will always come out. So you just need to keep your head held high and just aim for the highest stars—even if you think they’re out of your reach. Speaking of fairytales, these were the stories of our childhood. The stories taught us that in every life we find a ‘bad stepmother’ who may or may not be the one who destroys our lives. The stepmothers are indeed bad characters, which, in real life, could be the popular girl from school, the jealous friend, or just envious people who would do everything to see you hurt. So just watch your back from the ‘stepmothers’ and think twice before choosing your friends. They are be the people who can raise you from the ground on a bad day and say the words you need to hear, assuring you that you’re worth more than anybody else on this planet, and that you are beautiful enough to be with the popular guy from your school. At the same time, they can be the person who destroys your social life with the intention of doing something good. We can try giving a definition of fairytales, and that would be us saying that they are pure stories with a little bit of magic. And, to be honest, I think that the only important thing in a fairytale is the magic that we, the readers, let take control over our body as we let the beautiful story come alive. When we were little and our mothers were telling us the story of Snow white, what did you enjoy the most? Was it not the fact that she was somehow a princess and, in the end of the story, was saved by a handsome prince and lived happily never after? Or was it the fact that her stepmother tried to kill her with a magic potion? I bet that the magic potion did in the job, but . . . the charming dark-haired prince who saved her with a kiss was a really good part too. As you can see, since we were children we are taught that the good will always win over the bad. It`s simple, but effective. But in real life, everything is different. Sometimes we simply forget that after every storm there will definitely be a gorgeous sunrise. A simple phenomenon that makes you appreciate the almost-perfect life that you have. Because now,

speaking of perfection . . . nothing is perfect. Not you, not me, not anyone out there is perfect. It is in the human gene to be imperfect. To make mistakes and then just spend the future trying to reestablish the balance . . . that is not so fair, but we are humans, like I said. But why is it so difficult to take a look at the future as a possibility? And that is the possibility to become the princess who will meet the prince of her own life, even though she made mistakes throughout her life. Whoever said that you learn from your mistakes was a genius. It`s totally true. You cannot count on other people’s stories or feelings, and for them to make your life perfect. You need to learn how to deal with your problems and with your life. If you learn that, it will be easy. It will be easy not to make the same mistake twice and learn what`s best for you, without

other person’s story. How Snow White learned that it`s vital you can’t trust everyone. Even though she was a lovely person and tried to help the old woman, her stepmother, it was not a problem for her to stab her in the back. Sometimes it`s better to just open your eyes and look at the person twice. Don`t let yourself be fooled by appearance, car, job, or false friendships. People are mean in every part of this world. There is not one place where people aren’t mean, bad, and can hurt you with only a few words. In real life we don`t have witches unless you are talking about Harry Potter or Charmed, and we don`t have dragons or poisoned

Ioana Stoica

apples; and we don`t have a potion which will make you sleep forever, the only salvation coming from a gorgeous prince. But we have horrific bosses or a teacher who really scares us, that can be counted as a witch. We do have popular, plastic, Barbie-like high school girls who, if you are one of the ‘geeks’, will make your life a living hell. These are equivalents to the bad stepmother or the ugly old women. But by looking closely at the fairytales, they made our expectations really high. Just take a book and read the description of the princess. Of course every girl is a princess. I am a princess. You can be a princess, but the authentically one? There are flawless girls with long hair, who wear incredibly gorgeous dresses, which of course you cannot find via any magazine in this world. Who has a fish tail or the bottom half of a mermaid? I wanted one when I was little so bad; in fact, I want one now, too. It`s amazing. Swimming in the ocean with a tail . . . that should be something I must write on my “To do list”. Who is with me?! Or who wishes for the gorgeous skyblue ballroom gown? Hmm . . . not even my Barbie had one of those. She just had a sparkly pink one . . . . Quite boring, isn’t it? But the clothes are not the important thing. Taking a look in the mirror, you surely won`t find the Snow White figure or the Belle one. Even Ariel, with her red hair and incredibly gorgeous eyes is a standard most cannot appease. Also, there is a handsome prince who will save you no matter what. Stepmothers, poison apples, witches, can’t give you back a perfect shoe. Only your prince. It could also be Louboutin. And I, personally, wouldn`t mind. But back to the fairytales and forgetting about the Louboutins . . . for now. I must think about the gorgeous prince who will save me. But I am really scared to think how many frogs I will kiss until one of them, will eventually turn out into a charming prince on white steed. Or . . . in real life, maybe, still a charming prince; maybe a hot actor with a Ferrari? I particularly love Range Rovers, but, yeah. I could also live with a Ferrari. So, no white horse. And no castle . . . but, even a big pool? No, not that either. Despite the fact that they lived a happy life, the characters also taught us that we need to fight. We need to fight for our dreams to become real. Maybe this is the best lesson that fairytales taught us. In order for our dreams to become real, we need to do what we

can to make them happen. We cannot sit and wait for them to spontaneously exist. We must keep that in our minds. Forget about the prince, the horse, and the bad people. The most important thing in this world is you. Do what you want, for you. Because at the end of the day, the only trustworthy person you will have rooting for you is yourself. Forget about the prince, the horse, and the bad people. Now coming back to my favorite quote, ‘They lived happily ever after’. It’s the few words that every person wants to hear to conclude every single story told to them. It doesn’t matter if you will meet the prince the beginning of your story, or if you will need to kiss a few frogs before one of them will eventually be, your charming prince. But always keep in mind that you must do what you want for you. We grow up and we forget how to be happy. We forget the feeling of being mischievous, playful, hopeful, carefree, but most importantly, we forget the necessity of dreaming. We need to remember. Without the dreams—the ideas sprung and inspired from the stories—then the whole world is bleak, barren, controlled by the evil witch. Never forget about these things because they made you happy when you were little. They can make you a better person when you grow up. So never forget about the things that makes you happy and never forget about the fact that you can have your own fairytale with no one but you as a princess.

Andreea Ene

Storytime

Ioana Stoica

Storytime

Food for Thought

Waking up one Sunday morning I noticed no difference whatsoever between the dreams from my unshaken sleep and the elements that surrounded me at that moment. For a while, this perception seemed quite peculiar, but then I remembered one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most famous quotes: “Life itself is the most beautiful fairytale of all”. So maybe life is a story to be lived and told after all and perhaps sometimes the two plans, the real and the unreal one, interpenetrate. What is generally accepted is that stories define people’s characters and inspire their minds. There are as many patterns of perceiving a story as readers or listeners. In the case of the written story, perhaps the most meaningful words about the communion between the story and the reader belong to Louis L’Amour: “A writer’s brain is like a magician’s hat. If you’re going to get anything out of it, you have to put something in it first.” This convenient exchange is the fundamental reason for enjoying stories. Words will not deceive you, books will not abandon you. You have found the ideal world to live in, where the perfect balance truly exists. In a way, stories reveal their authors. Each word has an individual history attached to it, “speaking” for the ones who can talk no more. Paradoxically, stories conceal, too. They are sometimes the velvet curtains drawn over an ugly soul

or, on the contrary, the “flowers of evil” of Baudelaire, from which beauty emerges. One certain thing is that stories have an exact function in relation with their creators. Unfortunately, because of a lack of general knowledge or due to a wrong perception, people make one crucial mistake regarding the matter in hand: they argue that nowadays there is no morality in stories anymore. We should all laugh at these worries, because, as Oscar Wilde stressed in “The Portrait of Dorian Gray”, “there is no such thing as a moral or immoral book”. Extrapolating his opinion, it could be stated that the normal system of values is invalid in the world of fiction. Good and evil melt into one large mass, forming a dimension where all the conceivable or unconceivable possibilities can be explored. Therefore, reading a book, listening to a fictional story or admiring an abstract painting involves an unwritten convention of discarding any common law. Liberty in living a certain form of art is total and the one who explores a new world can experience ecstatic moods. The cathartic effect of art is considered to be the pinnacle of this adventure. Going back to the first dilemma of this article, I believe that its solution will only be found at the end of our existence. By then, the human being’s pleasure is to explore life’s endless possibilities. Only death will show us if we lived an illusion or if this was indeed the real world.

Ilinca-Ruxandra Tone

Let Me Tell You a Story Answer with true or false: - You burn when you feel that you want to drink raspberry ice tea. - You are afraid of death - hence, you make stories to sound as close to it as possible. - You feel terrified when you are outnumbered by people dressed in pink. Does it sound blue? It’s not. It’s life. Storytelling happens when you try to explain your life and you want people to understand how you see it. But, personally, I don’t think that’s possible. I think we are only similar to each other because we are all unique. It’s a complicate statement, because now I feel like I should explain why we are unique. But I don’t, because you already understood this all in your own way. Lately, I have been having this obsession with relativity. I keep thinking that it’s all in our minds and that it is as we want to see it. Or as we don’t want to see it, in some sad cases. Also, atmosphere is very important in telling a good story ( good, bad, whatever you see it like ). Now it’s on paper, it’s not as convincing as it would have been if it was told somewhere inside, beside a glass of wine. A good story usually comes out of a good actor. Acting, in my opinion, is not a fake thing. If it was fake, then our whole lives would be fake. I am sure you know what I am talking about. Storytelling is amazing when it happens from our hearts. It can move the hearts listening to it and it can change our way of thinking or seeing things. I think that what everyone should learn from this few lines here is that when you do something, you have to do it from a deep wish inside you, with strong will and maybe even passion if you feel like it. That’s how I see “good” in everything. Storytelling happens when you’re in love. Storytelling happens when you’re hungry and the one you’re out with isn’t and you have to convince

Marta Zamfirescu-Boceanu

him to go to eat. Storytelling happens when you feel you’re the cause of an effect you now know you couldn’t have planned. Now I am telling a story. Your turn.

Marta Zamfirescu-Boceanu

Storytime

Marta Zamfirescu-Boceanu

Storytime Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a young witch who wanted to spend her days casting spells, making potions, riding a broom, along with a cat and doing other mischievous things. A witch is supposed to be an evil creature, a character every child is afraid of. But, that was not the case with our witch ! She wasn’t a creature, she was a normal girl and she certainly wasn’t evil. Her talent for witchcraft came from a respected line of witches, including her mother, so she didn’t have any other choice, but to continue her family’s heritage of magic and accept her destiny. One day, the witch met a dashing prince, who was brave enough to save her from a group of terrifying ogres. Without planning it, they fell in love with each other. Nevertheless, he couldn’t marry her because they were both, from two different worlds : she was a witch and belonged to the magical world and he was part of the royal family, preparing to ( someday ) rule the entire kingdom. However, their love was so strong that the prince left his kingdom, in order to be with her and, gave all his wealth to the people, despite his family’s disapproval. He realised that the witch meant everything to him and without her by his side, he would never be happy. All in all, the witch and the prince continued their love together and lived happily ever after. Now, what are the chances that something like this could actually happen in the real world ? Can this type of love be seen in real life or only in fairytales ? These days, love has a whole new meaning for a lot of people. In a world where innocence is gone and love has become restricted by money, jobs, groups of friends and reputations, if you’re not able to get smart and choose wisely from the beginning, you might as well end happily never after. In our search for love, we often settle with less than we deserve. Instead of flowers or gifts, we accept funny e-mails and short phone calls. We take humour and leave romance at

the door, eventually forgetting how true love really looks like. It’s no wonder that, for some people, fairytales have become something unbearable. In fact, the funny thing about stories is that they are less simple, than we think they are. The story with the witch and the prince, makes no exception. What if, the prince didn’t love the witch and only used her powers, whenever he was in trouble ? What if, he decided to leave her and marry a princess because he wanted power and was too vain and selfish ? What if, instead of feeling miserable, the witch ‘‘rescued’’ herself and started a profitable business, called ‘‘Witchcraft & Co’’ ? The beauty of stories, is that they make us dream of a better world and you can’t really predict their endings. As someone once said : ‘‘There are 2 sides to every story!’’, so you just have to let your imagination decide which one is better for you.

Caministeanu Bianca Minodora

Storytime

Mirror,mirror,on the wall… It is a fact that, nowadays, we turn to films when we are looking for a quick and cheap solution to our everyday problems. They provide uswith a totally different perspective on life and help usovercome difficulties by immersing ourselves in a fairytale-likeworld. Sometimes, the film itself can be a fairytale, and hereis where our story starts. Who can’t recall the lovely story of Snow White and the SevenDwarfs? Well, this is not that hard a question because the answer to it is clear: this fairytale is so popular that it is known and cherished by everyone. It has become so popular that, in the year 2012, we are able to meet with two different film adaptations of it, both struggling to meet the expectations of the Disney-lover audience. As ”Snow White and the Huntsman” has not been released yet, we are left to enjoy to wicked ”Mirror, Mirror”, where the malevolent Queen tells the story in a really twisted manner. Despite the few alterations, the story succeeds in maintaing the charming atmosphere of the written fairytale, but with a touch of sarcasm. Just imagine Julia Roberts dressed in a complicated ball gown joking about the prince’s bare chest! And this is just one of the humour-spiced moments of the film. It is hard to compare this version with the already classical Disney one, partly because they were filmed withd ifferent intentions. Walt Disney tried immersing us into a world of pure magic, where rabbits and birds sing and cry together with Snow White, whereas this director tried something radically different. We are invited to the darkest corners of the story, where we meet the cruel thoughts of the Queen, the hard lives of her followers, and the unknown story of the Prince. The dwarves are robbers, the Queen is broke and the forest is dwelled by a nasty beast. I am going to spoil nobody’s fun by giving any more details, the conclusion is simple: if you want to be part of a darker Snow White story, wait no more and buy a cinema ticket. Although some of you might be surprised by some aspects of the new story, the Bollywood ending and the colourful scenery are well worth it!

Mirabela Dan

Globetrotter

The Tulip Country

Dragos Dumitrache

My first image of Holland was from a train’s window. As I entered the country with train from Brussels, no one even bothered checking my papers. But let me tell you something else: the grass was greener there! No, it wasn’t from the brownies; it probably was from the abundance of water. Anyway, I reached Amsterdam Schiphol station, and while I was waiting for the train to Leiden, I froze completely and my feet were hurting because I had spent the whole day walking around Brussels. As I reached Leiden, I headed out the train station and to the bus, where I had a shock. A woman was driving the bus! I don’t mean to sound condescending or anything, it’s just the fact that in Romania, you barely see women driving a bus. It was even worse when she didn’t speak English and we would have had no way of communicating with her, if not for the map. Nevertheless, we reached our friend’s place and got settled in. Next day, the weather was moody and I wasn’t exactly prepared for the cold that I was about to face, since

the weather report said there would be above 20 degrees. That day, we visited Keukenhof, a botanic garden which was covering a surface of a couple square kilometers. Loads of flowers, some flower houses with different styles, some abstract, some normal, and some plain weird. As you’d expect, there were fields and fields of tulips, and the greenhouses were full of orchids or other seasonal flowers. It was like a park, only bigger! Anyway, as I got bored of flowers, because let’s be serious, they’re just flowers, just like ours, we started heading towards the exit, and I couldn’t help but take a photo of the swans. As we reached the bus, I realized that I had lost my ticket back, and they didn’t sell those in the bus directly. But the driver, a woman again, gave me a free pass, saying she believed me. Let me tell you one thing, though, about visiting anything. Avoid busses, or any other means of public transportation, firstly because you could fall asleep, as it keeps happening to me, and miss on a lot of things, and secondly cause you won’t get the sense of a city unless you really walk through its streets.

After Keukenhof, we took the train to Delft, where we didn’t stay long, but we did get to see a wedding reception and a bit of the grand square. Despite its lovely architecture, it didn’t pose much of an attraction to me at that time, so we got another train to Hague. We didn’t really visit that one, as I was more interested in the beach. Yet, I forgot I was freezing, that it was the Northern Sea, and that on the beach, the wind’s probably going to blow. So I froze up, took some photos, froze some more, but still enjoyed it. I also enjoyed their train system, very quick, very much on time, and going everywhere. So, Hague, chilly! I’ll save you the night at the restaurant, and skip right to Amsterdam!

Dragos Dumitrache

Globetrotter We wanted to go on a tour with a guide, but I decided it would be best if we went on our own, as we’d have more photographic opportunities. But then again, the weather was against us, and photography was forbidden in a large area of the city. Still, I’ll visit it again, and just for the sake of taking photos, I’ll check out the wind mills. We went to Madame Tussaude’s , which was a nice experience that resulted in some nice photos, too. We all know the wax figures were looking real enough. Well, unfortunately, I can’t share all of Amsterdam with you so that only means that you’ll have to see it to know it. But it’s a lot like Vegas, only this time, what happens in Amsterdam, stays there, because you’ll probably not remember it. And just in case you get there, beware the bikes, and the people riding them, vicious creatures from another world. But no, seriously, they use bikes A LOT! Overall, it was a nice, but short trip to Holland, and I hope I’ll get the chance to visit it again soon!

Dragos Dumitrache

Globetrotter

Dragos Dumitrache

Globetrotter

Dragos Dumitrache

Globetrotter Dragos Dumitrache

Dragos Dumitrache

Cool story, bro He Felt

He felt as if his eyes were gauged off, because he couldn’t understand at all the sights before himself. He was no longer covered with a blanket in his fluffy warm bed. Surprisingly enough, he was in the depths of a coal mine, without any drops of light to show the road that lied ahead. Was that only because he chose the wrong path, wanting to avoid those lies surrounding him? He tried once again to catch a glimpse of something familiar, but when he touched the wall, he figured that no exit would be close enough... However, he seized that second when the tongue of white fire exploded far in the distance. What else could he have done? There was a long path to amble, so he decided to walk faster, along the black stones which clogged the broken railways. He was cold. Sometimes, he had no will to continue and he stopped, but the profound cold caught him and started running again. Blind. He followed what he thought he had seen for good hours, until he felt abandoned, in the vast ocean, with no escape, of disappointment. But right in that moment, he began glaring towards a lighthouse, spinning and

shining through every little cloud that covered the deep blue sea. Wait. Water? Was that really the sea or just a mirage? No sooner had he figured where he was that he thought he was lost forever. But there was still hope; someone in that lighthouse could as well help carry him home. Silently, he got out of that cave and, though no ray of sunshine was in the sky, he was at least safe. The seagulls surrounding him exploded in a brutal flight and the man turned around... too late. A wave with white foams overwhelmed the horizon and everywhere he looked, the wave was still there. In a matter of seconds, the rising hell caught a bit of everything on that little gulf, cleaning the shore as well as it could, taking in every shadow of life. After the last drop of water reunited with the sea, the lighthouse began spinning again, as it has done for years. Clinging to door, on the other side of the furious storm, the young man was shaking – fear, cold, relief... only he could tell. He didn’t end up like a seagull, but isn’t that what he now wants?

Mihai Carneciu

The Dog,the Cat and the Bird

It was just another summer day. The sun was shining bright, the birds were singing happily and I was lying on the grass, listening to one of my favorite songs. Our garden had been recently rearranged and it was such a pleasure to spend the whole day there. Suddenly, a big black crow walked in front of my face. It was probably looking for food or something. But what the bird didn’t know was that a hungry looking cat was hunting it. I didn’t pay attention to that. I was too busy searching for a song in my I-Pod. Then, my mom let the main character of this story out. Yeah, I’m talking about our dog, Max, a beautiful Golden Retriever. The large and joyful fur ball sniffed around, checked what’s new in the garden and stopped, with its eyes fully opened. Yup, he saw the crow that was still unaware of the cat behind it. Max started to follow the bird. It still hasn’t seen the cat. The show was now interesting for me. The dog was chasing after the crow, the cat was chasing after the crow, the crow hasn’t noticed anything, or maybe it has… The fact is that the black bird flew away, just as Max started to run after it. Sad that it couldn’t catch its pray, it turned around and opened his big brown eyes. The shock was huge when it saw the cat. A mad race started next to me. As I was desperate to get out of there, the hysteric cat jumped over me,

Max followed it, the bird came back, and my beautiful garden became a mess. The flowers were now everywhere, the bushes had only five or less leaves left and the grass was full of small mud pits. Everything ended up with Max standing like a statue in front of a tree, the cat that was now looking angry (and hungry) and the crow that was probably making fun of the situation. In a nut shell, you can’t always have what you want. When you chase after two rabbits at one time, you will probably end up by messing everything up and not catching any. No matter how passionately we try, we cannot always have what we want. And then again, what we want may always not be what we need. We are humans, and, therefore, we can control our acts, learn from mistakes and judge everything rationally. While instinct is necessary or even lifesaving in cases, it can only do so much for you. No story, song or movie is ever about how someone can hold it together and withstand through every challenge. But we do live in a society that teaches us how to be sensible and not sensitive, how to seize the day but calculate your every move, calculate your risks and act accordingly. Maybe sometimes you just have to say challenge not accepted. Nevertheless, if it is worth the gain, it should be worth the pain.

3x3 Horia Brenciu one of the best showmen of Romania Born in 1972 in Brasov, he is a now a singer and a Romanian successful TV showman. He says that , when he came in Bucharest, he came with 2 suitcases: “one full of clothes and one full of hopes. With ambition and a lot of dreams.” He studied at the Academy of Theater and Film in Bucharest. He started by being a member in Apropo band, when he was 18. He played piano and after that, he became known for his great voice. He collaborated with many TV channels, for his own TV shows. In 2002, he starts a band, HB Orchestra. Their firs album was named 35.

Who am I talking about? Of course, I am talking about Horia Brenciu, a well - known Romanian artist, an impressive presence on the stage. But I won’t describe his career. I want to introduce you in the atmosphere of his last concert called “I do what my heart tells me to do”, organized in March 2012, at Sala Palatului, in Bucharest. First of all, it was a complete show, including music, dance, acting, stand-up comedy, video projections and ...music again. He had a lot of artists guests on the stage, and perhaps the most surprising were Grasu XXL and Guess Who, one of the most successful contemporary music artist in Romania, who sang together wih Brenciu the song “ The diamonds are braking”. It’s hard to describe in words the concert’s atmosphere. It’s more like something that you need to feel live. Like the 4.000 spectators in Brenciu’s concert. While being at the concert, I felt that I want to dance badly. I felt that it doesn’t matter anything else apart the concert. All my feelings and my thoughts were there. It was an extraordinary and complete night, and when I say complete, I reffer to all genres of art that were presented in this show. I discovered during this concert a lot of young new musicians, really good ones, on the stage, with Brenciu. I discovered that he’s perhaps the best showman of Romania. I rediscovered his amazing creative, joyful and playful energy. I discovered Brenciu’s love for life, for love, for women, for public, for the show, for the music.

I discovered in his person a complete artist, ready to change in a minut, completely, body and soul, for his public. Why is him so amazing? Because he is so spontaneous and sincere, because he seems to be the embodiment of happiness, with all his charm and incredible artistic power on the stage. He sings in one of his songs ( I love you): “I love you, I love you,/ That’s all I wanna say./ I love you, I love you, /In each and every day. / I love you, I love you, / The feeling brings me joy.../ I love you, I love you/”.

And this is exactly what he is doing: he really loves music, dance, stage, show, public and life, with all that it’s included here. If you want some amazing and unforgettable moments, you should choose to be present in one of Horia Brenciu’s concerts. You still have this chance in September, when he will have a number of concerts of swing music in Bucharest and in the most important towns in Romania. It will definitely be a very select and elegant night, with great, great music. Think it as a suggestion for this beginning of autumn. Don’t forget to love, to say it to your lover, to listen music, to play and to dance..this is what I learned from Horia Brenciu’s concert. So, listen to his music and think free! HB Media Entertainment organized Horia Brenciu concert in March in 2012.

Laura Lucia Mihalca

HORIA BRENCIU What a unforgettable night! The show-man amazed us. This incurable romantic with an infinite amount of joy and energy conquered me step by step. On the big screens located everywhere on the scene, the beginning was announced. In a familiar “windows-chat” appears written by an invisible hand: “Did you think you came to a regular show?”, “Are there any ladies here?”,”Any gentlemen?” “..but those don’t interest me..” and so on. After those funny comments, HB Orchestra is making its entrance keeping the happy mood. After some moments, everyone is excited and HB is finally appearing, kneeling down to his public and this is the moment when the show actually starts with an incredible dynamic that makes you want to take part in the show. The amazing guests were from “Vocea Romaniei” and they all had a funny musical dialogue with HB and the orchestra. It’s hard to describe the incendiary atmosphere, atmosphere that made every heart in the room beat faster and faster because of HB’s charming voice and talent, because of the great orchestra that made every moment an unique one. The truth is you can’t get enough : you feel like floating, all the negative thoughts disappear and the stress is replaced with a sweet “tiredness” ,with joy and excitement. His beautiful music sounds like : “When you’re with me And I feel good I do what my heart says! The sea is blue You’re beautiful That’s what my heart is telling me!” “I do what my heart says!”

The show is like the spring, consecrated to it. Consecrated to the love, to the lovers to the ones that love with all their hearts ,with no boundaries and no lengths. A beautiful craziness that we wish is never ending.

The audience was conquered in the welcoming ambience of “Sala Palatului”. HB was in a continous subtle dialogue with the audience, claming that he is “a little “crazier” ..than what the law is accepting!”The show remains a long time in the memory and in the soul of the watchers because this type of HB show is an artistic event, modern and complex. Not just the charming presence of HB was like a magnet to the audience, but also his strong and sensual voice. In the ending, that was just as unique as the beginning, HB threatens that he is ready for 17 bis but then he encourage us to go home. On the same windows chat, the same invisible hand is writing “Go home, I’m tired!”,”I’m not young anymore, my feet hurt”, “Don’t you have to go to work tomorrow?” All I can say about HB’s show this spring is that I found out that HB is not just a singer, not just a voice, but above all a charming and interesting personality and a “heart that does what it wants.” The show ended with strong applause from the audience and the scene was filled with confetti ,and it seemed like hundreds of loving hearts fall above us that covered us with the joy of the moment. This is what HB left for the audience, the memory of a unforgettable night and that’s what makes him a real artist ,a complete one! HB is not just a show man ,but an entertainment factory. If you don’t believe me, come to his show on September this year and you will convince yourself there !

Gabriela Tudose

3x3 Horia Brenciu Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats! *The lights go out*

Tick tock, tick tock! Up on stage we can see a countdown. What’s that, it’s actually called HBmeter and we eagerly have to wait for 10 minutes, or so it says. But what is that? The screen asks if we are here because it can’t hear us. Again and again, the public warms up with screams and applauses. Now what? Oh, it says that Madonna wanted a ticket but couldn’t find. But guess what? Fuego had got one a long time before, but he didn’t come. His mother wouldn’t let him. 10 minutes later and we hear a famous song “Trecea fanfara militara” and can clearly see on the screen what seems to be a marching band. Wait, what? There is a marching band in the room. Now that’s entertainment, people! And there it is, the man of the hour, Horia Brenciu! After the proper introductions, he warns us that this was not going to be a typical show and that we are not going home until 2 AM. Oh, and he was almost right! This was a show, a magnificent one even. We laughed, we sang, we danced, we cheered, we heard stories and then repeat. He not only brought himself to us, but also brought his team from “Vocea Romaniei”. I must confess, I did not know any of Horia’s songs. I did search them on Youtube before leaving home, but that doesn’t count. However, there was no need for that! The show took us from the most famous Romanian songs to the most romantic songs we can imagine. One thing I really liked is how he could make some sort of introduction for each and every one of his songs. This one time, there was something about diamonds that do break, and so he invited on the stage Guess Who and

Maximilian, two of the most acclaimed Romanian singers. Now that was something fresh and edgy and I really liked it. Later, he starts humming “Lady in red” and asks us to take out our cell phones and sing along. Don’t be surprised that the crowd sang beautifully and really loudly. Still, the song signed Horia Brenciu that I like the most is “Ultimul dans”. “Lumea intreaga se-opreste in loc Timpul intors ca o carte de joc Trece azi, trece maine La fel de nedrept La nesfarsit La ultimul dans te astept”

But then again, we all like to do what our heart tells us and just listen to “Septembrie, luni” or “La radio”. 3 hours later, with regret, the band walks off the stage. But that only means that the audience stands up and cheers more and more… and what do you know? He comes back! Yeay! He said that he was ready for 17 encores, but after the first one he was urging us to go home and sleep, think about him and let him leave, too… But that just couldn’t happen. And so, we stood there and listened to him sharing stories. And there it is, the clock strikes 1 in the morning and the show is still outstanding. About half an hour later we do go home, after being totally enchanted by the man and the Show, Horia Brenciu! Amazing, glorious and fabulous… that’s just to sum up! Great public interaction, great joke, great atmosphere and really great music! I’d definitely go see him again, and you should, too!

Cosmina Simona Mihalca

Psych(o)

An evolved race?

ave you ever thought of running away? Leaving all behind and never look back? You could see the world, travel around the Earth, meet new people and get to places you never thought you could get. The thought of just taking a backpack and escape from everything that means conformity, stress, work, school, people and humanity always crosses my mind as I love to travel and see the world but the city stops me. There is only one thing that keeps me where I am and that is the city like conscience that was implanted in our brain from infancy, the need to go to school, university, get a good job, marry, have a child maybe two and spend the rest of our life in a complete monotony only to notice on our death bed that we didn’t get to live our life, we just wasted all and never thought twice about it until it is too late. We live in a box from the day we are born and the thought of breaking out of it frightens us because outside those lovely painted walls there is an unknown world ready to be discovered. Our curious mind tells us to escape and explore the real world but our conservatory side tells us that if the box is cozy and warm we don’t need to get out and risk it all for a trip in the real world, the world that is as dangerous as it is rewarding. We live in a city, covered in cement and pollution, we are stressed and trapped, we have a routine and we are happy with it because we don’t know what wonders are out there. We call it evolution but is it? Human race is the one race that conquered the Earth, the one at the top, the ultimate winner that destroys everything around like a child in a crystal shop, the race that created wars, mass destruction weapons and biological weapons that could erase the entire human population in a matter of hours. And here I am

asking you, is this evolution? All the animals kill in order to live but never without reason, they live in a strict order that they don’t try to break. Because of our actions we made millions of plants and animals disappear from the surface of the Earth and we barely cared about it, we walked to find another place to ruin, steal all it’s resources and leave it deserted. Why do we feel the need to use everything, food, water, oil and soil in such an extreme way? Can’t we just use them without wasting just like every animal on Earth? How much time do we loose in front of the TV or computer, how much time do we spend in pubs, bars and clubs, time we can use spending it in the middle of the nature, library, opera or theatre? Why is culture so wrong this days? When I say I go to the opera and I like it, most teenagers look at me like I’ve grown another head? What is wrong with liking culture? Classic music, Mozart, Bach, Chopin and many other are the people that created true music, without the aid of a computer or other technology, they are the actual parents of true music. We should love and cherish them, instead we look at their music like it meant nothing, like it’s trash and it doesn’t deserve any attention. Let me tell you that without their existence todays music wouldn’t have existed so why not pay a little respect? Another thing that is almost extinct are children and teenagers that read. We don’t open our minds towards imagination. Why see it on TV through another person’s perspective when we can imagine our own world, our own characters and see them as we like. We can open a book, read it and see the world through different eyes when a film could rarely do that, a book touches your soul and mind much deeper and stays there forever. On another note, I can tell you from my own experience that if you read the book and then see the film, the book will always be better because you know what the characters think and feel, it’s like you can actually have the same feelings as them, in the film you only see pictures and barely feel anything. Books exist for a reason and that is to open our minds and release our imagination. Think about what you read here, meditate on it and maybe, just maybe I made you see the world through different eyes. See, think, imagine, explore this are the four things you need to do before you can say that you are an evolved species.

Rahimian Ramona