This is a gyropode...

A gyro what? Well, it's french for Segway. In case you don't know, a Segway is an electrical two-wheel vehicle that uses your body position to move... and stop (no, it doesn't have breaks)! :P

What's so special about it? It's a new way to transport people, environment friendly (no polution and almost no noise)... but very very expensive! eheh

During the Paris Plage event there were several activities you could practise or try... like mini golf, kayak, fitness sessions or... gyropode!
As the brand Segway is not officially registered in France, for the time being, this personal transporter has a french name! Oh la la! eheheh
The name comes from the gyroscopic sensors inside the Segway, which are used to control its balance.

I took this opportunity to try for myself this new vehicle... and it was definitely different. You have to teach your brain that "lean forward" doesn't mean you'll fall!
The Segway can (and it should) be used in cycleways/cycle tracks as long it moves at least at 20km/h (12.5 mph), which is Segway's top speed (for the basic model).

Although is very pratical and better than using crowded public transports, I prefer the old and typical bicycle... at least you pedal and it's a good exercise!
Who knows if in the future all major cities will have public Segways instead of bicycles and scooters!

Sometimes the Segway reminds me a chariot but without the horses! eheheh

Another Batmania

Yes, Batman is back. But is all the fuss justified? The new Batman movie "The Dark Knight" has been opening across the world for the last weeks, with huge ticket sales, excellent reviews from critics and fans, and breaking box-office records.
At first, this could be almost an olympic triumph, entitled for a big gold medal.

I like going to the movies, specially when a promising movie turns out to be disappointing or an unknown movie becomes a good surprise. I still have nightmares from the last Indiana Jones adventure.... oh well, better days will come.

Anyway... "The Dark Knight" is a good superhero movie, but far from being the master piece everyone is talking about.
The same team who brought us in 2005 "Batman Returns" is back for another turn. The first movie was balanced: Bruce Wayne and Batman origins', the story as a whole, the action sequences, the sets, the bat-gadgets and all actors... even for a running time of 2h20.

One of the "The Dark Knight" flaws is its length, because they used the same bad formula as in "Spiderman 3": to develop 2 main villain characters for 2h30.
The ace is this film is really the Joker, who feels more like a really bad-tough-dangerous-motherf***** than a simple villain! eheheh This role from the late Heath Ledger is very good, those kind of roles that belong in the Villains Hall of Fame!

Another problem with this film is Batman's voice. Come on, really, it looks like our superhero suffers from lung cancer after smoking for years! As soon as Bruce Ways puts on his bat-suit, he almost starts to talk in a Terminator-like tone of voice.

Last but not least, this new Batman is very very high-tech geek! I always enjoyed his gadgets, some more believable than others... but the new bat-sonar is too much! It's almost like watching "Mission: Impossible".

Thumbs up for the great casting, action sequences, soundtrack and cinematography!
I liked the movie and I recommend you to watch it in a movie theater, as always... and maybe you'll join the bat-hype! Just beware of the Joker... :)

Why so serious?

Gentlemen, start your cooking engines!

Everyone likes to enjoy a nice meal, taste regional food or maybe just grab some light snacks. Eating is always easier than cooking, but the same way I love a good meal, I really like to cook and prepare different kind of dishes.

It's true that I never posted here my experiences, because besides the pictures I take from my prefered meals, I also take pictures of almost everything I cook! eheheh It's my kitchen laboratory... or kit lab! eheheh

I'm not a chef of course but I like to keep learning and to improve my cooking skills. So recently I was lucky enough to take a cooking class, here in Paris. The same way it's easy to find a good place to eat, there are many places where you can learn how to cook or to learn new stuff.

It's interesting because you can have from 1 hour class to a full day or more. You take the class you want: prepare one dish or a menu (starter, main course and dessert). And at the end everyone seats together and eat whatever it was cooked! eheheh The wine is offered! eheh

This is something anyone can try on a visit to Paris. Instead paying a lunch in a restaurant, why not prepare some french dish taught by a real chef?

Coming up next: a wine tasting class! eheheh

X-Files: I Used to Believe...

The X-Files tv show was one of the best during the 90's. In some ways it stood as a reference, before other tv shows like Heroes or Lost.

I remember to watch the pilot episode by pure chance. It was a Sunday night back in 1994 if I remember, and during a quick zapping before going to sleep I saw... something. A forest, darkness, a very bright light behind the trees... so far, nothing special... and then the famous theme starts.
A big X, I want to believe, government denies knowledge, paranormal activity, the truth is out there... and I was hooked!
From that day on I got addicted to X-Files. Yes, I like and I believe (to some extent) in the paranormal and in extra-terrestrial life (don't confuse it with little green men). Above all, I like a good conspiracy, when something is being hidden from the public opinion (that was my big reason to read The Da Vinci Code! eheheh).

And so it was like this that I started my alien-conspiracy-addiction. I bought dozens of VHS tapes in order to record all episodes... and I even skipped some classes in university in order to arrive home in time! eheheh Hey, it could be worst, right? eheh

Besides the paranormal, aliens and government activities, the show had two big stars: Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. A different angle from the good cop/bad cop, where one played the open minded agent and the other the religious/scientific one. For years the chemistry worked marvellous, with dilemmas regarding what is true and what is believable, without being explicit and at the same time keeping a reasonable distance between a man/woman relationship.

This week I saw the latest X-Files: I Want to Believe ... and I really would like to believe. It's not a bad movie, but you must look at it as a long TV episode, nothing more. The movie doesn't bring any of the highlights that made it famous. It was nice to see both actors together again, fighting for the same causes, but at the end there was no justification for a new feature film. Replace the main characters by any others... et voilá, you have your typical thriller.

Ten years after the first X-Files movie (in 1998) fans were expecting a little bit more... and this was exactly my reaction after seeing the latest Indiana Jones movie! :P

One thing these two movies have in common: each one have a music theme that no one will never, never, never forget.
I do believe...

Let's go to the beach... in Paris!

If you can't go to the beach, the beach will come to you. This could be the motto for all parisiens that would like to enjoy a sandy beach, sea and sun, without going too far.

Paris-Plage (Paris Beach if you prefer) is the name of the project that was created in 2002, which transforms part of a public road into a pedestrian and leasure area, with green and sandy areas.

It's not a real beach of course, even if you have 100 m2 of sand (not much indeed) and water in front of you. By "water" I mean the Seine River and it's there just to be seen because you can't swim in it... although it would be fun to see the tourists' boats slaloming among swimmers! eheheh
That's what I call entertainement! :P

So, don't bother to bring your shorts or bikini... maybe just some sunscreen because even sunshine is not guaranteed! eheheh

Maybe you won't see the sunset over the horizon but I admit the view is unique. ;)

Do you know this man?

Wanted alive! Always alive! eheheh Is this face familiar to you? Anything? Well, it's supposed to be me, through the eyes of a street "artist" in Paris! :P

If you walk in some tourist spots at this town, is very easy to be approched by artists who wants to sketch your caricature and sell it, obviously.

Why did I asked to sketch mine? Well.... I didn't! eheh It was a quiet weekend afternoon, not so many tourists, and there was this "artist" who "offered" his service. Naturally, as always, I said no. But how can I pretend not to be a tourist if everytime I go out I carry my camera with me? It's the international standard for "Tourist here"! eheh

Anyway, this guy didn't accepted no for an answer, and he kept lowering the price, lowering, until was almost for free! So I felt sorry for this guy, because he was bored and he wanted to kill time (before real tourists would arrive)! eheh

So I sat down on a small bench and we drew my best side... so I think! eheh A quick sketch which took around 10min, but it was long enough to change ideas, to show to him that I wasn't a tourist, our point of view of Paris and France, because he was also an immigrant.

Et voilá... this was the result of a quick caricature sketch on a parisien square. You can even notice a weird sketch of the Eiffel Tower, which looks more like a space rocket lifting off! eheh

But, and to answer the title question, do you know this guy? I think it doesn't look like me, but what was I expecting from a "fast-food sketch"? eheh There's no such thing as a free lunch! ;)

Hulk movie premiere smashed Paris

Finally! The green mean guy arrived in France! After being release all over the world in June "The Incredible Hulk" finally opens in France! At least the director was present to answer all our questions! eheheh

In 2003 the Hulk movie didn't get a positive reaction, besides the gamma reaction! eheh A too long movie, slow paced and a very light green super-hero were some of the negative reviews.
Now, 5 years later, the taiwanese director Ang Lee was "replaced" by the french Louis Leterrier. The result? Well, the french green touch is a lot better! ;)

I like this new Hulk. It's not a sequel from the first movie, because Leterrier tries to present another kind of Hulk, from scratch, with a great Edward Norton has the hero. The cast is completely new, which reinforces the idea of a "renewed Hulk movie".
Tim Roth is a convincing bad guy as The Abomination and I enjoyed seeing Liv Tyler as the girlfriend (instead of those "big" names like Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron etc).

For me the movie highlight was at the end, when Louis Leterrier stepped in to answer all kinds of questions from Hulk and movie fans.
And it was during this question and answer session that I found out how cool and down to earth guy Leterrier is.

Thanks to all the comics he read as a child/teenager, he got this opportunity to bring "new blood" to the Hulk series. From his first reactions from Universal Pictures, to the dinner to convince Edward Norton to jump aboard, the bad things from the first Hulk movie (yep, he also didn't like it! eheh) and even about the upcoming superhero movies, the night was full of interesting question and amusing answers.

As the movie theater had to close (it was a late night session), Leterrier proposed to continue the chat outside. How cool is that? :)





More Hulk videos (in french)