Merry Christmas!

Live from the best city of the world, I wish you all blah, blah, blah, blah and happy christmas!

The city is quiet this morning, everyone is still sleeping and resting after celebrating christmas' eve.
So I've decided to take my camera and walk around town on this cold Christmas morning.

And, in case you still don't know, the best city of the world is Porto ;-)

Ho, ho, ho!

ps: do you know why Santa Claus says "ho, ho, ho!" and pirates say "yo, ho, ho!"? Me neither!

Avatar 3D

This is the real deal for 3D movies! What an experience! Ok, maybe the plot itself is nothing extraordinary, plus the love story. But the movie is worth for the cinematic experience.

The director James Cameron spent years to develop the right technology to direct his "dream" movie, not so much for the 3D but to create his avatars, or virtual actors, in order get them the most perfect as possible.
The first time you see a Na'vi (the people from Pandora planet) you may say "No, you can see it's computer generated". It's true. But as the movie develops you start to notice the small details and the facial expressions. Even if it wasn't perfect all the time, from a moment on I was really convinced that there was a "person" inside the Na'vis.

The world of Pandora is beautifully represented, with amazing landscapes and a very rich fauna and flora.
One problem regarding the 3D, it's colour quality. During the movie I removed my 3D glasses and I saw a significant difference regarding colours and contrast. I plan to watch the 2D version, because I believe the glasses remove part of the Pandora richness.

Regarding the story itself, it's a normal love story (where the guy pretends/fakes to be someone else to infiltrate but then falls in love) and where the hero change sides in order to defend his beliefs. Then, some parts of the plots/characters could have been better, like the typical speech to the "troops" before the battle (yes, in a "Braveheart" kind of way).

I totally recommend "Avatar" in 3D, but at least you should watch this movie on a big BIG screen! You won't notice the 3 hours length :-P

A Christmas Carol 3D

Christmas is already here, so it means the movies for this season have already arrived. Usually I avoid this kind of cliché movies, but this year there was an interesting candidate.

I believe last time I went to a theater for a Christmas movie it was for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"... with Jim Carrey too, yes.
What pulled me to watch "A Christmas Carol" was the technical side, because there's a big improvement from movies like "The Polar Express" or "Beowulf".

The story we all already know: old man, named Scrooge, who hates Christmas, is visited by 3 ghosts and at the end he changes completely overnight... literaly! :-)

The quality of the computer animated characters is very good and we can see all Scrooge's details.
But I was disappointed with the 3D. Honestly this movie could really skip the 3D version because it doesn't bring anything special.

One problem with 3D movies is... the subtitles! Subtitles are rendered in first plan, giving you the idea the movie is playing behind! So it makes very very hard to focus and very hard to notice the movie in full 3D, because you keep focusing at different distances (not to mention the headaches!).

Let's see what "Avatar" has to show... I'm really waiting to be astonished! ;-)

Paranormal Activity

The ultimate horror movie? Well, these days marketing is the best tool to get clients... and audiences (like Microsoft does with Windows!).

I had a strong curiosity to watch this movie: horror movie, home made, unknown actors, a strong online buzz... and it was based on true events. Well... it had "Blair Witch Project" written all over it!

I enjoyed the movie. It stays 95% away from the Hollywood clichés... still, the ending is not the original one. Accordingly to the rumors, director Steven Spielberg suggested to change the ending but to keep the rest of the movie intact. I suppose the original one wasn't a seller.

Is also interesting to watch at the movie theater just to see how people react to the best scenes. Here you don't have music to create suspense, neither a shaky camera running all the time... so the final result can be very thrilling.
The story is told in a slow pace, so we can better know the characters and their beliefs. Every night, when the camera records every minute, is when the anxiety tends to rise. Everyone wonders what's going to happen, in a very natural way without the typical Hollywood tricks.

What didn't I like? Well, the movie trailer shows some of the best scenes and almost shows the end of the movie! I wasn't surprised some of the time "thanks" to the trailer! :-P
And I was also "sad" to see the ending was changed by request! So the concept of amateur/home made movie is lost somewhere.

The original movie trailer show an audience completely scared (read: marketing), but the problem is that audience didn't know what movie they were about to watch. For sure it was more scary for them than for everyone else.

Either way, it's a good movie to watch with popcorns and some scared friends. It was the first time I've witnessed a FULL audience screaming! (no, not me... thanks to the movie trailer! *sigh*). But you still find those who laugh... just to decompress ;-)

The Blair Witch Project is still my favourite one! ;-)

Happy nightmares...

Portugal around the corner

When you're abroad, a good way to find a bar of your preference is by looking at the outdoor beer sign: Guiness stands for irish bar, Foster's for australian, Budwiser for american (yes, it's a "beer"), Corona for Mexican, Franziskaner for German... and if you want a Portuguese bar, well, just follow the red light ;-)

Today I found this one by chance... I think it's a good sign for today. It's the FIFA World Cup 2010 stage draw... and these were the results for Portugal:

Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast and... Portugal!

It's going to be a crazy World Cup! Let the party begin with samba and Super Bock ;-)

Capitalism: A Love Story

After the gun industry, the 9/11 attacks and the healthcare system, the director Michael "Provocative" Moore is back. This time the "victim" is... the capitalism and he takes the subject very personal.

After watching this movie I realized the EUA can be the land of the dreams and the land of the worst nightmares at the same time.
Of course this financial "crisis" problem isn't anything new and we all know the global impacts. The curious thing about this movie is to unfortunatelly see how people are taken care of. On the other hand it makes you guess where the world is heading.

Michael Moore tries to show us the downside of the financial "crisis" (yes, there's a upside but that's for the bloodsucking CEOs).
Do people really need all that money? Like if they're going to live forever to enjoy those stupid fortunes!
How can governments let be played like puppets?

I recommend you this movie, because it's painfully entertaining and you will watch some curious images, like President Ronald Reagan getting orders from Merrill Lynch's CEO at the time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTcL6Xc_eMM. No comments!

Power to the people! :-)

[REC] 2

The spanish directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza bring the sequel to their first "[REC]" movie, and prepare for more shacky camera horror... and action.

"[REC] 2" is beyond the sequel concept, because the storyline happens some minutes (hours?) after the end of the first movie. This time there's a special operations team and a doctor who enter the building to find out more what's going on.

I prefered the first movie (although it wasn't all original) because the story was well paced, good acting and with a nice end (yes, it reminded me "The Blair Witch Project" ending).
The second movie disappointed me a little bit. The directors put too much attention on the gore part, more action and some lack of ideas on how to... scare. The characters don't convince much either. But there are some nice surprises too...

The movie opens in France in December, but I managed to go to the premiere in the presence of the directors. If you saw the first movie, maybe you could watch the sequel... but I think you can pass...



ps: this week opens the long waited "Paranormal Activity"... real chills are waiting ;-)

Paris by Toys 'R' Us

From time to time I like to check what are the new toys on the market (don't laugh, I could check worst things! ;)
My last visit to Toys 'R' Us store was a "shocking" surprise! eheh I know they have toy guns and other "dangerous" toys, but I could never imagine they could use Lego in a bad way! :-P

In one of the stores in Paris they have Lego models from two of the most famous tourist attractions: the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and the Eiffel Tower.
From distance, the two Lego constructions looked great... until I took a closer look! eheheh What did they do to "decorate" the tower base? Cops, firefighters, police cars, helicopters and lots of ambulances!

Wait! Is Eiffel Tower really like this? Well, it's true this place isn't recommended at very very late hours, but it's never like this mayhem! eheheh

Yes, there were even Lego men parts (!) scattered around: legs, torsos, etc... what a massacre! :-D

New Moon (but same old story)

I'm still punishing myself for watching this movie! :-P I know my movie pass allows me to watch any movie at any time... but there should be some warnings at the ticket office, like the ones you already know: you can't use your mobile or camera during the movie, no animals allowed, movie not suitable for kids, you can't take off your shoes, and stuff like that :-P

This time, there should be a big red alert sign, with a flashing light and sound, like when there's an emergency on a nuclear power plant: "Alert! Alert! This movie is too girlish for you to watch!"

I watched "New Moon" for the same reason I watched the first Harry Potter movie: it was based on a series of books everyone was talking about. Potter books were supposed to be for kids and the movies were/are catchy, but there's still a child touch that can please almost everyone.

"New Moon" is a little bit different because it has written "girls only" in almost every scene and dialogue line. I think it surpasses "Sex and The City" movie (yes, I say think because I didn't watch this one! eheheh).

Vampires are pale on the face only (the rest of the body no - a movie goof) and werewolfs... well, they are shirtless all the time.

But I had some fun with this movie. How? Well, it was funny to watch the audience (read: girls) reaction everytime characters held hands, almost kissed... it was general screaming! :-P

The very best was the movie finale, not because it ended, but because the climax was so... so... cheap soap opera! :-P

Well... I have to watch a movie to compensate this one. I'm waiting for "Paranormal Activity" to feel the audience screaming for real! ;-)

Road to World Cup 2010

Another great football night and Portugal is qualified for the final stage for next year's FIFA World Cup.

But tonight I decided to watch another game, France vs Ireland, on an irish bar! The ambiance as great, everyone glued to the giant screens, Guiness beer for almost everyone (the french supporters were more into Cokes and french beers)... but unfortunately Ireland didn't qualify! Thanks to an "illegal" goal, scored with the help... of a hand! :-P

Anyway, the important is Portugal will be in South Africa next year! We are going to have many soccer nights... and afternoons! A good excuse to gather people around a table... a full table ;-)

Great entertainment with "2012"

In case you don't know, according to the Mayas, the end of the world is expected to be on December 21st 2012... but Hollywood couldn't wait that long to make the movie.

After all kinds of disaster movies with volcanos, tornados, tsunamis, earthquakes and snow storms, now we have the ultimate disaster movie, a cocktail of disasters, served with a roller coaster of special effects.

I enjoyed this movie. Of course it's another popcorn movie, but this is one appealing. I was very curious about the end of this movie, because the world is supposed to be "the end of the end".

After the latest doomsday movies like "Knowing" (with Nicolas Cage) and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (with Keanu Reaves), I must vote for John Cusack in "2012". Not that his performance is that great, but the movie is really entertaining.

After destroying the planet (or the USA) with "The Day After Tomorrow", "Godzilla" or "Independence Day", director Roland Emmerich delivers the ultimate destruction movie. What can he destroy after "2012"? The galaxy? :-P

Even the special effects are great. The teams behind this extravaganza scored really high. A good example how you can still have a great action movie without using this new 3D trend! ;-)

I recommend you to watch this one on the big screen, with or without popcorns. It's almost a 3h movie but it's worth it. This movie serves what it promises: great entertainment! ;-)

A good movie for a Friday 13th like today! eheheh

Get ready for the end!

Up, up and away!

Do you remember your first baby footsteps? Me neither, but I surely remember my first Robocop footsteps! eheheh
You know how I like to try different things, so recently I decided to try bocking... powerbocking... spring stilts... whatever you want to call it! :-)

For some this is an extreme sport, others consider it a form of exercise. For me it's both, plus a new away to break yourself! eheh
I enjoyed my first experience with these futuristic stilts, but I didn't try to run or jump like crazy... yet! ;-) Technically you're able to jump between 1 to 1.5 meters off the ground and run up to 32 km/h, and the name comes from its inventor, the german Alexander Böck (no, it's not related with the "Super Bock" beer, guys!) eheheh

I felt like Robocop while walking and like Superman while jumping (able to leap tall buildings! eheh). I survived this first experience, but for sure is something I want to repeat! ;-)

Who's better than U2?

What else? I don't want to start a fight, but yes I prefer the real rock from real deal ;-)

I know that some of my readers prefer the irish group, but come on... which one plays rock: Bon Jovi or U2? eheh

OOOOOOOOh, living on a prayer!


And happy halloween everyone ;-)

Cooking with "Julie & Julia"

There are movies like "Sideways" that makes you want to taste wine (taste has more class than drink like crazy), other movies like "Fast and Furious" that makes you want drive like crazy, "Shall We Dance" makes you want.... ok, ok ... you got the picture.

With "Julie & Julia" you may leave the cinema with the wild desire of ... cooking! Yes, it's crazy but it's true (how many times did I write the word "crazy"? eheh).
I've seen this movie recently and I must say that I was positively surprised.
This movie is based, not on one, but on two real stories in two different times... which are connected somehow.
One story tells us about Julia Child (Meryl Streep), one american woman who moves to Paris in 1948 following her husband (who works at the Ambassy). To pass the time and boredom she decides to take cooking lessons at the famous Cordon Bleu School and she ends, after some years, to write a famous cooking book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".
The other story, in the present day, turns around Julie Powell (Amy Adams), another american woman who has a sad and boring job and decides to cook through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" - all 524 recipes in 365 days! And she creates a blog to tell all about her experiences and frustrations.
It seems a simple movie, but the final result is very good. Both actresses are great, but Meryl Streep steals the show! She plays her caracter like no one. If you were surprised with "Mamma Mia!", then you will enjoy to see Meryl Streep in another great role!

So basically you follow the Julia's cooking lessons in Paris in the past and Julie's cooking experiences in the present day. Cooking and more cooking... from simple recipes to an exquisite lobster ;-)
I like to cook as some of you may know, and after watching the movie I wanted to try some of those recipes ;-)
That reminds me of posting here some of mine cooking experiences ;-)

Yes, and there are movies like "Indiana Jones" that makes me want to be a real adventurer! ;-)

Oktoberfest is wunderbar!

Finally I had the opportunity to go to the Oktoberfest! In case you don't know, Oktoberfest is a famous festival and fair held in Munich, Germany, although is best known as "beer festival".
It's true that beer plays an important role in this festival, where you find big tents with live music and many, many, many 1 litre glass mugs.

There's people from all over the world coming to this festival, but the bavarians (the germans born in this region) are very very proud of their city and festival.
Do you know that men and women wear their typical clothes during the festival? Even young people! It's curious to see men in leather trousers (lederhosen) and women in their typical dresses (dirndl). Day and night! (but I suppose they don't wear the same clothes everyday) eheheh

For someone like me, who likes to try the typical gastronomy from each location, it was a real festival. At the end I was saying it was the "cholesterol festival"!! eheh Roast pork (schweinsbraten), knuckle of pork (haxn) or the famous bratwurst sausages! Of course there were other things to eat like chicken, grilled fish on a stick (steckerlfisch ), potatoes, red cabbage and also the famous pretzels (bread pastry).
What about drinking? Well... you have beer, beer or beer! No, there's also wine, sparkling wine and water. ;-)
You can also have beer with cola or with soda... but that's for girls! eheh

But the festival is not just about the beer and the food, you also have lots of rides to enjoy from roller-coasters to the giant wheel, water rides, horror rides, magic shows... the all set! ;-)

Besides the festival I also took the opportunity to visit Munich. It's a very interesting german town, without noise, where people are nice, respectful and stressless.
If you ever visit Munich, you have to visit the great Neuschwanstein castle! It's so wonderful that it was the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park!

Well, here are some more pictures and, as germans say when having a toast, ... prost! :-)

Any volunteers to join me next year? ;-)

Pictures: Fun at the Oktoberfest, Munich and Neuschwanstein

 

3D is here!

Movies and the 3D have a relationship for a long time. This new 3 dimensions trend is nothing new... what's new is the great experience you now enjoy.

These last few months we've seen many 3D movies being released and most of them were computer animated movies like "Bolt", "Monsters vs Aliens", "Ice Age 3", "Up!" or "Coraline" (this one used the stop-motion technique). The experience lived with these movies were let say... cute, funny and amusing. Nothing extraordinary.
Do you know that show at Disney Parks "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience"? Well, it's a good 3D show, but they use more than just images to tease you. But I like this show.
The animated movies are just nice in 3D, where the most common effect is the depth of field.

But then, when it comes for life-action movies .... oh boy, it's insane! Forget about your fluffy dogs, the cute squirrel or the "dangerous" monsters.
If you want to see what 3D can do for movies check these two: "My Bloody Valentine 3D" and "Final Destination 4: Death Trip".
Nevermind the scripts because you've already seen these type of movies before: a group of teenagers trying to survive a serial killer or to escape death.

What I really enjoyed is how you really live these movies: objects being thrown at you, explosions so close to us, being ran over by a car... it gives you the chills and thrills. They aren't movies for kids! ;-)

One of the drawbacks of a 3D movie is that you have always to pay the 3D glasses. Basically you don't buy them, you pay to use them during the movie and at the end we must give them back. So, for a movie ticket which is already expensive you still have to pay extra for the glasses. Plus, they give us a small cleaning tissue in order to clean the glasses from the previous user!
Another problem are the headaches, because not everyone is capable of watching a whole movie in 3D.

More movies will come with a special 3D version, but some of them I'll skip. But I believe this time 3D has come for good! :-)

Public services are funny

Almost everyone has funny stories regarding public services. No matter where, all over the world, public services tend to be sometimes from another planet! eheheh

No matter if we are foreigners or locals to the country, everyone has the same "quality" of service! However, for a foreigner some issues seem to be unreal.

Today I take some minutes to tell you about my last two "experiences". When I arrived here, almost 3 years ago, I filled my papers to have national health care. I gave copies of all my documents, including of course, my portuguese identity card, which is valid in all countries from the European Community. And some weeks later I got my health card. So far, so good.
Some months ago I was invited to change my card, because the one would include my photo. "Ok, no problem for me"... I've sent all my papers, exactly the same papers and documents from the first time.
I waited, waited, waited... I contacted the services responsible for the new card and they informed that my identity card wasn't valid. Here is the short dialogue:
- "Sir, you didn't send a valid copy of your passeport or identity card"
- "It's my identity card. It's valid in France"
- "You need to have a french identity card or from an European community country"
- "That's it. That's my portuguese identity card. The same one I sent 3 years ago".
- "Does Portugal belong to Europe?"
.... (no comments)

Today I had another funny experience, this time with banks. Some weeks ago I openned a bank account. Everything was going smoothly. I gave a copy of my documents (no problem about that), I signed a huge pile of contracts and finally I gave the minimum amount of money in order to open my new account.
This week I got a letter from the bank saying "Your new debt card and checkbook are ready at your bank. You can get them starting today.". Then I got a text message on my mobile phone "Don't forget to get your new documents at your bank". Finally, one last letter with my PIN code.
Today I went to get them. Here's the dialogue:

- [guy searching on his computer] "Yes sir, your debt card and checkbook are here"
- "Great. Can I have them?"
- [guy checks his computer again] "Sorry sir, but I can't give you. The management didn't approve your account yet."

Can you believe this? These guys have already my money, the debt card and checkbook were already emitted, I have my PIN code too ... BUT no one authorized my account yet!!! eheheh

As I usually say, there's always worst things in life! :-)

The epidemic has started in France

How do you sell newspapers? How can you show up on the 8 o'clock news? You can make polemic statements, start rumours or create general panic.
This week the french government officially announced that the H1N1 swine flu epidemic has started! Hooray!
Honestly I don't know what people want this kind of announcement. Maybe to say "Hurry, go buy your vaccine!".

Then you turn the TV on and you see the "official" epidimic distribution in France. This all helps to make people more nervous and to create mass panic.

In one of the meetings I had this week, there was one I found out particularly affected by this paranoia. I entered the meeting room and I saw this bottle of disinfectant gel on the middle of the table! eheh

Yes, I took the picture because it was to unreal to be true! eheh Must we disinfect our hands before a meeting? I imagine people saying "Hey, I'm not touching your paper report. Send it to me by mail"! eheh

Of course people should be careful about coughing, sneezing or unclean hands... but they should have been always, even BEFORE this global paranoia! :-P

Anyway... I don't think I'm going to take the vaccine. I don't want to make some companies even richer! eheh
If I catch the virus, I will drown it with a glass of a good red wine (portuguese wine, of course)! ;-)

9

Nowadays, when we talk about animated movies we always end talking about Pixar.This time I share with you my experience with "9", an animated movie that impressioned me. And no confusion with the other movie "District 9" (coming soon...)

Produced by Tim Burton, "9" is a computer animated movie set in an post-apocalyptic world... but darker than "Wall-E". Here you don't have humans, neither robots, neither animals... but rag dolls who don't have names, but numbers!

9 is the hero of this movie, and it's up to him to encourage his friends to destroy the machines, the ones responsables for the human extermination.
Besides the excellent animation quality, I was impressed with the camera angles and action sequences, because they're typical on action movies.

The cast is also impressive with the voices of Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau and Jennifer Connelly. Not bad at all.

August, the best month to work

August is usually the month of election for vacations, but I just love to work during this month.

Why? Well, if everyone leaves for vacation, it means you won't get headaches at work, stress on public transports, no queues at public places (well, all places but the tourist ones) and, the most important, no strikes!!

Paris is almost a ghost town in August, if we compare it with the others months. We can use the subway, the bus, the train, without getting crushed and insulted! eheheh
And this is why no one goes on strike because there's no people around to impact, to disturb... basically there isn't enough people to annoy! eheheh

But if you are on vacation, take the opportunity to relax, enjoy and have fun. Maybe I'll take some days off when everyone returns to Paris from their vacations! :-P

Back from Provence...

My short week vacation is long gone... and now is back to real life! eheh Good bye beach, see you soon rosé wine, I'll miss you wonderful meals... and of course, all my friends.

It was a short week between beach, sun, swimming, wonderful Provence views... the blue lakes, the lavender fields.
And yes, there's this music concert from a group called U2! :-P Well, I'm not a real fan, but it was the first time I went to see their "show"! eheh
I was lucky enough to be real, real close to the stage... which allowed me to take great pictures! :)

But what I enjoyed the most was to revisit Nice during the summer season: enjoy a good meal with friends on the beach, drink the typical rosé wine from the region and the wonderful views.

This time I didn't visit all my friends... I owe you another one guys! :-)

I leave you with some photos, including the U2 concert! ;-)

Resting in Provence photos

U2 concert photos - 360º Tour, Nice July 2009

Waiting for U2

Another day and more waiting. Today the reason is the U2 concert, and
the doors will open in 5 hours.
Well, it could be worst...

At least I'm tanning while I wait... ;)

Waiting for vacations

Today I was supposed to start my short one-week vacation in Cote
d'Azur... but unfortunately I'm still waiting... at the airport!!!

Yes, I'm bored and I'm walking around the airport... waiting, and
waiting, and ...

Sun and fun, here I come!

The Harry Potter premiere

Today was the french premiere for the latest Harry Potter movie. Nothing better to wake up very early on a Sunday morning just to go watch a movie... in a theather crowded with kids and teenagers dressed up as Hogwart students! eheh

Although I'm not a fan of the books, I use the movies to follow the story and characters. And this movie is one of the darkest from the series.
I enjoyed "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" and it's not a movie for kids anymore. Well, there's more romance on this one, even if some scenes are too much for a teenagers movie (yes, i've been told some scenes were spicier compared to the book).

The movie is long, but very well paced, mixing story and action, good cinematography. After 6 movies you are already attached to the main characters... even if they're grown teenagers already (compared to the kids from the first movie).

There's one last book to be adapted and this one will be split into two movies. Some say the last book is so big and important that's impossible to do one single movie, others say, well... there aren't anymore books, so let's stretch as much as possible! eheh

The world of magic is over for the moment... more to come with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" part 1 in 2010 and part 2 in 2011!
Really... Harry will be too old to play with his wand!! eheheh

I'm too geek sometimes...

It's Sunday, it's sunny and it's hot... but I won't go out and enjoy this wonderful day. Why? I have to stay at home and... work! And it's all my fault! eheheh

Living in a big city like Paris allows you to improve your skills, learn new ones or do something completely different. That's why I've took cooking lessons, japanese lessons or even Segway fun.
When I thought I hadn't free time anymore, I managed to squeeze my 24 hour calendar to fit something more inside! ;-)

Last year I saw something interesting: a school which had night lessons for... (roll the drums)... developing computer games and mobile applications!
Yes, you can call me geek! eheheh
I had this curiosity to learn what's on the other side of this world of electronic entertainement.
At the beginning it was fun (and still is) but now, in order to finish this one year fun, I have to finish my project. I won't go into details to avoid being too boring, but involves a known card game, several players and several mobiles.
My upcoming weeks, until September (when the project will be evaluated), will be very very "enjoyable"! eheh

But of course I can't stay too long without new ideas. So, to make things worst, I'm already planning to add other kind of lessons after September! eheheh

Well, I hope you'll enjoy your Sunday as a "normal" person! :-P

Happy Saint John!

Last night was the longest and happiest night in Porto, my dear hometown! It's was Saint John's eve, when hundreds of people invade the streets to have fun, to dance, to laugh and to watch the midnight fireworks.

Like any portuguese event, popular festivity or celebration there's always a typical dish to go along with! For Saint John's it's the sardine the "royal" meal. And we can say really "royal" because the sardine's price go up, up and up!
Sardines are grilled, and they go great with red or green peppers and boiled potatoes. You can eat them on a plate, or, my favourite, to eat the sardines on a slice of "broa" (a typical portuguese cornbread)
There is one typical soup that's very popular this day, the "caldo verde" (or green soup).
And to drink? Red wine, of course!

Besides gastronomy, there are cultural events like the "rusgas" (a popular march), the Rabelos boat race (typical boats once used to navigate on the Douro River) and the "cascatas" (typical outdoor decoration).

Ah, there's also the traditional "manjericos" (a plant) and I couldn't finish this long list without mentioning the very popular and very typical "martelo de São João", the plastic toy hammers which people use to friendly hit each other :-)

I wasn't in Porto this night, but I had to prepare the typical meal! ;-)

ps: how many times did I write "typical" today? eheh

My japanese garden

I've decided to play gardener a month ago when a friend of mine offered my some seeds to plant. Yes, this sounds like something illegal, but it's not! eheh
This seeds were brought from Japan by this friend from my japanese class, and the purpose is to have... vegetables! :-P Well, not exactly a lettuce or cabbage... but soybeans with the name of edamame.

You can find edamame in some japanese restaurants, and you eat it as peanuts because they're salty. It was during a lunch at a japanese restaurant that I found out this snack... and it's not that bad.

The seeds are blue and they look like M&M's, but until now nothing weird happened. But this vegetable grows very very fast! Two weeks after planting I could already notice some big differences, the plant had grown considerably. I'm afraid that one day I'll arrive home just to realize that it has conquered by the plant! eheh

Let's see if I'll have japanese peanuts in a month or so... or if I have to get a bigger appartment! eheh

Drag Me to Hell

Thank you Sam Raimi! No, I wasn't dragged to hell, even if sometimes the Paris subway feels like that! eheheh
I've watched the latest Sam Raimi's horror movie "Drag Me to Hell", and I must say I really really enjoyed an old school horror movie. Unfortunatelly nowadays an horror movie means one of two things: you have a serial killer who kills a group of teenagers one by one, or you have a a pshycho who loves to torture people.
Before "Spider-Man" Sam Raimi was known for horror movies like "Army of Darkness" and "Evil Dead". A mix of humor and horror... very 80's. At the time he had written the script for "Drag Me to Hell", but he only managed to produced and direct it 20 years later. And you can see the difference from your typical Hollywood horror movie. Even the Universal Studios logo shown at the beginning of the credits, is the same one from the 80's! :-D

I loved the plot, the surprises, the suspense, the humor and the... unexpected ending. I left the movie theatre pleased with the experience... and nowadays I don't find too many movies which have a positive impact on me.

Take a look at this movie... and let yourself be dragged to a new "old" experience ;-)

Paintball bruises...

Some weeks ago I convinced some friends from work to do some group activity (yeah, it sounds like group therapy! eheheh). As I always prefer to do different things everytime, this time I've organized an afternoon of paintball fun and... bruises!

Usually this kind of game is harmless... but let's just say everyone took their mission seriously! eheh
In case you don't know, paintball is a "friendly" sport where players must mark opponents (not kill) using a compressed-gas gun with pellets containing paint (also known as paintball). You have two teams which to to eliminate all of the other team's players (the most common type of game). It can be played indoors and outdoors.

We went for an outdoor paintball, set on the woods, and during 3 hours we had several "war scenarios" like eliminate team and capture the flag.
Besides playing the game, I was there as "war reporter" because it was up to me to take pictures and videos during the game! eheheh
Before the end, we "amused" ourselves by shooting at a very very very close range. It's against the rules... and against common sense, because it's dangerous and painfull. As we had some paintballs left we decided to "fire at will"... and I ended like chopped meat!

Before leaving the place, we had this big picnic (of course). Everyone brought something to share and I prepared the typical chorizo / chouriço... not a very bright idea to make fire in the woods! eheh

Take a look at the action on the photo album

Don't try this at home! ;-)

Star Hollywood Trek

It's getting harder and harder to keep this blog more... updated! :) Sometimes I think about micro-blogging like Twitter... but the problem is I write too much! eheh

Anyway, I've started my summer blockbuster movie tour with the latest movie from JJ Abrams "Star Trek".
Honestly I was expecting more. I know the first reviews are very positive, most of the fans are happy with this new version... but I believe this is a typical Hollywood reboot of an old franchise.
You take a young cast, rock music, lots of action.... some popcorns, et voilá! Even the bad guys weren't bad enough to convince me! eheh

It's interesting to see how they tell the Star Trek origins, how do they get all together... still everything goes too fast. Let's put this differently: several kids finish university in different field in engineering, maths, etc... and they are asked to control a nuclear power plant which is about to "explode". But, hey, it's cinema... anything goes! eheheh

I enjoyed the story as a whole, the opening sequence, the effects, some shaky-cam action sequences (others look like coming from a Power Rangers episode), the "real" Leonard "Spock" Nimoy... but it's a movie targeting the new generations of moviegoers! :)

After "Mission Impossible III", "Cloverfield" or even some "Lost" episodes, I was expecting that "something else" à la JJ Abrams ;)
I was waiting to go "where no man has gone before"... maybe for the sequel! eheh

I recommend you to watch this on a big screen, as a summer blockbuster movie with popcorns.

Beam me up, Scotty!

Pizza vending machine

Ma che? A true italian will find this machine a true insult, a real blasphemy (pasta is a religion for italians! eheh).

We've already seen vending machines for candies, sodas, beers, cigarettes, small toys, sandwiches, etc. Then we have some unusual vending machines, like those I've seen once in Japan, for cup noodles or sex toys!!

Recently I've seen another unusual vending machine: for pizzas! You select, pay, wait 3 minutes... et voilá! Your pizza with extra cheese is ready!
Is this a big micro-wave? eheheh The real surprise for me is to see a machine like this in a country where food is usually very respected. Well, at least french food is.

Now I wonder... do they have, in Italy, by chance, a baguette (the typical french bread) distributing machine? That would be an heresy in France!

Sacré bleu!

Me and the Hollywood stars

It's been sometime since my last post regarding movie premieres in Paris. There have been others since then, but not always in the presence of international movie stars (well, not for the general public like me! eheh).

These last couple of months, I was lucky to attend two movie premieres of such kind. The first one was for "The Wrestler", in the presence of the Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke. The second one was for "Last Chance for Harvey" , in the presence of the heavyweight movie stars Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson.

Some people look different through the years, they age, some get plastic surgeries, but I believe Mickey Rourke was ran over by a truck! That's what happens when you start to drink too much, boxe too much and botox too much! eheheh

"The Wrestler" was a nice surprise (you might have all seen by now) but nothing over the top, there was too much hype. Once again marketing did a good job! eheh
This movie at least helped him to restart his career in the movie business.

Regarding "Last Chance for Harvey" it was the first time I got really really close to movie actors, which allowed me to get great pictures. Emma Thompson even talked to me when I called her name, still outside before entering the movie theather! eheh I was even more surprised when she saluted me in perfect french! eheh
Already inside, when they were talking to the audience, we were all astonished how perfect was Emma Thompson's french! Incroyable! eheheh

"Last Chance for Harvey" is a romantic drama for a mature audience, usually not my kind of movie. But the final result is a story well balanced with great performances from both actors.
An american (Hoffman) who travels to London meets a woman (Emma Thompson) at the airport who interviews arriving passengers about the reasons for visiting UK. What at start seems to be pointless questions, ends to be in long stay in London.

More movies to come... and the summer blockbuster movies are coming soon...

Happy Easter, part 2

What a Easter weekend! After an amusing Saturday with my japanese class, I had a very long Easter Sunday... in the kitchen! eheh

This year I've decided to prepare a typical Easter lunch and invite some friends! We were a small group of 6, each one of us from a different country. And this is what I enjoy the most: to host, cook and show all the best from my culture to my friends.

I could go easy when preparing lunch, but I don't like easy. So I've decided to prepare starters, a fish course, followed by a meat course and end with dessert. eheheh
The fish course was the typical codfish, with mashed potatoes, cheese and mayonnaise (just for the gratin). This recipe is called Zé do Pipo Codfish (Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo). For the meat course I prepared a festival of pork meat, blood and potatoes, called Rojões.
Dessert was easier, because it was more cakes and pastries.

Good food needs good wine, so there was also good portuguese wine. White wine (vinho verde) for the fish, red wine for the meat.... and Porto for dessert! eheheh

It started well... but a roller-coaster of unexpected cooking events (it's a nice way to say loosing control) led me to put everything on the table on the wrong sequence! eheheh

We've started the meal with the meat course, then the starters, then the fish and finally the dessert! As usual, I spent most of the time in the kitchen... so the lunch became more like a long brunch! eheh

The important is at the end everyone had fun and enjoyed the food (as I prefer to think!) eheh

The worst came the next day, with a super huge pile of stuff to wash and clean! eheheh

Time to rest now, until the next event... and I "smell" more football coming soon ;-)

Happy Easter, part 1

Well, it's almost Easter and this year I started I little bit earlier. Like Christmas, Easter as typical things... like food (yes, as always). There are cakes and pastries which are more popular during these festivities. So, this year I will be showing everyone around here the best I can.

Thankfully I can count on all portuguese supermarkets and grocery shops to help me in this herculean task! eheh

As you all know I continue with my japanese lessons. Today's idea was to show my sensei (teacher) and the rest of the class the cake pão-de-ló (sponge cake). Besides being one of the pastry symbols for Easter, the sponge cake has a curious background for Japan and japanese.
There's one typical japanese cake named castera which comes from the sponge cake, introduced by the portuguese when they established missions in Japan, around 16th century.
Besides castera, there's also tempura (vegetables fried in oil), which were also influenced by the portuguese gastronomy.

By the way, the word castera comes from castela in portuguese (to beat the egg white) and the word tempura comes from the portuguese word têmpero.

So, 5 centuries later, a portuguese once again introduces the original and authentic pão-de-ló to japanese. My sensei was really delightful to hear the story of the this cake.

To make it more special, I took a fine bottle of Porto wine, which is a good choice to accompany almost any kind of dessert. Unfortunatelly only two persons dared to drink a small glass of Porto... after all, who wants to drink alcool at 11am on a Saturday? eheheh
Our teacher gave the good example: green tea only! Ocha wo nomimashita! :-)

Well, this Easter Sunday my tour de force continues. This time I've invited some guests for the typical portuguese Easter lunch, with a meat and fish courses, wine and more dessert! eheheh

Stay tuned for more gastronomical adventures! ;-)

Oops, it wasn't true!

That's right ladies and gentlemen. My last post was my contribution for April Fool's day, or Poisson d'Avril in France. So, no I didn't receive any letter, because I never downloaded anything illegal! O:-)

But not everything was false. On April 2nd there was indeed an "anti-pirate" law approved with the polite title of "Creation and Internet".
The idea is to suspend the internet service to someone who has been detected illegal downloads. Of course, this person will be warned my email and postal mail (both I suppose) before having his connection suspended. After, he (or she) has 30 days to present recourse in court.
The internet service can be restored 3 months later.

Accordingly to planned, daily, we can have around 10.000 warning emails/letters and 1.000 internet connections closed. That's not much! eheheh

Also this week, in Sweden, internet traffic dropped between 30% and 40% after a similar law went into force.

A free internet.... ahhhhh, those were the days..... ;-)

You download, you pay!

Raise your hand if you never downloaded anything "illegal" on the internet! No, I'm not an internet policeman, but I was caught by one.

I remember when I started, a long long time ago, to download music and small video games. Then, when I needed some special software for a special task, I would downloaded it.
Then, it came the movies! Wow, what a wonderful thing being able to watch old classics or movies that didn't get international releases!

Since I've arrived here I've been using more this "backup" system. Yes, it's "backup" not "illegal copy", because if one day everyone looses the original movies, games or software, I have a "backup" for them! eheheh

But in France they published this new law last year, in order to protect copyrights. Its purpose is to control massive downloads over the internet, which I agree. Internet providers started to alert clients about possible fees and even law suits.
Everyone, me included, thought it was just to scare people away from "backup" activities. I could never be more wrong.

Yesterday I got this very polite "letter" accusing me of "illegal possession" of copyright material! For me "illegal possession" makes me think about that girl from "The Exorcist"!! eheheh
Seriously, this is a goose chase. I found out that they have been sending these "recommendations" almost to everyone.

Now I have a 3 figure fine to pay, because I "backup" from time to time. When I was in school all my IT teachers kept telling to backup, backup, backup... and now I'm a bad guy for that!!

I don't care for music or videogames anymore... but at least they could let me "play" (with) movies!

Be careful because..... they're hereeeeeeeee...

World Cup so far away...

This was a football weekend, with many teams playing in order to get qualified for next year's FIFA World Cup.
As I couldn't watch the game on the stadium, it was my "obligation" as a portuguese supporter to watch on TV and... to prepare the usual dinner that goes with it! eheh

Portugal played against Sweeden and it was very very important to win the match, so we could still hope to qualify for the World Cup.

Besides this Portugal-Sweden match, there were other matches being played at the same time. So, in order to make this an international competition, I invited my friends Barry and Stefan in order to represent Ireland and Germany respectively.

With the help of a tv screen and a computer we were able to watch several matches simultaneously!
We were ready to, as long as we had snacks and drinks on the table!

Unfortunately the result of the portuguese match was a deceiving 0-0. Luckily we had our baby bottles to cheers us up! eheheheh

The qualification is now more more difficult... but anything's possible!
The most important is to keep playing... so I can have this "excuses" to watch and celebrate these matches with friends! eheheh

Cheers!