Primero, la historia. Dice que, habiendo invadido los persas Grecia como venganza por la famosa batalla de Maratón que puso fin a la primera intentona persa de diez años atrás, el famoso estratega ateniense Temístocles ideó un plan defensivo que compaginaba hacer frente al ejército persa (de unos trescientos mil soldados) en las Termópilas a la vez que su flota era rodeada en Artemisio por las naves aliadas. Así, siete mil griegos (entre los que se contaban trescientos espartanos) bloquearon el famoso paso montañoso en el verano de 480 a.C. durante siete días, de los cuales hubo jaleo en tres de ellos. Leónidas, rey de Esparta, que comandaba la fuerza de, insistimos, siete mil griegos, resistió durante los dos primeros días el empuje persa pero, traicionados por un pastor llamado Efialtes, que reveló un camino oculto que podía conducir a las tropas persas a la retaguardia griega, el espartano ordenó la marcha de la mayoría de sus tropas hacia el sur e hizo frente hasta la muerte a los persas con unos dos mil hombres, que incluían sus famosos trescientos espartanos y además cuatrocientos tebanos, casi mil tespios y algunos centenares de voluntarios de otras ciudades griegas, a los cuales la historia ha olvidado. Derrotadas fácilmente las débiles fuerzas de Leónidas, los griegos levantaron el bloqueo naval de Artemisio y se refugiaron en Salamina (consulta al oráculo de Delfos por parte de Temístocles, o al menos eso cuenta la leyenda, de por medio), donde tuvo lugar la famosa victoria naval griega; una vez sin flota, los persas fueron derrotados definitivamente por los griegos en la batalla de Platea.

Y ahora, la película. Un espanto, no sólo por su prácticamente nulo respeto a los episodios comprobados históricamente, sino por su forma demencialmente violenta y narrativamente absurda. El tebeo de Frank Miller en que se basa la película es la primera piedra de toque que echa por tierra buena parte del rigor histórico que sería deseable cuando se reflejan con su nombre y apellidos episodios y personajes de una época determinada (aunque aquí la propia leyenda haya aumentado el papel de los espartanos y casi ninguneado al resto para enfatizar el ejemplo de heroísmo y sacrificio), más si cabe cuando la pretensión añadida es establecer paralelismos con situaciones geopolíticas presentes, en este caso, de manera tan torpe, maniquea y propagandística. Empezando mal, pues, al aceptar la devaluación histórica que se permite el argumento del tebeo como base para la historia, Zack Snyder, autor de pseudocine reconocido entusiásticamente por los fans de los superhéroes y los muñequitos en la pantalla, diseña una película, por llamarla de alguna forma, cuyo interés se diluye entre la sangre digital que salpica al objetivo de la cámara y los excesos visuales de una estética fundamentada en el orgiástico festival de efectismos y en la explotación de la épica de baratillo modelo Michal Bay (cámara lenta y gorgoritos operísticos incluidos -¿por qué en todas las películas sobre la Antigüedad desde Gladiator para acá siempre hay una batalla en la que se rueda a cámara lenta con músicas siempre más o menos parecidas?-). Partiendo pues de un muy deficiente retrato de la verdad histórica (que muchos dirán que no es necesaria y que hablamos de un tebeo, pobrecitos), la película pretende ser un monumento visual y, a decir verdad, a ratos lo consigue, aunque escoja bazofia pura para retratarla con sus modernas técnicas digitaloides.

Haciendo hincapié en los músculos de gimnasio, debidamente tuneados por el ordenador para la ocasión, de los protagonistas del bodrio en cuestión, la película realiza un pesado y reiterativo intento por tomarse en serio a sí misma, por traspasar su devaluada naturaleza de entretenimiento para amantes de lo sanguinolento y sentar cátedra como recordatorio histórico y como clave de interpretación del actual antagonismo entre oriente y occidente (en el que los malos siempre son los de oriente y los portadores de valores eternos siempre somos los mismos), sin, obviamente, conseguirlo, ya que involuntariamente sin duda, pero habiendo tomado las decisiones tomadas acerca de argumento, estética e intérpretes, indudablemente el carácter superficial y casi autoparódico van servidos en el mismo lote. El pretendido sustrato intelectual, la reflexión en torno a la guerra, al sacrificio, y peor aún, las lecturas políticas en clave de actualidad, quedan apuntadas a través de una serie de personajes arquetípicos, superficiales, que repiten los eslóganes según el lado, de los buenos y de los malos, que les ha tocado encarnar, y provocan por tanto la inexistencia de un discurso serio, maduro, elaborado más allá de la apología de la estupidez que suponen gran parte de las frases de guión. Este vacío intelectual va acompañado de un descuido absoluto por retratar la vida de los soldados, limitándose a cuatro fórmulas convencionales repetidas hasta la saciedad: relación entre padre e hijo, nostalgia de la amada abandonada en casa, veterano que se sacrifica por sus semejantes, la figura del traidor por despecho (con Efialtes convertido aquí en una especie de mezcla de Gollum y Jordi Pujol que traiciona a Leónidas por su rechazo a que forme parte de sus tropas, un añadido argumental tan estúpido como innecesario) etc., etc.

Así, la película pretende ser tan tan épica que deriva en muy muy ridícula, pretende apabullar pasando por alto la historia y consigue un inmenso vacío sobre el que montar su apoteosis de gratuito salvajismo, empaquetado por ordenador, y en cuanto a sus pretensiones de erigirse en metáfora del presente, ni que decir tiene que asume los postulados dominantes en las tesis neocons, felizmente (al menos en apariencia) abandonadas por la actual administración del imperio, basadas en la guerra preventiva, la imposición de los propios intereses por encima de valores universales reservados para ellos mismos, el racismo latente en la creencia de la superioridad y mayor legitimidad de unas naciones sobre otras (llama la atención cuántos generales persas son encarnados por actores negros de manera un tanto ilógica teniendo en cuenta el reducido número de negros que viven, por ejemplo, hoy, en Irán y el resto de países de la antigua Mesopotamia) sobre las que hay que mantenerse atentos y vigilantes, en la incompetencia intelectual para comprender otras culturas y en el papel mojado en el que quedan reducidos los derechos de los pueblos considerados inferiores o enemigos cuando plantean sus legítimas exigencias, todo ello con el edulcorado discurso protagonizado por palabras interesadamente vaciadas de significado y blandidas como bandera por la que justificar incluso el crimen como medio de consecución de los propios intereses, casi siempre espurios: libertad, derechos, democracia y demás vocabulario devaluado por la democracia meramente formal que padecemos.

Éxito de recaudación gracias a la impagable labor de marketing de los grupos de comunicación que siempre se hacen eco del cine de tercera división, la buena noticia es que, habiendo mantenido al menos el final de la historia como tal, con la aniquilación total de los espartanos y compañía (mucha menos de la que habla la historia auténtica, reducida aquí a mera comparsa, a presencia auxiliar de otros griegos que, sin embargo, en la historia eran la fuerza principal), sabemos positivamente que no habrá segunda parte. Eso, si no llega un “iluminado” de los que esconden sus deficiencias de talento en el cine de muñecos y se le ocurre resucitarlos y hacer con ellos una peli de zombis o vampiros de la Antigüedad, que todo se andará…

Acusados: todos
Atenuantes: ninguno
Agravantes: los excesos violentos, su carácter pretenciosamente grandilocuente, su artificiosidad
Sentencia: culpables.
Condena: depilación a serrucho de las zonas blandas

Epic

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Just one look at Djimon Hounsou’s 2007 Calvin Klein Underwear ad campaign would render most women speechless. His chiselled chocolate frame was featured on billboards around the world and no doubt were responsible for holding up traffic as women stepped out of their cars to get a better look. The model turned actor is more than just a gorgeous face. He has starred in movies like Gladiator, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Never Back Down.

read more on

http://www.sevafrica.com/Sneak-Peek/HunkDjimonHounsou.shtml

You’d be forgiven at the moment for thinking we were nearing the end of a decade. The interwebs have been awash of late with more countdowns, best ofs, top tens and general reminiscences of the 2000’s then you could poke a digital stick at. Suddenly everybody is a critic, and while some of the countdowns have been insightful and thought-provoking, others have been….well, like this one. For the nostalgic, these countdowns are practically memory-heaven. But for those who don’t buy into that sort of stuff, it gets a little tiring. So, what better than to list some of the best (and worst) ‘best-of’ lists currently clogging up cyber-space?

Pitchfork: P2K

Over the past months American music site Pitchfork have taken an in-depth look at the decade in music. Way back in the dark ages of 2001 the site barely existed, but since then has grown to be one of the most formidable online music news and reviews sites on the net. Not only does P2K count down the best albums, songs and music videos, it also features a series of essays detailing some of the more interesting developments in music over the past ten years. Of particular note is the ‘Decade in Indie’ and the social history of the mp3.

Highlights
Best Album: Radiohead- Kid A
Best Song: Outkast- B.O.B.

Paste Magazine: The 25 best Album Covers

Slightly more obscure is Paste magazine’s countdown of the best album covers. It has been argued that as digital sales boom and physical CD sales decline, the quality of modern album art is going steadily downhill (as this cover would seem to prove). Regardless, Paste have put together an interesting countdown, which includes the likes of The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire and Lil Wayne. Whoever decided to award Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone cover as number 1 though needs to go back and re-take primary school art classes.

Highlights
Number 1: Neko Case- Middle Cyclone
Number 2: Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion (and rightly so)

The A.V. Club: The 30 best TV Shows

The problem with critics is often that their views on what is ‘good’ differs from the majority of the viewing public. Which is a shame, but it’s also the reason why most of the shows on the A.V. Club’s list of best TV shows of the decade have either ended or been cancelled. Still, it’s a formidable list. The top 3 (The Wire, Arrested Development and the Sopranos) are undoubtedly some of the finest productions since television’s inception, let alone in this decade. Other notable shows include Mad Men, Lost and The West Wing, just scraping in at number 30. The best part of this countdown though is the shitfight in the comments as to what constitutes a ‘decade’. Hilarious.

Highlights
Number 1: The Wire
Number 15: Veronica Mars
Number 22: Six Feet Under

News.com.au: Moment of the Decade

Oh, News.com.au. Purveyor of fine, quality journalism. Not content with simply telling Middle Australia what the best bits of the noughties were, good old Rupert has gone and encouraged everyone to name their own favourites! For anyone that’s ever read the comments to any article on the site, that should be enough to click your way on over. In case you need any more incentive though, today’s category is ‘Killers, Haters, Tools: Choose the Villian of the decade’. Apparently Kyle Sandilands and John Mayer are in the same league as Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Who would have thought? The fun doesn’t stop there. Oh no siree, it doesn’t. For you creative types, you can even have a go at naming what the next decade should be called! An issue of utmost importance, of course. Seriously, the sooner this site becomes paid-only, the better.

Lowlights
Pop Culture
Money
Sex & Life
…actually, just spend a good 15 minutes trawling through the site. It’ll make your day.

Times Online: The 100 Best Movies of the Noughties

Slightly more classy news outlet Times Online went all out and counted down the top 100 cinematic releases of the decade. With everything from political drama Milk to Roman-epic Gladiator to comedy Knocked Up, the list does well to cater for everyone…up until the odd choice of The Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum at number 2 (So really it should have been the best 101 movies). And Team America World Police in the top 5? You must be joking.

In Brief
Number 1: Hidden
Number 16: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Number 34: Finding Nemo
Number 64: Anchorman

Well that’s about it. Some of the best (and worst) countdowns of the best (and worst) things to happen in the noughties. Of course, a quick google search will reveal thousands more best-ofs then the ones here. But really, is there much point? When it comes down to it, who gets to decide that Franz Ferdinand is better than Hot Chip? Or that Monsters, Inc. deserves to place ahead of Pan’s Labyrinth?

Perhaps the best countdown of the decade should go to Hungry Beast. They look at the ten best years of the 2000’s. You can check that out here.

]]> http://sandymei.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/jimmy-choo-experience-leggings/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:29:44 +0000 sandymei http://sandymei.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/jimmy-choo-experience-leggings/

Warning: THIS POST IS GOING TO BE MOTHER-EFFING LONG! Just so I could forever remind myself how ridiculous that day was.

Sooooo I personally looooovee opaque leggings… but my bf on the other hand HATES them. He literally said to me that it makes him not want to be seen with me !!!!! Quite shocked from hearing that… but apparently he found a niche of guys who despise leggings on girls and think that they’re repulsive!! That makes me super sad!

I guess one reason that led to his “leggings haterism” is that I wore them to the Jimmy Choo for H&M release in San Francisco and he felt that see-through leggings were inappropriate for cold weather.

Anyway, I know the Jimmy Choo for H&M shebang was SO last week, but I didn’t get to write about it here soooo here goes.

I woke up at around 5 am to drive out to San Francisco. I go to school in Davis… hence the waking up extra early part. After getting ready, I got to the long ass friggin’ line at about 7:30 am… AND I almost ran someone over in front of this long ass friggin’ line LOL (ok not funny actually) Anyway, so I ended up waiting in front of the Ben Sherman store and within 10-15 minutes, the line extended all the way down to where the Apple Store is! (Sorry if these references are irrelevant to you.) SO was waiting there with the bf, until he realized Niketown had some shoe release shiz too… now I’m just waiting alone by myself luckily people around me were fun to talk to hahaha finally line starts moving at 9-ish. and OBVIOUSLY at this point you should know that I was not one of the first 160 people to receive bracelets, b/c those people apparently got there the day before and camped out! Love them for the commitment, but HATE THEM FOR TAKING EVERYTHING!!!!!!

So near 10 am the doors were open, people going crazy in the store grabbing everything in sight. I grabbed a sequin cardigan, but heard someone say the shoes were upstairs so I literally threw the cardigan down and ran towards the escalator. That was USELESS, b/c I just ended up in a big crowd of people who didn’t have bracelets to go into that section. Even people WITH bracelets didn’t go in yet! And the non-bracelet people wouldn’t be able to get in until 12-ish. I lost a hint of hope at this point, so the bf convinced me to have lunch. While having lunch my friend who was also there (to get shoes for his gf, how sweet) called me and told me non-bracelet people can enter now! This was around 11:30 am so I finished my meal and hurried my ass back over to H&M.

Here comes the fun part… NOT! Here I am, stuck in the middle of people towering over me. I literally yelled out “this is height discrimination!” Because let me explain… so for us non-bracelet people to go into the Jimmy Choo accessories section, the security just counts up to 10 people per group to go in. And all these crazy bitches were waving their arms, trying to get the security to see them. And people were pushing! C’mon girls… be nice… It was to the point where this one chick’s boobs were all over me that I was at some awkward angle like doing a 45 degree with my ankles awkward! So I just turned around and said these exact words, “Sorry, could you please back up, b/c I’m at an extremely awkward angle. My knees are all weird.” LOL whatever I got my point across and she backed off of me haha

THEN THIS ONE GIRL I JUST WANTED TO MURDER! I was standing to the left of her friend and she was behind me on my left. This girl reached her arm out in front of my chest to drag her ass over to her friend, just shoving her body into mines. UH. RUDE. She looked like she was 13. Shouldn’t she be playing hopscotch or something? Anyway, I guess I’m too passive and I should assume obnoxious and aggressive people at these sort of things…

SO MY TURN FINALLY CAME! A lot of stuff was already gone, but I didn’t wake up at 5 am for nothing! Soooo I ended up grabbing some beautiful black gladiator studded heels (sz 8), 2 bracelets, and a wallet/clutch! Unfortunately I have munchkin feet (sz5-6) and I don’t fit a damn size 8! There were only size 9s left when I was in there… and there were still a whole lot of people trying to get in. Anyway, I just bought everything I grabbed and sold the shoes on Ebay! It deserved a home!

Jimmy Choo for H&M stuff

I hope they decide to restock ONE MORE TIME! b/c I really wanted the sequin top and those gladiator heels! I know they restocked once in New York, but restock for SAN FRANCISCO PLEASE!

What would I do differently next time? Well for one, when I wake up at 5am… I better already be in SF! not driving another 1.5hrs to get to SF! I actually live in SF too lol stupid me

Anyway, told ya this was gonna be a long ass mother effing post!

Sandy

NUNCA te fies del criterio cinéfilo de alguien que coloca entre sus 5 mejores películas 2 o más de las siguientes:

Gladiator
300
Braveheart
Troya
El Señor de los Anillos

Con esto no quiero decir que sean malas, tan sólo puntualizar que son un claro ejemplo de películas para gente que no ha visto mucho cine, ni tiene pensado hacerlo (y lo más facil es adapatarse a los cánones populares).

Gladiator is a 2000 American/British and epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, and Richard Harris.

Released in the United States on May 5, 2000, it was a box office success, receiving generally good reviews, and was credited with briefly reviving the historical epic. The film was nominated for and won multiple awards including five Academy Awards in the 73rd Academy Awards.

BEST SCENES

Este fin de semana, aprovechando que una cena no hizo muy buenas migas con mi estómago y como venganza me prohibió mantenerme en posición horizontal por la noche, me zampé entera la película Gladiator – sí… no la había visto.

En ella, Cómodo habla con su padre de las virtudes que éste le enseñó:

Sabiduría, justicia, fortaleza y templanza.

Y de las que él mismo creía poseer:

Ambición, ingenio, valor y devoción.

No voy a negar que ambos cuartetos tienen su aquél, pero sin embargo echo en falta una que veo importantísma: lealtad.

Puede que esta palabra suene a chino, o incluso puede que su significado se vea truncado por la pobre, por no decir paupérrima, definición que le da la RAE:

lealtad

1. f. Cumplimiento de lo que exigen las leyes de la fidelidad y las del honor.
2. Sentimiento de fidelidad o gratitud que muestran al hombre algunos animales.

¿Qué es para vosotros/as la lealtad?

Para mí leal es aquél que siente respeto por algo o alguien, no sólo se lo guarda; aquél que mantiene siempre la mano tendida; aquél cuya sinceridad no consiste en decir la verdad cuando se habla, si no decir siempre y en todo momento lo que se piensa… igual podría seguir, pero creo que ha quedado claro, ¿no?

Buenas noches, pies izquierdos.

Azi am pentru dvs. un film cu totul deosebit in care avem un exceptional discurs motivational  rostit in engleza si subtitrat in portugheza si la care am sa incerc sa va aduc si traducerea in romana si care are ca fundal secvente dintr-unul din cele mai bune filme facute vreodata: ‘Gladiator” cu Russell Crowe:

It’s been a challenging but great week in Brewster Schools! Stay tuned for more blog posts!

Wake up in the morning feelin like P Diddy
Grab my glasses, I’m out the door – I’m gonna hit this city

That song is stuck in my head. So catchy.  tik tok – ke$ha
It’s not really quality music… like I am pretty sure I could have made this song just as good, but it makes me want to dance in place. That’s always a plus.

POOP (continued for a bit)

I got some great feedback from my last post on poo. I am so glad to hear that people are just as interested as I am in this subject. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories with me! It made the post da best. FRRL.  I wanted to share one story that I heard after the post was made:

When my friend, Kim, was much younger she was swimming in a pool. All of a sudden, she had the urge to #2. Thinking it was a little one, she proceeded to “go” while she was still in the pool. No one would notice. She turned around and saw a LOG (approx. 1ft long) floating in the water. She picked up her poo log, got out of the pool, and carried it over to a recycling bin. She threw the poop in the bin and then jumped back in the pool. Like nothing happened. What would you do if you pooped in a pool? Pick it up and throw it out in the nearest recycling receptacle? I would hope so.

She also informed me about something called “fecal bacteriotherapy” aka fecal transfusion/fecal transplant. Basically someone donates their poop that is to be injected into someone else’s booty… amazing. Not even I thought of something like that.

OWNED. thus begins the new post.

There is something that I realized while watching movies of various types (and living life). I enjoy watching people get owned.

owned:

1. literal: belonging to oneself or itself (usually used after a possessive to emphasize the idea of ownership, interest, or relation conveyed by the possessive)
2. urbandictionary: To be made a fool of; To make a fool of; To confound or prove wrong; embarrasing someone: Being embarrassed. I owned you in counter-strike. You were owned at the party yesterday.

It’s not that I don’t sympathize with people, I really do. But sometimes you just can’t help it when you see someone get what you think they deserve.

Do you watch movies? I hope so. There are some pretty good ones. Anyways, I was trying to think of a good ‘owning’ example. GLADIATOR. I actually saw this movie this past summer for the first time. amazing.

In case you have never seen this movie, this is a quick summary [SPOILER ALERT]:
So Russell Crowe is a general of a Roman army whom Emperor decides to appoint as the next leader (instead of the emperor’s son, Joaquin Pheonix). When Joaquin finds this out he get pissed, kills his own father the emperor, and orders the execution of Russell and his family. Russell, because of his cleverness escapes (without Joaquin knowing), but his family dies. Some time later in Rome, Joaquin hosts the gladiator games. Russell, ends up in Rome as a gladiator – designed to be killed for show. But he totally OWNS in the games. And Joaquin (the new emperor) is impressed, so he comes down to meet this amazing ‘gladiator’. Russell (Maximus) reveals his identity. This is one of my favorite parts (you can start watching at like 1:15):

“My name is Maximus Demicus Meridius… and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
Then the emperor wants to kill Russell (Maximus) but he can’t because the people of Rome want him to live. OWNED. (also, Maximus kills the emperor in the end. DOUBLE OWNED. sorry if I ruined it for you). [end of spoilerrr]

Here’s another short, easy example:

She gets OWNED by the ground… trying to be cool and all. I don’t know, maybe you feel really bad for her instead. I mean, someone can get owned without it being funny I guess. But that is usually not the case. Normally, its pretty funny when someone gets owned. I do feel kind of bad… but my laugh reflex is much stronger when I watch this 10 times in a row. Don’t judge me please.

Dance Battling & PWNing

When you ‘own’ you could also just be AMAZING at something. That works. I LOVE watching dance battles. really. Have you seen Stomp the Yard? lol, probably not a prime example. But the first dance battle is pretty sick. You are not required to watch, but it enhances the experience. (sorry. video overload today. and yes, the video is in spanish. lol)

In order to battle successfully, or own in general, I feel like you need to have a LOT of confidence. For example, my friend Doug, believes that he OWNS at dancing. lol. forreal.

Doug: “sorry mari, i don’t know mercy on the dance floor.”

Apparently, back in the day he was the dance king at the local college town bars. He claims he is undefeated (unowned). I, personally, have never seen him dance battle – but I would like to. And he also threatened to kill my bunny Godfather style. So if you wanna do some battling – challenge Doug. pwn him please.

Oh, by the way, the word ‘pwn’ has its origins in the pc gaming world. Pwn basically means the same thing as ‘own’. It was a typo made by a map designer in WarCraft who meant to type ‘own’ (but you know, the p is next to the o, and I’m sure he/she was just excited to get to owning some n00bs. understandable mistake.)

Sidestory: When I was like 11 years old, I played a little Counter Strike with my cousins. (CS is a first person shooter game consisting of “terrorists” and “counter-terrorists” where you can play against other people online.) Of course I was not amazing, I was an 11 yr old girl, but I did kill my fair share of simulated terrorists. There were a couple times when I kind of owned a little. During those times I made sure to tell the person, who I eliminated, that they were owned by an 11 yr old girl. Good times.

You know, the joy of pwning comes from a desire for respect. People typically like getting respect. And I think people usually enjoy watching what they believe is justice being served. But people also dislike injustice. I hate watching movies where the wrong person gets owned – it hurts me too much… but that is for another post.

wow. What the heck. How is it so much more easy to write a 1000 word blog post than a 300 word paper? School needs to be Gladiatored/Dance Battled/First person shot. Seriously. pwned.

There has been something I’ve been trying to come to grips with for years and I guess I should finally come out with it….I’m an addict.  Not addicted to drugs or cigarettes or coffee or collecting small cat figurines. I’m addicted to fantasy football.  I’m sure most guys would say “dude I’m addicted too” or “I love it as well…you’re not the only one”.  I know this but homey understand when I say…I’m addicted.  If at any point during a day you were to say, “hey what are you thinking about?”  I could easily say my fantasy football teams…or Taco Bell (that place is awesome).  I’ve been competing in FF for about nine years now and each year it has gotten worse.  Up until this year, I would have four or five teams a year.  Five teams!  I had so many players to cheer for that I couldn’t keep them all straight.  When you’re at a bar cheering loudly for Rex Grossman, you’ve got a problem.  I’ve been there folks…it’s a low point that you don’t want to reach. There are a lot of sad things that come with this addiction when you think about it.  Here are a few I deal with:

1. Football Snobbery.  When people are discussing an NFL game, team or player, I usually listen to their comment and think in my head how incredibly wrong they are.  Their comment – “I really like Denver’s defense this week.” When you hear that, you may think that’s a good thought.  When I hear that, I think  (in British accent)– “what a sports peasant…they clearly have no idea.”  What’s wrong with me?  That is actually a good thought…their defense has been really good this year.
2. The Gladiator Speech.  I may or may not whisper this to my computer screen to pump up my team before the Noon kickoffs – “what we do in life, that goes an eternity.”  Not healthy.
3. Time & Energy Loss.  If I would spend my time and energy on more productive things besides checking on my teams, I could’ve accomplished more productive life goals like turning my truck into Kit from Knight Rider or finding a way to get Lady Gaga out of the country…permanently.

With all that said, I have scaled it back this year.  Two teams and only one has a financial commitment.  It’s the equivalent of switching to de-caf…I think.  I have to say, despite this admission, that it is something I will never give up.  Why fight it?  My name is Andy and I’m addicted to Fantasy Football.

Am 30. Oktober durfte ich in der Olympiahalle in München ein Spektaktel der besonderen Art erleben.

Die Geschichte erzählt vom Juden Judah Ben Hur und seinem römischen Freund Messala.  Die beiden waren in Kindertagen die besten Freunde, obwohl sie unterschiedlicher Herkunft waren. Genau diese Umstände lassen sie später zu unerbittlichen Rivalen werden.

Ein gigantisches Schauspiel

Der Zuschauer fühlt sich um 2000 Jahre zurückversetzt – mittendrin…

Ob es der arabische Bazar ist – mit den vielen Gauklern und Artisten, bei denen man nicht weiss, wo man zuerst hinschauen soll…

Die Seeschlacht der Galeeren, die durch Lichteffekte so echt erscheinen, dass man glaubt die Seeluft riechen zu können…

Die Gladiatorenkämpfe, die man gespannt als Zuschauer des “Circus Maximus” verfolgt – und sogar geneigt ist den alles entscheidenden Daumen zu heben oder zu senken

oder

das legendäre Wagenrennen, das einem -  mit 5 Quadriga-Gespannen, die mit Höchstgeschwindigkeit durch die Arena rasen, den Atem stocken lässt…

Wer es irgendwie möglich machen kann, der sollte sich diese gigantische Show nicht entgehenlassen.

Am 27. und 28. November wird das Spektakel in der VELTINS Arena in Gelsenkirchen gezeigt.

Infos zur Beginn und Tickets unter  www.benhurlive.de

Im kommenden Jahr wird es BEN HUR LIVE sogar als Open Air Event geben

First of all, I finally got around to mapping my domain and am now at wingedrage.com! You can also now reach me at psyche@wingedrage.com. Hurrah! So that was a pleasant update for this morning. I definitely prefer having my own domain, and will soon be hosting my blog myself using WordPress software, but that comes when I have a layout to use.

Also, I think I’m going to attempt the insane. Yes, the insane. When I got my first Daevanion quest done and received the Courageous Breastplate, I was disappointed that it was going to be so tough to get the other four pieces. People said it wasn’t worth the time and effort, as you can only get one piece of armour per level 30 character, but if you have all the characters at 30, you can change each piece of armour into one suitable for, for example, a Gladiator. Anyone predict where I’m going with this?

Since it’s probably not going to be a commonly done thing to get the entire set, I think I might try it. I’m in no rush to get to 50, in fact I’m enjoying taking my time, and Alinys, who is sitting at 23, is making me a lot of cash from crafting (she’s my lucky girl), so the boyfriend and I are really going to give it a go. Any tips for a good combination of classes? We were considering taking Chanter/Glad and Cleric/Temp and just repeating the combination. It’ll probably get dull, but hey, Psyche probably isn’t going anywhere for a little while, so what’s the harm in trying it?

Any comments of ‘lol you’re crazy/stupid’ are also most welcome! I may be slow at progress, but I plan on getting as knowledgable about certain aspects of the game as I can, so that I can make educated guesses and give as many tips and hints as possible for those just starting out. I’m not much of a guide-writer, but I’ll gladly share anything I know, so for now, I don’t think you’ll be seeing me dinging 50 on any of my characters any time soon. I always was cursed with a case of alt-itis!

CyberLink fordert die Videoschnittt-Gemeinde heraus: Wer ist in der Lage, Partikeleffekte noch besser als im CyberLink Beispielvideo einzusetzen und spannende Special Effects zu erstellen?

Die Teilnahme ist denkbar einfach. Einfach ein Video mit Partikeleffekten mit der Voll- oder Testversion von PowerDirector 8 erstellen, auf YouTube und in die DirectorZone laden – und einreichen.

Das Video mit den meisten Stimmen gewinnt!

Hier geht’s direkt zum Videowettbewerb „Die Herausforderung“

Der Zeitraum des Wettbewerbs:

• Beginn: 26. Oktober 2009
• Einreichen von Videos: 26. Oktober 2009 – 10. Januar 2010
• Abstimmungszeitraum: 26. Oktober 2009 – 17. Januar 2010
• Bewertung durch die Jury: 18. Januar – 25. Januar 2010
• Bekanntgabe der Gewinner: 26. Januar 2010

Die Preise

1. Preis: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 Grafikkarte
2. Preis: Western Digital My Book World Edition 1 TB externes Speichersystem
3. Preis: Exklusives Software-Paket mit 4 verschiedenen Anwendungen (PowerDirector 8 Ultra, PowerDVD 9 Ultra, MediaShow 5, YouCam 3)

Auch wer selbst kein Video produzieren möchte, kann abstimmen und hat die Chance, ein Software-Paket mit PowerDirector 8 Ultra, MediaShow 5 und YouCam 3 zu gewinnen!

Stellt euch der Herausforderung!

PowerDirector 8 Testversion gratis herunterladen

“Veera is heroism. It represents bravery and self-confidence. Manliness and valiance are the trademarks of a Veer or a fearless person. Courage and intrepidity in the face of daunting odds is heroism. Boldness in battle, the attitude with which martyrs go to war, and the valour with which they die are all aspects of heroism..”

Simple  sketching using 2B and 3B pencils. I am not quite happy for the fact that the image here is less than 1/3 of the original size that was scanned. But nothing could be done coz  if I were to upload it the way the sketch is, people  have to crane their necks to see it.

Ref:

1. The Art of drawing, William Pogany

2. http://www.ee.caltech.edu/~gowaikar/rand/navaras.html

Todays reflections are about: Gladiator. Entertainment. For thousands of years the key to attract the crowd. Basically nothing has changed until today, except that we can now be entertained 24/7/365 using the all might of our technology. Post Lectum: Is Rome worth one mans life? I would like to thank Director Ridley Scott and also Hans Zimmer for their choice of music in the outstanding movie Gladiator. Especially for the inspiring track called To Zucchabar performed By Djivan Gasparyan. Its worth a listen! Daily Thoughts by Mon Rasz 07/2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z6VByAhQOE

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9×7jp_dt021-gladiator-daily-thoughts-by-m_school

Tags: daily, discussion, entertainment, distraction, focus, gladiator, meditation, life, reflections, thoughts

www.balenciaga.com  

Related posts:   

Balenciaga: Fall-Winter 2009/2010 

Antwerp: Fashion, Shopping & Café 

Casba, Tokyo nights: meeting Reiko and MAX 

City Guides Paris, Antwerp & Tokyo: Destinations 

Photos: nymag.com / Lay out: Mademoiselle Le K

Bien que le film soit terriblement décevant voir souvent ennuyant, l’interview de Bruno dans le Premiere de juin 2009 m’a fait plus rire que le film lui-même, petit florilège de l’entretient.

Que diriez-vous aux gens pour les inciter à aller voir votre film ?

“C’est le documentaire le plus puissant depuis Le Roi Lion, le film le plus sexy depuis Amistad et le plus gay depuis Gladiator.”

Quel a été le temps fort du tournage de votre premier film ?

“J’étais heureux de savoir que le cinéma allait enfin atteindre son vrai potentiel avec ce film – vous savez, ça ne sert pas uniquement à filmer un singe portant une minijupe en cuir et fumant une Gauloise alors qu’il est pourchassé par un gendarme à bicyclette, ou je ne sais quel truc que vous regardez en France.”