June 4th 2011

Yes, I'm alive! Very much alive! Don't worry, I wasn't caught by a tsunami, an earthquake or a volcano! :-P

This blog has been sleepy lately, but not its author! ahah I like to be busy, but in the past few months I've been super busy.
It's sad to realize I haven't been updating my posts for 2 months! :-S Time really flies when you're having fun! ahah

I've been doing more or less the same, flying, driving, hiking ... travelling around.
This Year of the Rabbit has been having a charged agenda... but not overcharged! ahah

I took this special date, June 4th, to update this blog with an entry directy from my hometown, Porto.

Let's see if I'll post more often, or else one day someone will call the police to report my disappearing! ahahah

Happy Saint Patrick!

Today is a special day for irish people all over the world. I'm not from Irelan, but Saint Patrick day it's a fun, green and happy celebration. :)

So join the party and have a beer in an irish bar. Slainte!

A special word to my japanese friends: ganbatte! I know times are difficult in Japan, but keep a positive spirit. I'm with you! :)

And also all the best for the 3 portuguese soccer teams playing tonight in UEFA Europa League! ;-)
Of course, I'll be cheering more for FC Porto ;-)

Getting ready for Carnaval

It may be a cold weekend in Paris, but it's Carnaval. And if the sun doesn't help, we always have a food and friends to make the day! :)

There's no Carnaval like the brazilian one. So a typical brazilian feijoada is mandatory this weekend! With caipirinha cocktails too, of course! ;-)

The ingredients are ready! Tomorrow is cooking time!

It's samba time! ;-)

My Razzies and Oscars

There are many movie awards and ceremonies, but the most famous one is the Oscar. That's the power of marketing, not actually the quality of the show or even the fareness of the winners.

The goal of these ceremonies is to award the best in the business, but there is one award I also enjoy, the Razzie. The Razzies' ceremony is always held the day before the Oscars and its goal is to award... the worst in the movie industry! :)

As a movie fan, I'll present you my awards for the movies I've seen during 2010. My favourites and the ones I didn't enjoy. ;-)
I've watched all the movies on the big screen, so they all had the same exhibition conditions ;-)
Some movies are from 2009, but they were released in France during 2010.

The Best

Best Actor
Viggo Mortensen, "The Road"

Best Actress
Isabelle Fuhrman, "Orphan". She can be only a child, but it's impressive the role she has as the evil Esther

Best Comedy
"Kick Ass". A very good surprise for a comic book adaptation. Politically incorrect but totally fun.
Special mention: "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World". Another comic book adaptation which besides being funny, has a different approach to the genre

Best Drama
"The Ghost Writter". Good directing by Roman Polanski. Very Hitchcockian.
Special mention: "Shutter Island".

Best Thriller
"Buried". A simple story with a breathtaking suspense.

Best Action
"Inception". A twisted story, mind breaking and well directed.
Special mention: "Sherlock Holmes". A new and fresh version from the classic detective story.

Best Horror
"Orphan". A special horror movie about a special serial killer, masterfully interpreted by a very young actress.
Special mention: "The Wolfman". Great cinematography, which captures the style from the old good horror movies.

Best Animation
"The Princess and the Frog". A good example of how it's still possible to make a good hand drawn animation movie, with a good story and songs.


The Worst

They were so uninteresting, that I won't split by category. ;-)

"Nine" - a bad excuse for a musical
"Alice in Wonderland" - my disappointment of 2010. Was it really a Tim Burton movie?
"Clash of Titans" - a very bad remake, Hollywood style.
"The A-Team" - an insult to the TV show
"Twilight: Eclipse" - bad fast-food for teenagers
"Expendables" - too many action heroes but no action at all
"Grown Ups" - bad comedy with actors thinking they are being funny

Special mention: all movies in 3D were bad. I boycotted all 3D movies. This "new" technology is being used excessively, it doesn't bring anything new neither improves the final result.
Watch "Avatar" in 3D and in 2D... then make your choice! ;-)

Let's see who will be the real "winners" next weekend, in the Razzies and the Oscar nights

Happy Year of the Rabbit

Another "new year" starts. Accordingly to the chinese calendar, the Rabbits are celebrating in 2011! And the Rabbit is the best! :-P

I was wondering how many famous rabbits are in history. Like Bugs Bunny, Roger Rabbit, Thumper (from Bambi), Raving Rabbids (from the videogame), White Rabbit (from Alice in Wonderland, not the Matrix movie), the Easter Bunny... and one of my favourites, the Duracell Bunny!! ahahah
Oh yes, there is the Playboy bunny too ;-)

Well, I believe it's going to be a very positive and crazy year, like all the rabbits mentioned above! ahahah

May the rabbit be with you! :-P

The Day of India and Australia

Each country has its own national day, but two big countries sharing the same date is a lot of coincidence.

Today, January 26th, is the national day in India and Australia. So I had two good excuses to celebrate and to have a drink to my indian and australian friends' health!

Cheers! Apki Lambi Umar Ke Liye!

More to come soon...

Crawling the walls

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Superman? No, no and no! It's just a spiderman-wannabe.

Well, the year has just started and I already managed to do something different. I had an opportunity to try wall climbing. As an outdoor person as I am, I always prefer the real deal, like rafting in a real river, not like those artificial rapids you see during Olympic Games :)

Once I tried rock climbing and it was a different sensation. This time was indoor climbing but it can also be fun. One thing is sure: it's as tiring as outdoor climbling!
The artificial walls were installed in a big old warehouse, and some of the walls can be pretty high with horizontal sections! Amazing!

Let's see what I can find for a next time! ;-)