'10 in a few lines

2010 being over, it is the time when we all look back on the last 365 days and try to sum up the moments that mainly influenced our existence.

So, I thought that it would be nice to remember and share a list of all the positive aspects of 2010.

• Best moment: the instant when I received my diploma (clichéd, but true)
• Best sightseeing: the view of the Mont Blanc
• Best trip: the Irish week
• Best musical discovery: the briliant guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriella
• Best movie: Inception 
• Best book: The Silmarillion
• Best show: The Enchanted Flute at Nuits de Fourvière in Lyon
  
• Best acquisition: my current flat

Unfortunately there was no music album released this year that genuinely impressed and for this I hope that 2011 will show an improvement.
I wish you all have an excellent 2011.  

Happy New Year! 

Iconic family animation

Wits: 4.5/5
Story: 4.5/5
Perception: 5/5
Rating: 4.5/5 

I've been wating for some time to see this animation and I finally managed to do so.
The word that could best describe it is: cute.

In a village of vikings that have to fight dragons to survive, the chief's son doesn't seem to be fit to follow the tradition. By accident he befriends one of the most feared of the dragons, and so he discovers all the secrets of their kind and develops a special bond between man and beast.

The kid is very funny, Baruchel really found his character type for the time being. An the dragon really completes his story. By voicing the chief, Butler reminds us of his first famous role which suits him very well; but Gobber is even more hilarious. The teens are a bit clichéd, but OK; Fishlegs being slightly on top of the bunch.

The animations seem perfect, and the dragon drawings really evoke the features and behaviour of breed of reptile. I can't say anything of the 3D but I have the impression that it was also well done.

There is a bit of sadness related to the end of the adventure, but in my opinion this comes up with a touch of originality which is to be encouraged; youngsters should know that everything comes with a price and that life isn't always shinny and bright but even so one should make the most out of it.

All in all, this could be considered an icon in family animation.








Funny - Spoiler Alert!!!

There are some flight sequences that remind of Avatar and its key in 3D experience succes
I know that this king of movie is supposed to be seen as relate-able by the audiences of our time, but the fact that Viking teenagers faced the same struggle as do the ones of our days is a bit too animationous, because they would have started training at 10 utmost and by the age of 17 the most of them would already have a kid
The magic of father-son serious talks is infinite
I thought that Toothless was a female dragon after her jealousy episode against the girl...

Oneiric

At this magical time of the year, I would like to write a couple of words about a magical manifestation of the human brain that has been dazzling me for quite a while. In my non-specialist opinion, it seems to be the most complex activity of the entire nervous system: dreaming.
There are plenty of more or less scientific theories that try to explain its purpose and its meaning, but I won't develop any of them. I only wanted to express my fascination related to this phenomenon.
During an apparent state of almost complete inactivity, there are bits of our being that are entirely awake. First the eyes that swing around whilst closed, and even if the visual systems are shut down, one could live the most vivid experiences of an entire day, and sometimes even remember them. In addition the brain seems to be racing as if a normal activity would be in question. Our organisms are even more impressive, being able to block the involvement of the muscles in the process, thus avoiding involuntary injuries.
A dream would pick random thoughts, people, places, feelings, mix them together and deliver a more than authentic cocktail, that sometimes remains plausible even after waking up. You could end up on a video game quest, with a blockbuster tension, taking place somewhere you'd seen but never been to, being surrounded by your childhood friends who seem to be best buds with your office colleagues and never doubt the improbability of such an exploit.  
At times, one could also find the desired answers to various issues, throughout a dream, or almost die trying to escape one.
There are people who say that the real life is what you dream, and that the dream what you seem to be living every day; and this sound like a cool concept.
Obviously such an amazing phenomenon was depicted in all sorts of art forms, the latest being the movie I consider to be the best of 2010: Inception, which shows that dreams could be manipulated, altered and twisted to serve a purpose. Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to control this really active state of the mind and make it work to our advantage as the body rests...food for thought...
One more thing, the most important aspirations that someone could have from one's existence are also called dreams; should that be a deception for the real life or a spark of hope for the imaginary one? Because for each side there are only some dreams that come true.
So anyone sharing the same fascination?

Ahoy! Trailer crossing the bows!

Some days ago the trailer for the next PotC: On Stranger Tides was released to open seas, so as a fan of Captain Jack Sparrow and a victim of franchises, I'll pass it on too and then speak my mind...

First of all, everyone agrees that the first movie was the best of them all, and everytime a new one is out you just hope that it will return to that initial quality. The third one had a slight chance of doing so but unfortunately this one will surely not make it. I don't know if this is only caused by the arrival of a new director, or just because the whole team couldn't come up with anything comparable to the Curse of the Black Pearl, but there's something fishy about it.
Starting with the whole irony that at first Jack was supposed to be the surprise bonus, who now ends up being the main reason for the cash inflow. The character that really makes the movie today was criticized by the Disney rulers for destroying it back in the good old Aztec Gold days. Moreover, in this trailer the impression is that the entire story is built around him.
Which brings me to the second part, that I must sadly admit: without the two cheesy lovebirds there is no Pirates of the Caribbean, just one hell of an entertaining brilliantly played deranged pirate and his counterpart who has annoyed me from the start (with a couple of exceptions, like the final battle in At Worlds End); there's a major cast/concept alteration, so change the title.
This cast alteration generated another issue: no lovebirds, no romantic theme; no romantic theme, not a Hollywood entrance hit. So they draw out the good looking latin-blooded actress bonus card and it seems to me that they stuck it on Jackie-boy, which is outrageous. Sparrow shouldn't have an obvious female companion(?), and Penelope Cruz even less, she's not the type of character for the movie, silly-mad and really mad aren't quite compatible in my opinion. Plus, I'm still looking for a film where I could find Cruz interesting (some help? and don't say Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona...she's Shutter Island mad in there and not in the good way).
On the other hand Black Beard should do a pretty good job, the role going well McShane's type. 
Thus being said, I'm looking forward to being proven wrong in all the bad aspects listed above, only 5 more months to wait.   

The Extended Introduction before Hell breaks loose

Acting: 4/5
Story: 3/5
Perception: 3.5/5
Rating: 3.5/5

There are apparently harmless concepts that could become as addictive as drugs; one of them is franchise movies, and when you know that one's end is near something will automatically trigger inside your head and that trip to the cinema will become imminent...This is how I end up seeing the latest HP, the beginning of the end.
Splitting the book into two movies seems to be a win-win scenario both for WB and for the fans, who have another chance of seeing their hero. But for casual viewers, like myself, this could be a little frustrating because all the foreplay has been extended and exhausted and what you get is the all annoying To Be Continued... feeling. I must admit that I was expecting the story to be even more monotonous and dull, but there are several intensive scenes separated by prolonged "meaningful" moments reinforced with the appropriate Hollywood-style background music.
Compared to its predecessors, this HP is no longer a kids movie, the audience has to have evolved with the character (not the actor, a couple of years difference). It continues by amplifying the dark and gloomy trend of the other films, becoming more like a thriller with some humorous bits, than an adventure story; this is probably due also to the schism of the contents of the book. 
I've also noticed some strange camera positioning and movements that were typical to amateur-style filming and not to gazillion $$$ productions and which combined with some bizarre dialogs made parts of the (extended) camping sequence weird if not dump.
There's not much to say about the actors, since they almost developed a second nature by playing these characters all their teenage lives, excepting some details (see below). I will just say that Bellatrix freaks me out more and more...
This movie should be seen by those who aren't fans of the book or who aren't interested in the whole movie story not for even a bit. If your last contact with this wizardy world was last year when the previous movie was out, prepare for a rough start, because tons of information will flood your brain, leaving you no time to process.









Details - Spoiler Alert!!!

The worldwide camping was the source of all strange moments, in terms of acting, events and transitions. There are some dialogs that lack coherence, and the jealousy vs. anger scenes inside the trio seem a bit overplayed.
Nonetheless, it was so droll to see a rugged version of a teenage icon.
I guess that all the girls saw a dream come true: Hermione's bottomless bag.
The image that was given to the new organization of the Ministry, along with their true-blood policy, seems to be a nazi hint.

Connectivity on the go...

I'll start this revival with some of my impressions regarding the fore-mentioned cutie.

It had been a while since I was envying all those smartphone owners around me, and when the opportunity showed up I tried to take full advantage of it. So after a long analysis, I settled my mind on the HTC Desire.

 ...and I can assure you that I don't regret it.

Like any other device it has its strengths and its weaknesses, but for the moment it matches all my requests. 

Here's an overview from the outside to the inside.
At first view, its design is very appealing and ergonomic. A great plus is the 3.7" AMOLED Screen (res. 480x800) which renders browsing and media interaction more than pleasant.
From a more technical point of view, the 1GHz CPU enables the gadget to manage heavy multitasking in the blink of an eye. The 400+ Mb RAM is satisfying; a slight weakness being the ROM (150Mb) which limits the amount of applications installed. On the other hand, the micro-SD card allows you to take all the photos and videos that you like and to carry your music everywhere with you, without worrying about the phone's internal memory.
Talking about photos and videos the phone comes with a 5MP camera, so no sharable instant is going to be lost no more; it can't replace a real camera (mainly because of the zoom capacity) but it was never meant to do so.
The real weak spot is the battery lifetime, since I've never been able to make it last more than 2 days during professional usage (email, calendar, rss feeds syncing all day, internet when needed all on 3G+, and several applications...) or one day on heavy duty (WIFI, multimedia, GPS navigaton, photos...). It is true that I never tried to save up power to the extreme, but in that case it would no longer have been a smartphone.
Last but not least is the OS, the Android 2.2 Froyo, coupled with the HTC Sense, which enables you to customize the widgets and shortcuts in the most convenient way for different situations. There are people who accuse Google of enslaving the users' personal data, but in my case that has more or less happened already (I've been using Gmail, Calendar, Documents, Maps, Blogger... for quite a while) and moreover, I think that this is better than being tied to the Apple system, which is basically the same thing...even worse.
In addition, the Market has become a real competitor of the AppStore without having the same imposed exclusivity.
For the ones interested, here are some applications that are worth a look: a task manager (Advanced Task Manager), an antivirus (Lookout), Blogaway (a Blogger Client), Gesture Search, Goggles, Shazam, Google Sky Map, gReader (a Google Reader client), Metal Detector...
For the high-end gadget fans there is also an HD version of the phone, with more looks and a bit more powerful, but for me this one is just all that I needed...not to forget that besides all these, it can call and be called and send and receive messages ;)

Returning...

Once again it has been a while since l last shared something on this blog. At the time I was spending some self-imposed holidays at home.

And a bunch of stuff changed have since as I've started a new chapter on the professional side of my life: working on a PhD project and thus extending my stay in Strasbourg by 3 more years.

So, in the last month I got my diploma, a job, a new house, made new friends and became mobile with this cutie, which I'm using to write this post.

See you soon!

Past-Future

It was assumed to be an alteration of the Matrix, it is a phenomenon that most people encounter several times in their lives; I, myself, have lived it pretty often. I'm talking about deja-vu.
Every once in a while it might feel like the same thing has already happened just the way it does at the time; and I want to know what is all of this about!
The thing is that there are no real theories behind the event; it can't be lab-s(t)imulated so it is nearly impossible to study it. So all the real ideas are as plausible as the fictional ones.
What's uttered is that deja-vu could be related to syndromes such as schizophrenia or anxiety or that it's a malfunction in the perception of memories, which would place stuff that happened milliseconds ago in a far distant period of time.

Opening the gate to other worlds, first we have dreams. The phenomenon is depicting something you've dreamed in a vivid moment; but dreaming something that particularly precise, ain't it wicked? (But I have a strong feeling that you'll be reading some other stuff about dreaming here soon.)
 There's also the Matrix proposition, but that's a bit far-fetched.
And so we're left with the final explanation, which I tend to embrace in a supernatural way of seeing things even though Fringe is not my cup of tea...drum-roll...Deja-vus are glimpses of memories from other dimensions that the person has already visited. So our minds go wandering from time-place to time-place and their keep little tokens that come up when you except the least.
I guess that makes us all visionaries (if we could trigger the reenactment at any given instant) or is my dark side darker that I thought, with its deja-vus any other month...

Far from being Despicable at all

Wits: 4/5
Story: 3.5/5
Perception: 5/5
Rating: 4/5 

Gru is a vilain, and one of the good ones. Now he needs to reinstate himself as the greatest of them all and to do so he has to aim up-high. But this time he needs more than his recurrent help and thus...the PowerPuff Girls are born...sorta...they're three little girls with similar behavior as the said cartoon characters but with no superpowers.

To paraphrase one of the girls: this movie is so funny I'm gonna die!!!
The general idea is not the newest on the market: a bad guy gone softer due to something/someone fuzzy and sweet showing up in his life, but the final product is worth its 3D ticket money. The roller-coaster ride is pretty awesome.
At the beginning it seemed to be a little slow and used-up, but it gets a real boost after ten minutes. I guess the thing is that Gru alone is just another Igor-like speaking villain, but all it really needs is some interaction with another character to let the fun come out.
Also, Thumbs-Up for the Minions who fill-up their part more than decently emphasizing on the less subtle side of humour, but funny nonetheless. The girls, in general, are OK, although I was not looking for the hearty part of the movie, so the little sister appealed to me more being the funniest of the three.  
If you go to see it in theatres wait for the first part of the credits also there are some amusing and enjoyable 3D sequences.
All in all, it's an entertaining animation with a good 3D finishing.










Funny - Spoiler Alert!!!

Agnes (the little one) is to die for. 
Personal fave: the fluorescent Minion
I don't know why but all of Vector's stuff look very Apple-ish which is ironic since he looks like a teenage Bill Gates
The Bank of Evil: formerly Lehman Brothers 
"Mr. Gru is nice / But scary / Like Santa"
GRU is actually the name of the new KGB

Ode to Chemistry - IYC 2011

Next year it's the International Year of Chemistry, and I consider this to be a huge opportunity for this field of activity to get a better image.
Nowadays the public opinion mostly ignores or associates this branch of science with all the bad stuff in the world. Well, it is time to spread out the word and bring out the coolness in Chemistry. As a chemist I can assure you that the opportunities in this domain are limitless and that without Chemistry, all the commodities that are today taken for granted would not have been possible. A shortlist would be:

• Medical and Pharmaceutical advancements 
• Transportation
• Technical and Device Development
• Energy
• Food
• Constructions
• Cosmetics
• Quality of living

...and many more

You would probably bring up the Environmental issue, but that is like saying that the Nuclear Bomb is the fault of Atomic Physics. The thing is, Chemistry has the capacity to clean-up after itself (it already provides the tools, you know...), all that is needed is that the humans really take the situation seriously and change their views and behavior.
So, for all the Chemists out there, do your job well and be good lobbyists! and for the non-Chemists widen your perspective on this amazing Science!

How the bash an epic story...

Acting: 1/5
Story: 2/5
Perception: 2/5
Rating: 2/5


I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it. So, it's my turn to trash it.
The movie is a remake of the 80s which follows Perseus' quest to save the world. For those of you who don't know, he's a demigod, son of Zeus, who wants to revenge his mortal family.
There's no delicate way to say it: the film is boring. The characters are predictable and linear, so even if the actors were good, you couldn't tell it out. Concerning the story, it was not supposed to be original (remake, remember!), but being an action movie some thrills were in order, but they're kinda washed out; not to mention the transitions from scene to scene, or the involvement of some characters.
The SFX and the CGI were ok, though not that spectacular to render the movie more attractive. It's true I didn't see it in a theater, but given the fact that everybody criticized the 3D conversion, I'm not sure that it would have mattered.
The only cool scene was the battle against The Medusa, but that's just not enough.
In conclusion, this movie could be skipped without much remorse. 








Stuff - Spoiler Alert!!!

I didn't understand why the film (even the original one) was called Clash of the Titans, the Gods are barely present, so why mention they ancestors. Speaking of the Gods, Hades really needed some throat pills. 
The two hunters seemed fun at the beginning, but they quickly became anachronistic and then disappeared with no reason. And the sort of prophet was creepingly annoying.
 Come on, a black Pegasus!
It's really intriguing how come Hollywood skipped this opportunity for another cheesy love story, because originally Perseus started the quest in order to win Andromeda's hand.



 

Imperfect is the new Good

With a slight 10 days delay here comes my input on Imperfect Harmonies, Serj Tankian's new album.

You might have guessed (or already known) that he's the vocalist from S.O.A.D. If you've listened to his first solo album Elect the Dead, you'll feel a change in style; if you haven't, FYI it is a back to the roots of SOAD.
Getting to this piece, the title suits the content entirely. It is a mix of soughing notes, disturbed rhythms, a good voice, some metal touches and synthesizer add-ons. I can't say that it was what I expected, but I'm impressed of the end-product; musical evolution can still go the right way. 
My SOAD background makes me mostly enjoy tracks like Left of Center (and therefore all of the previous album) but this one has a new harmony going on and deserves at least a full listening. It might appeal to you, System of a Down fan or not.

Every good movie carries a secret

Acting: 4.5/5
Story: 4/5
Perception: 4/5
Rating: 4/5


....this one has plenty.
If you think your family is weird, check this one out: a corrections officer father, a secretary mother, a teen son, a college daughter, a special guest and an acquaintance. And each one has a hidden secret...well, it is time to share!
The whole idea was cool, and the combination of the characters' various traits made it even better.
First of all Andy Garcia was brilliant, I'd watch the movie just for his performance. He might have Hispanic blood but he pulls out a true Italian. All the other characters revolve around him and fill in the story when needed in a very good way.
The setting completed the picture just enough, since not much was needed; all that counts are the people.
There are a couple of slight plot holes but that wouldn't change the flow of the story.
In the end, it's simply a good chill-out movie...just like the scape of City Island.










Stuff - Spoiler Alert!!!

Favorite scenes: the audition, this shows Garcia's skill, going from a disoriented prison guard to an out-of-his-minds bully back-and-forth in a matter of seconds, and of course the final act.
Personal opinion: the kid was pretty deranged...
The college paying stripper myth employed once more.
There are moments when time flies really fast, like when Vivian got out of the club in her robe...
Tony seems to be The One who makes everything fall into place, with some help from Molly's intrusions.

900 Eclipses

After a week of inactivity I return with a music related post, because today A Thousand Suns, the new Linkin Park album, is out.

I noticed some evolution in their sound, it's got a more emotional touch to it, but that doesn't mean this is an improvement.
Actually from the 10-12 real tracks, 2-3 are bearable, the rest is borderline wimping. It is sad when you think that the best album of a quite famous band, with a 10 years plus career,  is their first one, but that's the truth. Hybrid Theory was good, the others had respectful parts but never reached the initial force. This one is almost useless in my tracklist, since it lacks the original punch; because the purpose of LP in my music collection was to blow off steam after a long day...well, can't do that anymore, can I.

Disappointment!

Logic defing action story aka Cold-War Reloaded

Acting: 3/5
Story: 3.5/5
Perception: 2.5/5
Rating: 3/5

I went to see this movie with the hope that it would be different from what it seemed to be...and it was but not by much.
Being one of the most bombarding trailers out there, I guess you know what's supposed to be about. In short, some Russian spy points out an American agent, Evelyn Salt, to be in fact one of his fellow spies who would kill some president. After that we're dragged into a 1h+ action sequence consisting in chases, explosions, shoot-outs, infiltrations...
The double-agent mystery idea was quite a good one, and the there are some unpredictable twists in the plot, but it kinda ends up there. In addition, there's also a Cold War shiver that comes and goes that I find somewhat worn-out after two decades of Russian-American accords. 
I'm am not an Angelina fan so I can't say that I was impressed by her acting; for me she's a good support actress (Wanted, Mr. & Mrs/ Smith - yes Brad was the lead, she just followed up) not more (never seen Changeling and never will). On the other side Sabertooth was more convincing, not that he had tons of stuff to do.
Now comes the part that should have vouched for the movie, the action sequences, and, sadly, they were pretty disappointing, luckily with some exceptions. I get that she was a super-spy but there are laws that could never be broken and those are physics and common sense. The almost Matrix-like flying around or falling all over the places and getting up afterwards aren't good examples of obeying those two.
So, for me it isn't worth more than a movie night on the couch between friends.       









Noticed Facts - Spoiler Alert!!!

The Taser induced acceleration was almost hilarious. And so was the whole elevator shaft scene.
I noticed that she didn't need to much makeup to look like a guy :p
Who come that when they run in some subway station the escalator is never crowded so they can slalom easily?
If they're pulling a sequel after the more than exaggerated final scene, it is pure BS...
 I'm no biology expert, but I'm not so sure that one can extract the spider venom with a common syringe...
A highly dangerous suspect kept in a SUV with just two clumsy guard, instead of a full-packed van looks more like a joke.
Couldn't they get a real Russian to play the president?
...and this is just a short list of what I could remember. 

Castle

Here I go writing about another series: Castle

 
It is a police investigation series which started in 2009. But just as for The Mentalist, the action revolves around one non-police character, armed with a sky-high ego. In this case, it is a successful mystery author who goes by the name of Richard Castle. After deciding to kill he's star hero, he strikes a slightly writer's block. That's when he meets his new muse Detective Kate Beckett, and pulls up some strings to follow her around  for her cases.
The essence of the investigations is not extremely developed: some interrogations, few forensic scenes (but I don't miss that), a chase or two; and the solution of the cases usually comes on the spur of the moment.
But what holds everything together is the chemistry between Castle and Beckett, their small confrontations being delightful.
So if you enjoy slightly immature, egocentric, narcissistic, stubborn and big-mouthed characters, this is your thing.

Great vintage-looking animal adventures animation

Wits: 4/5 (of the characters, no real acting in an animation)
Story: 4/5
Perception: 4.5/5
Rating: 4/5

Mr. Fox was a very talented thief, but Mrs. Fox made him promise to give up this way of life. Now they've got a cub, and Mr. Fox writes a column in the Gazette but he still wants to pull up his final grand act. So he takes on the three sites neighboring his house.
Since their owners did not enjoy this and also being very mean, revenge came shortly after; the whole animal community getting affected and the situation becoming pretty complicated.
It is an animation movie, but a quite special one, the props being real puppets and thus creating a somewhat vintage look. Also the music is brilliantly chosen having its own charm.
The main character really fits Clooney like a glove, a talented action planner capable of evading impossible situations led by a strong ego (a Danny Ocean of the animal kingdom). But the most powerful character is Mrs. Fox, who influences her husband through the excellent voice of Meryl Streep.
I particularity enjoyed the opossum and his black-out sessions.
One tiny drawback from my point of view was the 100% anthropomorphism, but this didn't affect the movie as a whole. 
All in all, it is a very good pass-time picture, to be enjoyed in any situation.















Thoughts - Spoiler Alert!!!


Another drawback was the transvestite Ash (the son) at the end, the rest of the idea of a troubled teenager was ok in my book, but this was dumb.
All the animals had jobs, but what were they working for? The community? because I didn't catch any reference to some kind of currency, but the opossum did have a Titanium Card.
That rat was really creepy.
 The dead-eyes looked like XBox logos.

$$$-madness

The biggest and greediest movie BS in history. I didn't think much of Cameron's originality but he sewed all the stolen concepts pretty well to make the blockbuster Pandorean story.
So after that well molded forgery, he got to the next level: bloody highway theft. Not only that he has the first 2 Box-Office pictures, but also wants to rip-off everyone by releasing a long version of Avatar in theaters. 8 minutes were added to the film, and the price is even higher that a normal 3D movie (ex. in France it's about 15€ - full price) because it is only IMAX 3D.
I find this outrageous for all the people who bought the DVD, one of its purposes being to reveal the director cuts. There are 3D TVs now; it's almost as real as in cinema! These people should ask to pay only the IMAX extra, because 8 min on a 160 min movie is 5%, that means almost nothing, there are no changes in the story whatsoever.
I wonder if the guys who came with the idea were stuck that much in financial fertilizer that they wanted to suck every cent they could from the franchise. They have invented the infinite sequel (the infiniquel): let's add the time the actors spent in the bathroom and make a big campaign about it...
Also I heard that a real sequel might see the light of day, and that's just another BS. It took him 15 years to come up with unobtainium what will there be after only a couple more?!?!. This story has been told, Jakesully has nothing more to say, not that he had much to say in general, use the technology to create something new, and original this time; change the color theme for instance!

Gray Stock-market - part 1

Acting: 4/5
Story: 3.5/5
Perception: 3.5/5
Rating: 3.5/5


Noticing that a sequel was coming up soon I took a look at the original, and I was more than ok.
It is the story of stockbroker who's all focused on earning a spot between the Big Players. So he gets the attention of the slickest of them all and takes a shot at the opportunity. So the dark side of the business starts to become grimmer and grimmer and he has to make some difficult choices.
The main character (Sheen jr.) did his part fine but the real deal came from Douglas and Sheen, who were like the Devil respectively the Angel on Bud's shoulders. His struggle was convincing but not breath taking, but Douglas is one hell of a gray guy. You may think that I'm misogynistic but I didn't find the female lead too intriguing, maybe was because of the way this kind of roles were written and played at the time. Or the difference in perception nowadays: because a woman could be in the center of the plot today, but less probable back then.
Oh! and Cox guy has the same style as in Scrubs, just a different outfit. 
Technically it all came out well, but far from Apocalypse Now.
For a film almost as old as I am, things turn out positive.









 Stuff - Spoiler Alert!!!

I really pity that girl who lived as a decorator because I found her taste disturbing at least; I think that a slight caricaturisation was in mind.
Films like this, depicting everyday lives, point out the evolution of the technology that surrounds us; the mobile phones looked more than odd.
 

Gradina cu maracini

Sunt momente cand nu te mai poti abtine si simti nevoia sa iti exprimi indignarea. Acesta este unul dintre ele.

Niste prieteni vor veni intr-o scurta vizita in Romania, si printre altele vor sa vada Palatul Parlamentului; asa ca am inceput sa ma interesez in legatura cu modul si conditiile de vizitare. Evident, nu exista un site oficial al obiectivului turistic Palatul Parlamentului, desi este unul din locurile cele mai cunoscute de pe la noi; dar pe diferite pagini mai mult sau mai putin private se gasesc cat de cat informatii. Si aici vine gluma:
Iata diferitele tarife in functie de continutul vizitei (sursa):

• Vizita standard: 25 lei
• Vizita standard + subsol: 30 lei
• Vizita standard + terasa: 35 lei

Pana aici toate bune (preturi un pic cam mari dar locul merita), in plus lumea e pasionata mai mult de o terasa decat de o pivnita (desi depide ceea ce gazduieste pivnita respectiva); acum vine delicatesa :
Biletul cumulat Standard + subsol + terasa costa 45 lei, adica cu 5 lei mai mult decat suma suplimentelor individuale pentru terasa si subsol. In toate vizitele si excursiile pe care le-am facut in diferite tari care scot bani frumosi din turism, care, fara falsa modestie, sunt intr-un numar demn de luat in seama pentru a sustine premizele afirmatiei, un bilet cumulat era mai IEFTIN decat suma supliementelor; ei bine la noi, nu ca nu e egal cu respectiva suma, ci e mai scump.
Adaugand la asta faptul ca in calitatea sa de capitala europeana, Bucurestiul nu dispune de un ghiseu, fie el si cat un chiosc de bilete care sa aiba rolul de Oficiu de Turism si de unde sa poti primi diferite informatii, sau ca orice deplasare, pana la fosta Capitala a Culturii, spre exemplu, se desfasoara in timp record...de negativitate, toata povestea cu caricatura aia de frunza e mai mult decat o gluma proasta.
Nu de alta dar adevaratul brend de tara (eroare intentionata) tot aterizeaza la Baneasa cu curse charter de vreo cateva saptamani.

Cluelessness

There are certain surrounding phenomena that occur permanently but for which I fail to find an explanation. They just happen, like Murphy's Laws.

One of them is related to cords, like earphones, chargers etc. I guess you all noticed that no matter how or where you place them, I mean, neatly put in a corner of a drawer or just thrown on the table, when you'd want to reuse them after, let's say, 8 h later, they'd be all tangled-up. In my opinion there should be a public grant for the research on the wire morphing that could clarify this capacity of an apparently inanimate object to mix itself up.

The other one would involve time and its ability to dilate and contract depending on the activity or the lack of one. Actually, when you're doing something is quite normal not to see the time go by, but there are other situations that lack logic. Like, when you get bored and try to make the hours go by, but no matter what you do, even developing a new quantum mechanics theory, the clock will always show that only 2 minutes have passed.
There is also the opposite, and that happens to me a lot: sitting purposeless and doing infinitesimal stuff, and realizing after a quick glance at the clock that half a day just vanished. This, mixed up with the 'tonight I'm going to bed early' saying is a perfect self-fueling match-up.

If you have some personal thoughts or other experience that are beyond human reason please share.

Update: found a new one, that's generally true in my case even though there're many of you who would disagree. It's about getting up a couple of minutes before the alarm goes off, but on out-of-routine occasions. In general, one gets used to a schedule and thus the body is able to predict the getting-up hour; but when you have wake up a 6h30 on a Sunday morning to catch a train , things seem to get more difficult. Still, you are surprised to open your eyes and notice that it is 6h27. I guess there's some kind of latent adrenaline rush that bumps you out of bed at the exact moment, but I have no really idea about how that happens. 

A different kind of symphony

To keep last week's trend, this Wednesday will be a music dedicated one also.
This time I'll briefly talk about the new Apocalyptica album 7th Symphony, which came out two days ago.

Sincerely, I liked it. It is clear that they've evolved from the group that played Metallica songs on cellos and that the drums, added a while back, complete their surprising and wicked sound.
I prefer mostly the pure instrumental stuff, the voiced pieces being a bit less impressive, getting close to any other alternative band. But this is a general pattern with all the albums; still there were some exceptions over the years.
For those interested, there's even a touch of death metal in it with the lead of Gojira on one of the songs. (hope I didn't mess up the genres because the guttural singing is not my thing)
So if you enjoy metal on cellos give it a try, it won't hurt.

Magic = Science?...Special Effects' Science!

Acting: 3.5/5
Story: 3/5
Perception: 4/5
Rating: 3.5/5 (with some advantage upon Prince of Persia)



The new Disney/Bruckheimer The Sorcerer's Apprentice is like any other Disney, but on SFX steroids.
The story is quite linear, but with one or two didn't expect that moments. It's mainly about a physics nerd who is meant to be a great sorcerer, but first of all he'll need to learn to use his magic. This is where Cage comes up, him being his master. The purpose of all this is to stop another sorcerer to free a witch from a nesting doll, thus allowing her to cast a super-spell and rule the world.
The actors did their job decently, the main character masters his uncoordinated nerdiness without looking lame. Even Cage is likable, with his know-it-all teacher like mild arrogance. And Molina is simply genuine. I was disappointed by the girl, who was nearly void, lacking charisma; Gemma got to me ;)...I can't tell if she's worse that Megan Fox, but I must admit that I can't be 100% objective.
This brings us to the fun part: the effects. Like I said this movie is basically on steroids and there are some really awesome stuff, and some funny ones also. I can't say more and thus spoil the fun.
What I also liked is the physics/science - magic parallel, and some of the explanations and facts generated from this. You don't need spirits and other stuff like that to do magic; magicians are one sort of special people, and so are scientists. Let's not forget that many discoveries and inventions were and still are considered and, even blamed to be, magic.
All in all, a 110 min enjoyable story wrapped in a thick special effects layer. If you like magic and don't mind the Disney touch on a movie you should check it out in a theater. There's a short hint to a possible sequel after the credits, but if you're in a hurry it doesn't worth the trouble.

Almost unrelated fact:
this is a PG rated movie, well...when in a theater, as most people know, there are trailers before the movie, and the persons in charge of this decided that the best choice in this case would be a PG-13 (Salt), that was like a walk in the park comparated to the 2 R-rated movies (Piranha 3D, and the lame-looking Youth in Revolt - a totally prefer Baruchel over Cera, he was borderline OK in Juno and Superbad but he never grew up)












 Stuff - Spoiler Alert!!!

The Cleaning Scene was cool - borrowed from Fantasia as I heard; and the big time magic tricks, like the car chase and the inanimate animals reanimation, were bad-ass.
Getting back to the girl: when he explained the whole situation to her, she didn't panic nor told him to go and get treated, she just went along like a sheep, not to mention the climbing up a tower to deflect an antenna which transmitted something that she couldn't see.
If you were wondering...a Tesla coil could really do those kinds of lightning bolts, the problem is: a kid would never have the means and permits to build such stuff. But I couldn't be more happier to see that his won through science, even though I saw it coming ;)
A good thing related to the story is the fact that the accomplishment of the main character is not 100% generated by love but more by a boost in self-esteem, which is more likely to be the true human nature.
Also, what is to learn from this is that good guys have friends, bad guys have people who can still be useful
Last but not least (for Persephone' sake), Monica Bellucci is getting older.

Home Sweet Home

Reading one of Rucsy's posts reminded me of something that it wanted to talk about: the idea of 'home'.

Once, when returning from one of my field trips, and as the train got closer and closer to Lyon I told myself: 'Almost home...' then I realized that the saying 'Where I lay my self is Home' kinda suits me (See that rock that's my pillow! - geek joke)
So after a deeper analysis it got to me...home is where I live long enough so that the any occurring external stay would seem relatively short. For example, a place where I lived 6 months is considered home compared to a couple of weeks round-trip out and back in that place; this could even extend to a one day trip during a week long stay. For instance, and this is a bit sad, I often recall more of a I'm home feeling coming back to, let's say, Strasbourg after a 2 weeks holiday at my True Home.
In this case I would say that I have no home, since I don't associate the universally generated feeling for Home with a particular place or surroundings. Or, more poetically, the whole Planet is my Home, which might be actually true...even though there are rooms that I prefer to others. 
I guess that in my mind the notion of home is related to routine, to the ordinary everyday life, once again time-relative. And it would seem that it has nothing to do with a specific environment or certain people (parents most likely). Because I do get the fuzzy felling when I'm about to see close family and old friends but it is not dictated by geographical coordinates.
In short, Home = spot where I currently live and hold an activity, more of a HQ.
So, am I a mechanical nutcase that doesn't get what really matters out there?...your turn, now: Where's or What's your Home?

Hollywood pure action with a fun touch - No brains attached

During my last trip, I had plenty of train time that needed to be spent, so aside from the napping and the horizon gazing, I also watched some stuff. First I started with Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, and after 40 minutes I got really bored and gave up. So if you've seen the movie and think that it is worth watching 'till the end let me know.
The movie I watched instead was no great cinematographic achievement but kept me from falling asleep. So here it is: The Losers.

 Since I've been asked to give a more detailed rating system I will do my best and comply.

Acting: 3/5
Story: 2.5/5
Perception (video, audio, SFX and stuff): 3.5/5
Total Rating: 3/5
 
The story is comics-inspired: a group of special forces, The Losers, who are basically the last resort of the American Army, is...let's say...double crossed and so, they find themselves a helicopter ride away from death. Now, they have to get passage to the States and also get revenge, clear their names, so on and so forth. Their opportunity comes in a not-so-bad form of the former a shorter, less blue, more human  Na'vi feminine lead. And afterwards there's military/black-ops stuff going around with some inevitable complications.
The actors are far from playing their carrier roles, and moreover some of them aren't that convincing. I mean the Sniper-guy...I get it: he's not the talkative type, but he lacks credibility in being a bad-ass; he looks more like someone who's playin' it cool but who's got no lines. The boss is another one: he tries to play it tough like Hugh Jackman, but he's more of a...as we would say it in Romanian... 'Hugh Jackman with chickenpox...'
The others were OK, with special credit to the Human torch and The Pouch (for cracking the atmosphere up) and to The Bad Guy, even if he's more than exaggerated.
The dynamics is enjoyable, the movie doesn't loose momentum, which is what kept me going. And there are some good fun parts. On top of that, the explosions, gun fights and all as a Hollywood trademark don't disappoint, some of them being really awesome, but the comic book influence takes over and sometimes the characters gain too much superpowers (dodging bullets, pinpoint shooting...).
There's also some romance lost in between bullets, but it's only useful to spark up the action, no real chemistry in my opinion; Jake and Gemma did a lot better.
For me, this movie doesn't match two Burn Notice episodes in a row, but did just fine in the given conditions. One question still stands: why are they called The Losers?









Personal observations - Spoiler Alert!!!

The whole rocket launcher scene is huge, but soooo implausible, how come that the bad guys never-ever react?!...3 bullets and would have been over...All hail Deus Ex Machina!!!

Pouch quote: "I'm the black MacGyver! BlaGyver!"
I don't know if the expected gains were reached, but I'm guessing that a sequel might be in sight
At some point, I find that the Boss vs. Traitor combat started to get too far-fetched: End it off already! and when it did a motorcycle flew into an airplane, so it was quite worth the wait...

Iron...Cat-Lady

On Aug 16th, the new Iron Maiden album was shot into space: The Final Frontier

Yesterday, I got my hands on a copy...actually my ears, and unfortunately I wasn't quite thrilled of what I heard. I know that it's been a while that people say that Maiden serve the same dish passed through a different blender, but the last one had been quite OK in my book. This time on the other hand, it's just not enough. I mean even for my unprofessional hammer, anvil and stirrup the new album sounds like A Matter of Life and Death all-round, which is claimed to be a mesh of other stuff from before. It's more than the same dish, it has even been chewed up for you.
The album follows the same 10 track pattern, last one being some sort of preachy moral piece which start with a soft intro. 
The skill is still there, no doubt about it, but there's no more soul left, not to mention the inspiration. All that remains are some stretched-out tracks that are only impressive thanks to the technique.
I'll listen to a good Piece of Mind or even Fear of the Dark, to wash out the disappointment.

Brussels'...Flowers

Last weekend was a rail-trip one.
This time I didn't climb the heights but I "climbed" the map, all the way up to Belgium and The Netherlands.
I did this so I could see the Flower Carpet in Brussels and also some friends from the Benelux area.
The Flower Carpet is an event that takes place every other year, and since I could not see it last year during my 4 month stay, I wanted to make it up to my tourist-self this year.
After a 4h train ride (1h for a station switch in Paris), I arrived in the heart of the (still) Belgian capital.
The city center was crowded like I've never seen before, nearly gave me agoraphobic symptoms.
Anyway, after a good 10 min "swim" in the "human being swamp" I managed to reach the Grande Place and see the sea of slightly faded petals.

I was a bit disappointed that there was no blue in the combination, but the entire design was nice and the image in its whole quite impressive and difficult, if not impossible, to catch with a non-wide lens camera.

In fact, it was necessary to get onto the City Hall balcony in order to have a nice view; this also gave a good opportunity to see some of the awesome interiors of this City Hall, which is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.
The opening night, on the previous Thursday, would have been another great moment, thanks to the light/sound/fireworks show. So, it still needs to be done another time.

I'd like to use this post so I could share my infinite knowledge once more regarding some things in Brussels.
What's to see?
The City Center, with Grande Place/Grote Markt, the bladder-issued statue of Mannaken Pis, The Royal Palace (open for visits in August), Brussels Park; for culture fans there's the Magritte Museum (Modern Art) and some other museums (all in one place)...really like a Museum Mall and the Cathedral
A little further there is the somewhat big Cinquantenaire Park;
and even further:

• The Atomium (whose interior doesn't worth much, also the view from up top isn't that interesting)
• Mini Europe which is quite fun
• for the far-oriental culture passionate, the Chinese Pavilion and The Japanese Tour which are pretty fascinating

Eating
Generally, the restaurants in the central area are tourist bluffs which is also true for the 7-layered waffles.
All the restaurants near the Royal Galleries are far from being true restaurants there more like a fast-food type of wannabe Belgian restaurants.
Concerning the waffles, the Brussels ones, are rectangular and rather crispy and the Liege ones are softer, rounder and sweeter (there are actually chunks of sugar inside) and the only traditional coating is sugar.
Other pure fat Belgian specialties are the French Fries, which I personally find nauseating, and the Chocolate, which ranges from brown sweet fat paste to pure ecstasy.

This brings us to the last but definitely not the least Belgian key product: Beer. There are more than 600 types of beer, so even if you say that you hate this beverage there's one that you'll find attractive for sure. There are Braseries everywhere in Brussels, and especially in the City Centre; some that I visited and enjoyed are: The Delirium Café (Guinness World Record for the longest Beer Menu), Mort Subite, La Porte Noire, Poechenellekelder...
This year I returned to the Délirium, and I was sadly surprised that on the Ground Floor (it's a 2, even 3, stories bar) only tap beers were served, and no bottled ones.

That should be all with this guide.
But I still have a question, a train related one: do you ever feel the need of taking off your shoes when you're in a train? Because I noticed this a lot and I am deeply intrigued by this practice. I mean, it's a shared space, I don't have a hidden desires of seeing other people's socks or toes, not to mention bringing other senses into question...

Consume or Be Consumed

A couple of hours ago, I did my weekly survival shopping and I couldn't help noticing the staff of the supermarket (the Crossroads one) and especially the phrase printed on the back of their work uniform:
Comment je peux vous aider à mieux consommer?
  ( fr. for How could I help you so you would consume better?)
 Well, the English translation might be a bit shady, here consume means eat, drink, use and all other regular activities you might have with their products. But I emphasize the use of this verb: with all the debates about reducing all sorts of consumption (energy, water, food...) and having a more responsible way of life, the Economy Bosses are still developing the idea of a consumption society. I mean they could have said: How could I help you so you would choose better?, but NO, our brain must be focused on consuming, on spending money in a mechanical manner.
I would go even further and point out alternative meanings of this verb which are: use up, deplete...
This could be, in fact, the next unfortunate step the human society has to take. But, I'm am not here to overthrow the system, because, sincerely, I don't know a better one, I just want to point out the more or less subliminal messaging. So my advice would be: keep the Machine going but be careful with that Warning indicator, it has to become the priority and replace the speedometer.

Something that has less to do with consumerism but more with velocity: why do people feel the need to slow down their walking pace or even stop in the middle of a way where there are no possibilities of passing them (like escalators, tight corners, door ways...); and I've noticed that the probability increases when you're in a hurry.

Off-topic no.2: Another stringent need of pedestrians is to spread out on bike paths even though the rest of the sidewalk is free, and often to got deaf at the same time; also, the more difficult to avoid they are, the slower they walk...

Mid-aged couple adventures...or not

 Rating : 2.5/5

I was bored once and this was the best thing that I could come up with.
As you probably guessed a mid-age couple goes out on a fancy date to break from the daily routine and this routine gets more than broken. Well all this happens when they get tangled up in the web of some blackmail story because they pretended to be another couple and 'stole' their restaurant reservation. Afterwhich the hell of more-or-less funny doubtfully-probable situations breaks loose.  
This leads to gun shooting, a bit too shabby for some 'pro' thugs, and a pretty cool car chase. Actually the chase was the most interesing moment of the movie.
The rest of it screams average comedy, there are funny moments from time to time but nothing extraordinary.  
 The acting was not bad, actually there was an almost real couple chemistry going on. I guess that they would work out more than fine in a stand-up show; no need of all the cinematographic resources put out for this one.












Spoiler Alert!!!


I mostly enjoyed the restaurants scenes the Will-I-am and Sam-I-am ones included...another detail pointing out that all that mattered was the comedian potential of the actors. 

Cat on a Hot Slate Roof...

This late afternoon, through the window of my 6th floor...

Monkey Business

Here is an interesting study on TED:





Now, some personal comments:

There is a slight difference between the 'coin' insertion in human society and the one done in this study. The coins appeared as a development of the barter system, because it got difficult to transport and exchange merchandise for other merchandise. In the the monkeys case, there was no economic development, the currency was artificially introduced into their existence. So they still function on a barter system: the give away their useless chunk of metal in order to get very useful food. And they know that more trinkets mean more food so they steel the coins from others; this only proves the slick savage side in humans...
Also, they don't save up the coins; well, this option was never revealed to them, every time, one shinny disc equals food; this is also a false comparison with our society, because we save up money but do bad investments...This thing could only show is that there are no scientist monkeys to wonder what it would happen if 2 coins would be given away.
Last thing, about the gain/loss study, it is purely psychological, in one case there is a chance of winning nothing which we want to avoid and in the other one of losing nothing, which is more appealing. Faced with the 2 situations at once we would probably admit that they equivalent, but something inside makes us act in one way or the other. For the monkeys this thing is more visual, but I guess it resides in the same behavior pattern as us, only difference is that the monkeys can't evaluate probabilities...you will surely say that this was one of the aspects of the study; true, but still, I wanted to say this and to add that with statistics anything can be proved all that matters is how the topic is approached.

All in all, we have residual instincts which need to be channeled in precise directions and not to be left to wander and take control of purely rational decisions.

Unfortunately not the Last Yawn-Render

Rating : 2/5


Everyone told me not to see, but I just didn't listen...
It all happens in a fantasy world where people are directly related to natural elements. Therefore, there are 4 coexisting nations: air, water, earth and fire. Among each one of them there are individuals capable of manipulating (bending) their respective element. And there is ONLY ONE person who can bend all 4, and that's the Avatar, who on top of that can communicate with the spirits, and whose purpose is to maintain the balance in the world.
At some point this Avatar disappears, and the things go slightly to pot because one of the nations wants to control the world...the Fire nation, who else?!
The film starts with the return of the Avatar, but who only masters his birth-element, and thus leaves on a quest to learn the other 3, also liberating the villages on his way. Of course, the Firey boys (an annoying commander on one hand, and the banished FireKing's son on the other) don't quite appreciate this and want to capture him.
The plot has potential but it was presented in a sloppy way. It shifts from narration to dialog at strange moments, with no reason.
The movie is short (1.5h) so it doesn't develop much of the story but on the other hand it tends to bore you. I was expecting some awesome element fights all the way, but you get a total of 5 minutes of those, the rest is cliched dialogs up the wazoo and some kind of kung-fu ballet done by one side while the opponents sit around and watch. The "combats" really look more like turn-based strategy than real action.
From time to time, there are some beautiful landscapes but that doesn't counterbalance the whole; because the acting doesn't help either. You might get attached to one of the characters (mostly the Responsability-issued or the Daddy-issued) but it's only because of the idea they represent and not because of their performance.
One last thing, the 3D is a major BS, there is a tiny perspective but nothing that the mind couldn't develop on its own without paying extra.







Sorry...but this one doesn't deserve spoilers!

A genuinely pictured madhouse mystery

Rating : 4.5/5


Finally had the guts to see it and it was worth it.
It takes place on an island (you guessed it: Shutter Island) where people who've been charged for different crimes and declared mentally deranged are being held and more or less treated. There, a "patient" is gone missing and thus a marshal (DiCaprio) and his partner (future Bruce Banner/Hulk in the Avengers Movie) come to the island in order to investigate the situation.
The set-up is very well drawn and the atmosphere is quite genuine with no useless exaggerations: on day light the place looks like any other hospital, but when it gets darker everything becomes gloomy, that is also when the tension starts to rise. The music and the colorful flashbacks have their own role in this, too.
The acting is solid in general (Leo and Ben Kingsley aka The Big Doctor Boss are the key elements the action is knitted around) and as the plot develops you become more and more connected to the main character and his beliefs, living the scenes as you where directly involved.
Even after seeing the movie twice (it enlightens details a lot) there are still some small loose ends that aren't put together and this would be the only downside of it.
Another great thing is that the movie develops a whole debate topic through is briliant last line, and there are not many films that do so recently.
Probably this years Oscar will have as main competitors Inception and Shutter Island, but my favorite still remains Inception because of the more brainy side of the mystery, its dynamics and....why not its SFX, even though the ounce of philosophy-related message is held by Shutter Island.






Clarifications/Questions??? - Spoiler Alert!!!


First, I would like to have your thoughts on one thing: my guess is that at the end he's still aware of his true identity (Andrew) but plays along so he would get lobotomized as a sort of self punishment and escape; what do you think?
The boat trip at the beginning happens in his head or it was for real?
It is stunning how deranged people can point out the truth so easily: Ward C scene with the "Roarshach" guy...

Personal thoughts(more general than movie-related):
1. That was really one fucking ugly tie
2. Is it me or Leo has become a magnet for parts of husbands with troubled wives(Revolutionary Road, Inception, Shutter Island)? Anyway, he does it very well
3.It seams that good/interesting movies come from worlds where anything can happen like a madman's mind or a dream...

Motored-Homes

I've been living and working in Lyon for more than 4 months now ( less than 2 to go...) and every day I have to take public transportation to get from one to another.
A part of this daily route involves a bus taking a strip of highway, and not any highway...the A7 highway. For those of you who don't know: the A7 connects Lyon to Marseille and the famous Côte d'Azur area; on top of that, it is also the extension of the A6 highway, which comes straight down from Paris.
At this time of the year this looong patch of asphalt is the traffic jam paradise and the drivers' nightmare, because every western European living above the 45° lat N who wants to get to the French Mediterranean shore by car has to go through here. And this brings me to the topic of this babbling post: tourist transportation...travel trailers or caravans to be more precise.
Being stuck in traffic, I have all the time I need to study the diversity of the vehicles surrounding the bus. So after a thorough research I came to the conclusion that about 5 - 10% of the tourist cars are travel trailers; and a crushing majority from The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
The question is: why would you want to spend your holidays in a caravan?
It small, tight and crowded. You have to clean it more thoroughly than a car. You have to live on a camping site so you could use it...and, thus, be surrounded by others; and my guess is that these wonders of automotive industry are less soundproof than a hotel room. You also have to charge it up and empty all the recipients...
If you own it you must take care of it the rest of the year when it will be taking up space in your garage. If you don't own it you have to hire it every year. Moreover, there are special traffic limitations that apply to you but not to the other cars. Ok it can be useful if you have to drive in shifts to get somewhere, but upon arrival I want a real bedroom. I mean what kind of holiday is that where your jammed in less than 10m² with all the facilities crushing you; I lived for 5 years in 10m² rooms and there are better options, especially if you need to rest and enjoy your time.
You will tell me that with a caravan you can stay anywhere...maybe..if you have enough power. But isn't it more "genuine" if you would stay in a small hotel and get your tent and backpack when you're in the mood for some wilderness?
I didn't do the maths to sum up the expenses, but my rough guess is that you don't make too great savings so that the trouble would worth it. 
Just sayin'...so, what are your thoughts on these motored-homes?

Moving Tunnel

China has the world's largest population, and as any other population, the Chinese people need means of transportation. Therefore, they will soon get the biggest buses....so big that the other vehicles will go underneath the giant. 

This concept is called 3D Express Coach.
The bus will be 4-4.5 m high and could carry about 1200-1400 passengers.
The distance between the "floor" and the road would be about 2 m, so cars could easily get under. Trucks on the other hand will be detected upon approach and a warning would be emitted. The same thing will happen for cars getting too close to the wheels.
The "moving tunnel" will be passenger-fed through the doors in the ceiling.

The even better part is that the vehicle will be powered by electrical and solar energy for a top speed of 60 km/h; and their use would reduce traffic jams.

The less fun part starts here: the new bus will also need new adapted roads, because I find it difficult to see this one take a roundabout or a 90° turn. So all the routes have to be built, and this could be less environment friendly.
Anyway, it seems that the works for the first strip of road will start by the end of 2010, so with the Chinese determination the 3D will be ready to roll by 2012.

You Will Be Unprepared - Sucker Punch (2011)

The other day Jeremy was talking about a movie coming out next year, Sucker Punch. So, here's the trailer :

It takes place in a mental institution, where the patients (for what I could figure out, mostly female ones) regress inside their subconscious and create their own world were they "fight against the oppression".
The movie is directed by Zack Snyder, known for 300 and Watchmen. Personally I adored 300, but I found Watchmen a bit to slow; as it turns out from this trailer this one shouldn't have that problem.
Also, it's basically pure artistic action/violence in it's most attractive forms: fantasy, war-zone, SF, gangster-style...and with some charming center characters. I guess that after the spartan muscle-sculptures more delicate human beings were called out to serve as entry magnets.
Anyway, I'll be looking forward for the long trailer, and probably the movie itself.

The WorldWideWeb in numbers

I got this video from a friend, and it's impressive:



There are 1.73 billion internet users (actually almost 2 billion today), compared to 1.1 billion undernourished people and 1.4 billion who don't have access to water (the same number as the email users).
In percentage terms the European continent is the most internetized one.
The social networking concept exploded about 5 years ago; today its greatest representative, Facebook, has 6 million views per minute...I wonder how many of them are during working hours... :p
Another phenomenon is YouTube, with an average of 182 videos/month, which means 6/day...that's about half an hour (at least these were 4 minutes well used)
A strong proof that something is wrong with this world is the fact that the most followed Tweeter user is...Ashton Kutcher (4.25 million people are nourished by his wisdom)

All this information flow has also its bad seeds: 80% of email is spam and 150 k zombie computers spawn each day; you could say that it's not much compared to the almost 170 million computers existing on the planet...but 150k today, 150k tomorrow and we get the computer version of Zombieland/I am Legend/ 28 Days After...or any other infected-mindless-walking-dead-based movie.

Ecologically speaking one Google search generates 7g of CO2, so in two clicks you get the same carbon footprint as an electric kettle. Actually, 2 small nuclear plants would be needed to power up all the Google servers worldwide.
Know that the "clean" information technology field is responsible for 2% of the greenhouse effect gas emissions.
Last sad fun-fact: a SecondLife avatar has the same yearly energy consumption as a Brazilian citizen (1752kWh).

So by reading this blog (one in 126 million) you add 0.2g CO2/s into the ecosystem, but now you're aware of it ;)

Burn Notice

Today I'll write about another series that I started watching after reading about it in some newspaper: Burn Notice.

The DVD-cover makes things a little more interesting, ain't it? :p well, the idea is that a super-spy, Michel Westen, gets fired (technically speaking burnt) in the middle of a mission, and afterwards, he is city-arrested in Miami (it could not have been Kearney, Nebraska, could it?). There, helped by his slightly gun-obsessed ex and by another more or less special ops buddy he tries to get out of the pickle he's in and to make some money by doing different jobs. Thus, each episode revolves around a job and also adds pieces to his burn notice puzzle.
The action is very dynamic, there are surprising situations and cleverly funny moments; all in all, 40 min of cool entertainment. Moreover, the main caracter always provides out-of-the-ordinary sollutions, in a classy more sophisticated MacGuyver way.
I'm not sure that this "magic" around a spy capacities isn't as thin as the one in all the forensics series; but, here, I'm out of my field of expertise so I'm just enjoying the show. If you have a reliable confirmation that all he does is BS, enlighten me; I would still be watching it, but more as a fictional series.
One tiny personal disappointment would be that his ex "adapted" to the new environment and quit her "leprechaun" accent, but I heard that it will come back to her from time to time. :)