There is a strange disconnect between the polite and relaxed dinner table style of the Iraq War Inquiry and the explosive evidence emerging from key players in the international diplomacy world. The chatty, informal conversations between the panel and the witnesses and the orderly breaks, hardly resemble the noise of war. The disconnect, however, lies only in appearance for the substance of the evidence is potentially enough to incriminate those at the very top. Jeremy Greenstock is about to give evidence, and Tony Blair is still weeks away. Still, this week’s revelations already raise serious doubt about Blair’s motives for war, and the truth of his claims pre March 2003, that war was not inevitable.

Our Man in Washington

Christopher Meyer’s evidence yesterday may just prove to be the smoking gun which war critics believed existed; only time will tell whether that gun fires into legal action or simply smoulders away. Tony Blair must be praying hard for the latter because Meyer’s evidence portrayed him fundamentally, as a man who chose to follow the Americans without objective regard for either British or Iraqi interests. Confirming what had been said by senior Whitehall bureaucrats on Day One of the Inquiry, the British foreign policy position pre 9/11 was that Iraq did not feature prominently– in itself rather curious, since Britain was administering a No-Fly Zone over parts of Iraq and therefore already involved in bombing operations with the US throughout the 1990s – and the concern with the Foreign Office lay more on the “narrowing and tightening” of an effective sanctions regime.

“We were with you at first, we will stay with you til the last”

Few have forgotten Blair’s purported words of commiseration with the Americans at the Labour Party conference in October 2001. The promise that “We were with you at first; we will stay with you til the last” begins to take on sinister connotations when viewed in the context of Meyer’s evidence about how heavily Iraq featured in American brains years before the war actually began. Whilst reminding us that the Iraq Liberation Act had been signed off in 1998 by Bill Clinton, the former Ambassador described how Bush openly admitted to him early on in his Presidency that he knew nothing about foreign policy and that he would be learning from his group of “Vulcans”, led by Condoleeza Rice and Paul Wolfowitz, the man who later went on to become Deputy Defence Secretary.

Who first mentioned Iraq?

Condoleeza Rice told Meyer on the day of 9/11 itself that the Americans were investigating a link with Saddam Hussein. The seeds to this embittered war, it seems, sowed themselves whilst the rest of the world was commiserating with the American tragedy. Meyer states that “it was almost as if the people who really wanted to deal with Iraq and deal with it soon, burst out of the closet, the closet door having been blown open by the shock of 9/11. Everything changed after 9/11.”

Crucially, when did Blair decide to go to war?

Meyer believes that it was at that well-photographed meeting between Blair and Bush at the Crawford Ranch in April 2002 that the deal for the Iraq war was sealed, despite the fact that British policy at the time was one of “profound legal objection” to regime change. In his own words:-

“Now, let me be quite frank about this. Crawford was a meeting at the President’s ranch. I took no part in any of the discussions, and there was a large chunk of that time when no adviser was there, I think I don’t know whether David Manning has been before you yet, but when he comes before you, he will tell you, I think, that he went there with Jonathan Powell for a discussion of Arab/Israel and the Intifada. I think it was at that meeting that there was a kind of joint decision between Bush and Blair that Colin Powell should go to the region and get it sorted. I believe that, after that, the two men were alone in the ranch until dinner on Saturday night where all the advisers, including myself, turned up. So I’m not entirely clear to this day I know what the Cabinet Office says were the results of the meeting, but, to this day, I’m not entirely clear what degree of convergence was, if you like, signed in blood, at the Crawford ranch. There are clues in the speech which Tony Blair gave the next day at College Station, which is one of his best foreign policy speeches, a very fine piece of work.” He described that speech as being the first time Blair used the words “regime change” about Iraq and explicitly states that Blair deliberately, not inadvertently, tried to conflate the risk posed by Saddam and Al Qaeda.

Given that no evidence whatsoever ever has been produced to this effect, this amounts to a startling, though perhaps unsurprising, confirmation that Blair was ready to literally go with the Americans to the end, no matter what the consequences for either British or Iraqis. By March 2002, Meyer had been provided with a “chunky set of instructions” from Number 10 Downing Street on British foreign policy towards Iraq and Blair had taken the decision to support regime change, although he was discreet about mentioning that in public. Britain, he said, would talk the talk of regime change, but privately hoped that America would walk the walk of a UN Security Council Resolution permitting the use of force. It was, by then, he claims, a waste of time for Britain to continue to object to war, but Meyer was firm on Blair’s failure to ensure a good deal for Britain as a result of this unswerving support.

The emotional sides of Bush and Blair and the curious tale of Hans Blix

The Inquiry heard about the emotions running high in Bush and Blair’s resolve; that Bush “in his heart” wanted to kick Saddam out, and Blair, though not as “poodle-ish” as people have portrayed him, was a “great believer” in the evilness of Saddam. Hans Blix, the UN Weapons Inspector, in his autobiography describing events at the time, makes quite plain that the Inspections team were not permitted to complete their task by the American military timetabling. Meyer confirms that by Autumn 2002, when Blix’s team went into Iraq on the hunt for the non-existent WMD, the American military had already been given instructions to prepare for war and it was impossible for Blix’s team to properly conclude the inspections process.

In the mind of this writer, the evidence recalled another Blair quotation, albeit given in another context entirely, “There is no reverse gear”.

Meyer says that it was that pre-ordained military timetable that was the cause of the British and American scrambling for the smoking gun, which was never located. Bush’s January 2002 State of the Union address, full of messianic praise for America’s chosen people, was the ultimate call for war, from which there was no return. One of the extraordinary revelations of this episode is that the US Department for Defence was so unhappy with the CIA’s production of intelligence which undermined their links between Saddam and Al Qaeda that they created their own in-house intelligence operation to counter and rival the CIA.

In this context, and with an appalling lack of consistent or strong evidence on the existence of WMD, Meyer’s own evidence can be fairly summarised as suggesting that Blair capitulated as a result of his own personal beliefs on Saddam.

A plan for garlands, or a country of wreaths?

Meyer himself also warned both Blair and the Americans that there would need to be a properly planned post-war strategy. This, it appears, simply fell onto deaf ears. It never happened.

Rumsfeld and his team hoped that simply getting rid of Saddam would lead to a better Iraq. Garlands would be thrown at them and the world a better place. Iraq Body Count documents currently between 94,000 and 102,000 dead from post-conflict violence in Iraq. Other estimates put this figure higher. The disconnect between the justification for the war, the arguments put up by Blair in his premiership and in Parliament and the bloody and violent aftermath of war could scarcely be greater.

The Chilcott Inquiry has been careful to remind us that it is not a court of law, that no one is being tried, and that no one is guilty or innocent. At best, therefore, we can only make strong suggestions about what the evidence implies. No matter what evidence comes next, Meyer’s uniquely privileged insight into the US-UK relationship in those crucial years leading up to the war suggest that there truly was no credible thought process inside Britain for either British or Iraqi interests. It also very strongly suggests Blair lied when he said that war was not inevitable on its eve. The lack of evidence that existed within the US, and the steps created by the US Defence Department to overrule their CIA intelligence colleagues and create a base for war, also suggests strongly that there was no basis for the war. That it was illegal.

Just a word of warning for our mild British public who cannot face the reality of blood and gore on their morning Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. The video evidence, which can be replayed on the internet at your convenience, contains mild swearing. (http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/transcripts/oralevidence-bydate/091126.aspx). 

London,  November 27th 2009

Lunedi sono andata a vedere il secondo capitolo della saga della Meyer…

A mio modesto parere,la regia è cambiata e si vede!!Le immagini sono migliorate,alcune sono veramente belle e non sono più tutte tendenti al “blu” come in “Twilight” anche se quando sono uscita dalla sala sono rimasta abbagliata dalle luci…A parte l’immagine a dir poco orrenda della coppia Bella-Edward che corrono beatamente in un bel prato verde che ricorda molto il locus amoenus virgiliano,diciamo che Weitz se l’è cavata anche se si poteva fare ancora  meglio… La trasformazione in lupo dei giovani Quilote non entusiasma ma si apprezza l’impegno,maggiore sicuramente di quello messo in Twilight per lo sberluccichio di Edward anche se, pure in questo film, questo effetto e quello della super-velocità nello scontro Demetri vs Edward non sono stati particolarmente curati. Molto suggestiva l’atmosfera italiana a Montepulciano,il contrasto del rosso dei mantelli con la luce ed i colori chiari della piazza e del campanile rende bene il presagio dell’imminente pericolo.  In conclusione New Moon risulta essere un film piacevole,con un’ entrata da gran figo di Pattinson, una Stewart immedesimata bene nella parte dell’ingenua Bella ed un tenero Lautner che anche da lupo non riesce ad incutere timore tanto è dolce…Chissà cosa ci aspetta con il nuovo cambio di regia per il terzo capitolo della saga: Eclipse.

voto: 2.5/5

Digamos que la película de Luna Nueva no ha conseguido “Eclipsar” a los libros de Stephenie Meyer.

Después de haber ido a ver El Señor De Los Anillos, salí bastante contenta, puesto que la adaptación era muy similar a los libros, a esa saga…

Esperaba que la mayoría de las sagas fueran igual (no puedo hablar de Harry Potter, ya que sólo leí el séptimo libro)

¿Qué fallos encontré para poder hablar así de una película que no estuvo nada mal? Es decir: “¿por qué te quejas?”

La exageración gusta en el cine, lo morboso, la americanización de los relatos, los finales felices, los dramas… todo eso VENDE! Sí señor, rendirse al dinero en vez de mostrar el libro como es.

¿Fallos que he encontrado?

¡¡¡Spoiler!!! (PD: Si no viste la película, no sigas leyendo)

- Para empezar, el trailer está mal hecho, puesto que (obviamente) se ve que en el claro Bella está con una ropa cuando le ataca Laurent y cuando (supuestamente) va Jacob a salvarle, está con otra, lo cual ya te hace dudar de si… en el libro le salvaba así de Laurent (cosa que no)

- Cuando Bella se corta, no sale corriendo hacia ella Jasper, al menos no de la manera “pasiva” y a la vez exagerada que sucede en la película. Después de esto, Edward “acude” a su casa (pero no cuando está ella) para quitar las fotos de su álbum y el equipo de sonido que le regaló Emmet (todo esto para que parezca que Edward no ha existido). Pero todo esto no sucede antes de que hable con ella, sino mientras ella (supuestamente) se pierde en el bosque y se queda llorando, puesto que al llegar… no queda nada de él.

- Una cosa a destacar en positivo son los lobos, que están muy bien hechos (aunque los personajes no encajen mucho y, con perdón, parezcan más débiles de lo que en el libro parecen)

- Se habla de la fiebre de Jacob en el cine, pero él no se pone violento en el libro, como pasa en la película. En ningún momento (en el cine) le dice Bella que está ardiendo. Y por último, ella no se monta en la moto con ese chico para sentir la adrenalina.

Creo que nada más, porque si sigo sacando fallos con respecto al libro… Por el resto, la adaptación está bien, y es entretenida, sólo que yo “apenas” la disfruté porque soy una maniática de buscar los fallos jajaja

Realmente, la película es buena y mereció la espera, pero destacar sólo esos fallos.

Un saludo!

Am vergangenen Wochenende fand der Biologentag 2009 des VBIO in Berlin statt.

Ich werde in den nächsten Tagen ein bisschen davon berichten.

Michael Graetzel, professeur au laboratoire de la photonique et des interfaces de l’EPFL et inventeur d’une nouvelle cellule solaire portant son nom a enfin été honoré à sa juste valeur pour les perspectives d’avenir de notre pays. Le 21 novembre 2009, la ministre de l’économie suisse, Doris Leuthard, lui a remis le Prix Balzan à hauteur d’un million de Francs suisses. Cette distinction est certes moins connue et moins prestigieuse que le Prix Nobel. Or, depuis 1956 elle a toute sa valeur et est bien appréciée dans le monde scientifique.

Au départ, l’invention a été négligée. Depuis quelques années, la cellule Graetzel éveille l’intérêt des industriels et intégrateurs, notamment en raison de son incorporation facile dans les éléments de construction immobilière et les matériaux de base peu onéreux.

En ce moment, la production à grande échelle commence. Des groupes industriels au Japon, en Corée du Sud et probablement en Chine et au Taiwan ont saisi l’enjeu. La start-up à Aubonne, Solaronix, est pour l’instant le seul fabricant en Suisse. Elle démontre par l’exemple que même la production complexe et onéreuse est prometteuse et rentable en Suisse malgré les salaires et coûts élevés. Son site ne cache pas la fierté d’enrichir le tissu industriel national.

Les tentatives de faire bénéficier le monde et l’industrie suisse de cette invention sont vieilles. Au début des années 90, des contacts avec ABB et Sandoz devenue Clariant, n’aboutissent nulle part. Il est de même avec des échanges avec des entrprises Allemandes. La Confédération, quant à elle, ne lance aucune mesure d’incitation voire d’encadrement.

Une fois de plus, un chercheur et son institut sont à l’avant-garde du progrès. Les décideurs, quant à eux, s’avèrent incapables d’exploiter la chance unique que cela leur offre.

En effet, les exemples de chances gâchées pour l’industrie suisse sont nombreux. Les montres digitales, les cassettes vidéo, le jet d’affaires… et bien d’autres industrialisés ailleurs l’illustrent.

Peut-être la crise actuelle incitera d’autres start-up à se joindre à Solaronix et à l’EPFL. Quel meilleur programme conjoncturel que de donner un coup de pouce politique aux industries susceptibles de transformer le monde? Des innovateurs comme Michael Graetzel ou Andreas et Tobias Meyer, les fondateurs de Solaronix, ne sont-ils pas les meilleurs travailleurs sociaux susceptibles d’ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives?

Or, les programmes volontaristes de la Confédération et même des Cantons de l’Arc Lémanique, cette Silicon Valley européenne potentielle, se font attendre. Suisse – réveille-toi!

Daniel Stanislaus Martel

I know this blog is a little late, but it has taken me awhile to catch on to the online revolution. Here are some photos from the Gators’ trampling of Florida International, there were some big plays and interesting player selections by Meyer.

There will undoubtedly be some post-dated photos showing up here but I think after a short time I will catch up and use only recent items. I’ll be sure to keep you posted! – Matt Tripp

Ich freue mich, dass schon nach 12 Stunden die ersten Onlinedisskusionen geführt werden, ausgelöst durch meinen Blog .

J: schreibst du über twilight? das merkt man erst am ende, wenns überhaupt stimmt… evtl. wär auch nen link zu dem vatikanverbot nicht schlecht.

S: Keine Rede von Vatikanverbot. Der Vatikan hat´s kritisiert weil durch den Film Vampiere und Werwölfe (dämonische Gestalten) idealisiert werden.

S: Die Info haben wir auf´m Deutschlandfunk gehört

J: muss ich mir twilight wohl mal reinziehen… hab aber gehört das sei langweilig

(nachzulesen bei Facebook)

An J: Du solltest dir den Film nicht reinziehen, denn er wurde für Teenies gemacht und ist dementsprechend nix für dich.

Wie so oft und auch im letzten Blog von mir beschrieben, ist der Film nicht annähernd so gut wie das Buch. Der Film ist unterhaltsam und der eine oder andere Charakter schön anzusehen, aber für die meisten Leser ist der Film enttäuschent und so natürlich auch für den anspruchsvollen Kinogänger bzw. Filmgucker.

Ich habe mir das ganze Thema “Twilight – Vatikan – Hysterie” noch mal genauer angeschaut und durch den Kopf gehen lassen und ich muss S. voll zustimmen. Wer sich mit dem Thema “der Teufel und sein dämonischer Einfluss auf uns” beschäftigt, weiß wovon wir reden. Aber um diesem Gedankengang folgen zu können, muss man sich mit Spiritualität, Gott und der Teufel und was das alles mit uns zu tun hat und was es für uns bedeutet, beschäftigt haben oder beschäftigen.

Ich bin ein spiritueller Mensch, ich glaube an JAH. Nicht in dem Sinne wie viele andere Gläubige, aber auch nicht vollkommen anders, das heißt, ich bin nicht religiös und gehe nicht regelmäßig in ein Gotteshaus. Ich glaube an eine höhere Macht, an Schicksal und an die Seelen. Und ich glaube an eine dämonische Kraft, die uns unserer Seelen berauben will. Und das geschieht auf sehr vielfältige Weise.

Es stimmt, die Film-/Buchfiguren werden idealisiert, werden gut und als Beschützer der Menschen dargestellt. Das ist absurd und völliger Quatsch. Kreaturen, die geschaffen wurden, um Menschen zu töten, können nicht aus reiner Willenskraft gut werden. Genau das ist die dämonische Message, die wir glauben sollen und nicht glauben dürfen!

Nun würde ich ja gerne schreiben, das Stephenie Meyer sich der Tragweite ihrer Metapher für unvergängliche Liebe nicht bewußt war, doch das fällt mir sehr schwer angesichts der Spiritualität und Religiösität der Amerikaner. Und siehe da, ein Blick bei Wikipedia verrät, dass auch Meyer religiös ist und zur Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage (Mormonen) gehört. Und nun frage ich mich, wie kann ein gläubiger Mensch diese Bücher schreiben. Auch das verrät Wikipedia.  Sie hatte einen Traum:

“Sie sah, wie sich ein junges Mädchen und ein Vampir auf einer Lichtung trafen und unsterblich ineinander verliebten.” (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephenie_Meyer)

Tja, und nun die logische Konsequenz für alle spirituellen Menschen: Dieser Traum war ein dämonischer Traum. Meyer wurde zum Werkzeug des Teufels.

Wenn dieser Blog von vielen Menschen auf der ganzen Welt gelesen werden würde, würde es wahrscheinlich heftige Kritik, Proteste und ähnliches geben für meine Aussagen und Schlussfolgerungen. Aber das ist mein Blog und ich stehe zu dem, was ich schreibe, bin aber auch nicht allwissend und deshalb immer offen für neue Anregungen, Ansichten und Kritik. Habt Ihr eine andere Sicht auf die Dinge, teilt sie mir mit und sie werden meinen Horizont erweitern und mich vielleicht das eine oder andere Mal zu einer anderen Meinung bringen.

Jetzt ist die Frage, welche Schlüsse ich aus meinen Erkenntnissen ziehe. Ich würde gern behaupten, dass ich deshalb die Filme boykottieren werde, aber das wird bestimmt nicht der Fall sein, “obwohl ich die Grenze zum Teenageralter schon etwas länger überschritten habe”.

Ich denke, man muss verantwortungsbewußt und kritisch mit den Medien umgehen. Und genau das werde ich mit dem Film machen. Ich lasse mich unterhalten ohne für die dämonischen Messages empfänglich zu sein. Meint ihr das funktioniert?

Peace, Tolskij

“Muito do que se encontra aqui é de minha opinião, há sim trechos de algumas notícias de outros sites/fóruns e blogs, mas as informações destes locais se mesclam com a minha, pois peguei alguns trechos e adicionei minhas próprias opiniões. E se você é fã da série, respeite a opinião assim como respeito a sua por ser fã da série”

A nova onda pop do momento trata-se da saga de Stephenie Meyer,com os livros “Crepúsculo”, “Lua Nova”, “Eclipse”, “Amanhecer” e “Sol da Meia-Noite”, que conta a história de uma garota que se apaixona por um vampiro. Com este sucesso vieram críticas e mais críticas, uma delas foi sobre os vampiros da saga serem, “vampiros modernos”. Estou aqui para dar a minha opinião sobre o assunto.

Vamos lá.

Eu li o primeiro livro, “Crepúsculo”, não totalmente pois passou da metade do livro eu lia uma página e pulava dez. Embora tenha tentado ler mais algumas vezes desistido muito antes de chegar à metade (sim achei a escritora muito ruim), uma mistura de elementos fantasiosos com romance (tudo bem, realmente gosto do estilo fantasia ficção/realidade), mas foi uma coisa que Stephenie Meyer não soube passar, pois se foca de uma tal maneira no relacionamento entre Isabela Swan e Edward Cullen que esquece muitas coisas ao redor da história. Enquanto isso, os Cullen percorrem os corredores e a cantina do colégio olhando de baixo para cima, ameaçadores, sem que ninguém jamais questione a palidez cadavérica de toda a família (ou talvez todos percebam se tratar de uma maquiagem  incrivelmente artificial que não se preocupa sequer em cobrir direito os pescoços e membros dos tais vampiros). Por que ainda freqüentam a escola depois de tantos anos? Certamenten não é para disfarçar sua a verdadeira natureza, já que chamam mais atenção que todos.

Com relação ao filme, apenas assisti metade e fui pulando uns minutos à frente, um filme típico para adolescentes que passam por muitos romances nesta fase da vida. e talvez seja isto que atraia este público para as salas de cinema em todo o país, pois muitos adolescentes para se enturmar ou fazer parte de um grupo seleto, apenas vão na “onda” do momento e assim acabam perdendo um pouco de sua identidade pessoal simplesmente para fazer parte do “momento”. Já o filme em si não traz nada de interessante uma das coisas que mais me desagradou no filme foi Robert Pattinson, que mais se preocupa em ser um galã do que um “ator”, totalmente inexpressivo e suas tentativas de atuar soam embaraçosamente ruins – Robert Pattinson transforma Keanu Reeves em um johnny Depp, talvez.

Outra coisa, o que são os “vampiros modernos”? São vampiros metrossexuais, vampiros que ao saírem à luz do Sol faz com que seus corpos brilhem intensamente?. Realmente este conceito de vampiros não me soa legal, este conceito de “vampiro moderno” significa que a autora não leu, ou nunca se dispôs a procurar algo relacionado à história de vampiros. Já ouvi muito disso:”Mas ela criou novos vampiros, uma forma diferente de se enchergar os vampiros”, sim tudo bem que ela enchergou e quis mostrar de forma diferente os vampiros, ela “quis” mostrar, mas não foi uma coisa que explorou à fundo e deixou muitas coisas vagas no seu novo conceito de vampiros, pois foca-se somente na história romântica entre Isabela e Edward, (isto não é justificativa para um novo “conceito” de “novos” vampiros).

Para terminar postarei o link e o que Stephen King disse sobre Stephenie Meyer. (Já havia tido minha própria opinião sobre a saga de Stephenie Meyer, mas quando vi o que “King” disse confirmou minhas opiniões, afinal se “Eu” que não sou conhecido no meio do mundo das celebridades dissesse isto eu seria apedrejado literalmente, mas Stephen King devido ao seu status e aos seus best-sellers famosos mundialmente dizer isto é um elogio para tentar melhorar)
Em entrevista ao US Weekend, Stephen King disse:

“Ambas Rowling e Meyer, estão falando diretamente a pessoas jovens… A real diferença é que Jk Rowling é uma fantástica escritora e Stephenie Meyer não consegue escrever nada que preste. Ela não é muito boa. [...] Pessoas são atraídas por histórias, pelo ritmo, e no caso de Stephenie Meyer fica bem claro que ela está escrevendo para toda uma geração de garotas e abrindo algum tipo de clube seguro do amor e sexo nesses livros. É emocionante e agitado e não é particularmente ameaçador porque não é sexual demais.”

e ainda continuou explicando:

“Muito do lado físico da coisa se converge em coisas como, o vampiro tocará seu antebraço ou passará sua mão pela sua pele e ela então ruboriza em algo quente e frio. Isso para garotas é um resumo de todos os sentimentos com os quais elas não estão preparadas para lidar ainda.”

OBS: qualquer dúvida digite no google: stephen king sobre stephenie meyer

Blade deveria acabar com este tipo de vampiro

Nicht wirklich inspiriert sondern vielmehr bekräftigt in meiner Idee, hat mich der Film “Julie & Julia”. Und nun sitze ich hier mitten in der Nacht und starte meinen Blog mit dem allerersten Eintrag. Irgendwie aufregend. Natürlich wird es noch eine Weile dauern, bis sich der eine oder andere zu meinem Blog verirrt, aber ich starte dennoch mit vollem Enthusiasmus, Elan und dem notwendigen Ernst.

Mein Blog soll in erster Linie unterhalten, aber auch informieren. Mein Traum ist es unter anderem, den zahlreichen hilflosen jungen Müttern da draussen Rat und Trost zu geben .

Irgendwie richtet sich dieser Eintrag auch an die Mütter dieser Welt, die sich jetzt, alamiert durch den Vatikan, fragen, ob sie ihre Kinder ins Kino schicken können oder nicht. Zuersteinmal die Frage, warum hat niemand was gesagt, als sich die Bücher so gut verkauften? Und damit kommen wir schon zum wesentlichen Punkt! Auch ich habe die Bücher gelesen, obwohl ich die Grenze zum Teenageralter schon etwas länger überschritten habe, und ich habe sie verschlungen. Und zwar nicht, weil diese Bücher von Vampieren und Werwölfen handeln, sondern weil Stephenie Meyer diese Liebesgeschichte so bezaubernd und berührend beschreibt, dass ich mich gerne in ihre Welt hineingelesen habe. (Diese besondere Stimmung wird ganz nebenbei gesagt im Film bei weitem nicht erreicht!!!)

Ich habe selten ein Buch gelesen, das eine zwischenmenschliche Beziehung so … gefühlvoll, unschuldig und voller Hoffnung beschreibt, und ich habe schon sehr viele Bücher in meinem jungen Leben gelesen. In Zeiten, wo so viele Ehen geschieden werden, so viele Liebesgeschichten kein Happy End finden, suchen doch gerade die jungen Leute nach einer Hoffnung für die ewige Liebe. Und Meyer findet keine bessere Metapher für unvergängliche Liebe! Die Menschen wollen an die Liebe glauben, doch die Realität macht es ihnen schwer. Und ein weiterer Aspekt ist in unserer heutigen Gesellschaft größtenteils verlorengegangen: die Spiritualität. Doch die Menschen sehnen sich danach. Sie wollen an etwas Übernatürliches, Mysthisches glauben. Und deshalb sind die Bücher und jetzt auch die Filme so erfolgreich, meiner Meinung nach. Die Legenden und Geschichten über kalte Wesen und Wolfsmenschen gibt es schon länger als die Twilight-Saga, Meyer hat sie also nicht neu erfunden. Die Menschen haben sich schon IMMER für solche Geschichten interessiert, deshalb kann der Vatikan auch niemanden abhalten; weder ins Kino zu gehen noch sich mit diesen oder ähnlichen Themen auseinanderzusetzten.

Achso, man sollte vielleicht auch noch erwähnen, dass die Wahl der Schauspieler maßgeblich zur Begeisterung beiträgt. Also, entspannt Euch!

In dem Wissen, dass auch mein Blog unvergänglich ist, denn das Internet vergisst nie, schicke ich nun diesen ersten Eintrag in die Welt hinaus.

Peace, Tolskij

Affiche française

“Tu ne me reverras plus. Je ne reviendrai pas. Poursuis ta vie, ce sera comme si je n’avais jamais existé.” Abandonnée par Edward, celui qu’elle aime passionnément, Bella ne s’en relève pas. Comment oublier son amour pour un vampire et revenir à une vie normale ? Pour combler son vide affectif, Bella court après le danger et prends des risques de plus en plus inconsidérés. Edward n’étant plus là pour la protéger, c’est Jacob, l’ami discret et indéfectible qui va la défendre et veiller sur elle. Mais peu à peu elle réalise l’ambigüité des sentiments qu’ils éprouvent l’un envers l’autre…”

Twilight – Chapitre 2 : Tentation est le deuxième volet de la saga Twilight adaptée des livres Fascination, Tentation, Hésitation et Révélation de Stéphanie Meyer.

Après le chapitre 1 réalisé par Catherine Hardwicke, ce nouvel opus est dirigé par Chris Weitz (A la croisée des mondes : la boussole d’or). On ne peut pas blâmer le réalisateur sur le résultat de ce chapitre 2, qui est surtout lié au scénario, scénario donné par le livre dont le film est issu. Car l’histoire de Tentation est beaucoup plus lente que celle de Fascination. Que retenir de Tentation: rien, quasiment, mis à part l’esprit bête de l’héroïne.

La fin, quand à elle est très abrupte, autant dire qu’il n’y en a pas.

Twilight – Chapitre 2 : Tentation dure 2h10. Pourtant, l’action est peu présente. On ne s’ennuie pas, mais on ne ressort pas du cinéma satisfait.

Ma note:

Stephenie Meyer hinted backstage on the Oprah set about a fifth and possible longer Twilight series… Please oh pretty please say it is so!

To explain “New Moon” the film, you not only must compare it to the books but to the style and praise of the previous film.

Disclaimer: I am not a critic, nor a genius, nor have I ever written a review. These are just my thoughts on the film. Just me talking about the pros and the cons. If for any reason you feel this doesn’t meet your standards then stop. I am just a fan of the books sense they’ve come out. I have read the books instantly as they came out after discovery the first novel Twilight from a friend. I read it before anyone had gone Vampire crazy, and before New Moon came out. So I have liked the novels a long time. Don’t get me wrong though, as much as I am satisfied with the plot line of the most of the novels I find the author disappointing.

The Author: Stephenie Meyer came and went like J.K Rowling. The author wrote a great story idea but the writing itself was nothing special. There are writing mistakes an experienced author would not make. Stephenie Meyer’s works aren’t master pieces by any standard of literary work. She got this far as J.K. has because she gave the public a nice plot line that made readers drool over pure romance. The same way that Romeo & Juliet are still read in modern times though not modern whatsoever. Yet, the author of Twilight progressively got worst. Lacking in keeping up with the true story she had started with and progressively developing into an almost different story by her fourth book. Change occurred as money in her wallet developed. The later books came solely for the money. After all she did say it herself that she only meant to write two novels and she ended up with four. Most of all I lost my respect entirely of her. Due to the fact that she  personally wrote a letter on her website telling fans of her distaste at the manuscript of Midnight Sun being released online by one of her people and basically telling the readers punishments will happen for it by her not finishing the novel and releasing the draft on her website for all eyes. This action of so outwardly blaming her loyal fans of which some refused to read it even though they could. Shows the fact of how power-hungry she has become to lose track that these people  are devoted to supporting any action taken by her then to just be kicked in the gut for having done absolutely nothing. Plus, it was clearly her fault for the release for trusting the wrong people.

Twilight: My review of twilight the novel. I give it five stars. The characters felt real, relate-able, and consistent. The writing was neither completely poor nor amazing. It was very average like when a friend ask you to read something they wrote. It was properly written and is definitely for a young person that could not acknowledge mistakes. It was written rather childishly, like an adolescent wrote it, which makes it in essence easier to relate to Bella. Although Stephenie Meyer says it was written for  older crowd like individuals like herself, Twilight would not cut it. Most adults would not totally dismiss it, yet it would not have had as great a turn out as it had with the young adult readers. Overall, it is by far the best novel of the Twilight Saga. This is very bad for the rest of the books because they cannot meet up to the standards of the first novel.

New Moon: This novel is clearly the worst of the four novels to some and to others its just seems like a small stepping stone. This novel feels like it was a filler episode in the series.  It filled in some gaps and brought in some ideas for the future books but over all I feel it was a waste of time expect for a few expectations. If the novel had just contained the first bit with Edward and summarized Jacob’s developing character and had the final chapters of the novel it would be better. Basically keep the beginning, the end, and shorten the middle  a lot then this novel might just be ok. Reading this I just felt like get on with the point of the story already, I get it shes depressed move on already, and Jacob is ok but his no Edward. The thing is Edward made Twilight big no matter how you see it and New Moon containing very little Edward is well boring.

Eclipse: This book should have been the last one. It solves the resolution that had started in the first novel almost completely. Though something would need to be added to make this the end and make it amazing instead it wasn’t the last one. The novel seemed to drag on in the middle like New Moon yet it contained some more interesting facts. The end was thrilling, the beginning is forgetful because I literally can’t recall the beginning. Eclipse was nothing special, it was better than the second but still could not compare to the first. Most readers that I spoke to feel that the Bella everyone had fallen in love with in Twilight and people could relate to had become someone utterly different. I get that characters in novel can grow up and change to but this was a radical attitude change in the series. It just felt like a different person with the same name.

Breaking Dawn: By far the worst of the books in the series to most. This novel has the same character ideals of same names, vampires, werewolves, and fight for good. However this novel seems almost unrelated to the rest to the series. The main characters seem almost like strangers to fans of the series. The actions and plot line of the story are just out-of-place with the rest of the series that most people are disgusted to call Breaking Dawn the end of the Twilight series. This book is entirely like a filler episode to the climax. Then as the reader reaches the climax disappointment is waiting. Some of the ideas or passages of the novel are what the fans of Twilight had been waiting to see, yet with the personality change of characters, mainly Bella, made those passage unbearable to enjoy fully. The beginning plays with the exact answers to  that of the readers questions of  “what would happen if this happened.” The middle didn’t really make sense and seemed to be implemented for a shock effect. The end was a the biggest fail and disappointment for readers looking for a little more action.

Twilight the film: Disappointment. Comprehension that the novel can’t literally be brought to life but it was painful to watch almost. The acting by Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson was horrible. Neither of them can properly act. This is no surprise sense Catherine Hardwicke tends to favor actors and not properly look for actors that can act. The effects in the film were unimpressive and lacked realism. A lot of the details that made the novel famous were left out. Scenes were added that just wasted time in the movie and were pointless. The camera work was done poorly and overall failed in properly symbolizing what the novel was all about. Twilight basically had been butchered to shreds for fans of the novel.

New Moon the film: In comparison to Twilight, the film, New Moon was amazing. The effects were much smoother, there were more of them, the camera angles were nice, and it properly symbolized what the Twilight Saga is about. The actors of the first film were kept and brought down the movie. Due to the fact the worst actors in the film are the lead actors. However one lead actor stands out from the rest. Taylor Lautner was amazing. His acting skills carried the film and made the character Jacob look outstanding. Compared to the novel in which fans didn’t like not having as much of Edward in the film I feel better not having Robert Pattinson on-screen. His acting was literally a joke and Kristen Stewart is so emotionless and seems more like versions of  Keanu Reeves. The film kept very close to the novel, but the film brought the novel to life were the novel had failed. The fail was much more entertaining and accomplished in the areas that novel lacked. It had a much more concrete ideas of romance between Edward and Bella. It brought out the feelings of the novel while still being able to introduce the added plot-line of the werewolves and the Volturi. In the end it was a great film. It was better than Twilight the film and New Moon the novel.

Eclipse/Breaking Dawn the films: As the Twilight Saga rages through the media, I hope success on the future films, and wish for certain actors to get some talent, while the rest of the cast stays gifted in their roles. Much appreciation to the actors that play….

Jacob, Charlie, Cullens (Carlisle, Esme, Emmette, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice!), the Wolf Pack.

(If this doesn’t make sense I haven’t slept this a quick blog. A quick 1554 word count blog~   )

Maybe a Part 2 later.

(Note from Big Layla: If you’ve seen the previews, there shouldn’t be any New Moon spoilers in here.)

Chubs:

World! Tonight I saw a movie in the Theater for the first time! While we were waiting for the movie to start, Layla took pictures of me next to our popcorn, and she even brought me a blanket, in case I got cold. I didn’t get cold at all. The popcorn was warm and salty and dry. Popcorn is not as good as Chocolate, World, but I bet it would taste good with Chocolate. Little Layla ate most of the popcorn. Big Layla had vitamin water.

The movie was about Giants. I kept waiting for the Dragons (I was sure there would be some) and I wondered, since everybody was so Big, if the Dragons would be the same size as the humans, or if they would be so Big only one foot would fit on the screen, but there were no Dragons. There were Giant Wolves with Giant Teeth, though, and some Giant humans that Sparkled some of the time. I think all humans should sparkle all of the time, don’t you? It’s very pretty. Layla’s lips and her hair and sometimes her eyelids sparkle. Layla says my horns and my hearts sparkle. We’re pretty.

Some of the humans that were never sparkly sometimes turned into the Giant Wolves. I hope Layla and I can turn into Giant Wolves someday…Giant Wolves that Sparkle – that would be perfect.

Well, Little Layla is already asleep and Big Layla just pulled her pillow over her face and is making whimpering noises, so I think she wants me to turn out the light. Until tomorrow, World. (If you are bored because you don’t have any more Life According to Chubs to read, watch a movie and eat chocolate (and maybe ice cream too), and you will be happy, I bet – even if it’s not about Dragons.)

Goodnight, World!

First of all, the following is entirely my opinion and if you are an easily offended Twilight fan, I suggest you don’t read this. I was discussing the problems with Twilight with my roommate, who’s also very anti-Twilight, and I just want to point out some of my observations and frustrations with Stephanie Meyer’s bestselling novels.

On the door just next to my dorm there is a dry erase board that has a countdown to when the “New Moon” movie comes out, and every time I pass by, all I can do is think, “Not again!”

A year ago, as a senior in high school, I was subjected to listening about Twilight every single day. I have not read any of the books, I will admit, but I know most of the basic storyline just from hearing teenage girls gush about it. Truthfully, before this whole Twifan girls or Twiwhatever thing started, I would go into a bookstore and hold Stephanie Meyer’s book in my hands, pondering over whether or not to buy it. It seemed like a nice teenage story about a high school girl from Phoenix moving to Washington state. She goes to a new school and meets this boy…I’m not one for romance novels, but, neh? And this boy turns out to be a…VAMPIRE? What’s more a VAMPIRE that SPARKLES?!?! Immediately, the whole vampire thing made me lose interest and I merely tossed the book aside.

I don’t know about you, but when I picture a vampire, I imagine something that looks like Dracula, with pale skin, a black cape, and fangs. You know, the whole vampire schema. NOT SOME PALE HOT GUY WHO SPARKLES!!!!! From what I hear, it is fairly obvious that Stephanie Meyer did not do her research when churning out these novels. But I’m not saying that she should not be allowed to write these books. Sure they’re not the greatest quality writing-wise, but they are addicting and a nice way to pass several hours while relaxing by the pool or in the comfort of your own home. But what scares me is that the Twilight fanbase has become almost a cult. It’s similar to the Harry Potter craze a few years ago, which I was involved in. But Harry Potter, though it is fantasy, seems to have a more realistic description of teen love life. I’m sorry, but not every teenage girl is going to fall in love with VAMPIRES, who feed off the blood of humans and animals, marry them, and have their demonic children. Yes, that is very normal. And this is not just hormonally charged preteen girls who are crazed by Twilight and who daydream about Edward, because pale one-hundred-year-old sparkly guys are so hot. Personally, I think Robert Pattinson looks high in the movies and the actor who plays Jacob is much more attractive. But this whole slobbering love affair and obsession goes beyond middle school to high school and even college. Hell, even ADULTS are reading this crap. I hate to tell you all this, but it’s plain to see that this whole saga is Stephanie Meyer’s sexual fantasy and is entirely based on what would qualify as a wet dream. So, millions of girls in America are falling for a FICTIONAL CHARACTER IN STEPHANIE MEYER’S SEXUAL FANTASY! I’m sorry, but this whole thing scares the crap out of me. I would much rather go to the library or a bookstore and curl up with a good book such as the Kite Runner or To Kill a Mockingbird than waste my time reading mushy sparkly fake vampire slop. But that’s just me. There’s nothing wrong for liking Twilight, since many people apparently do, but hearing absolutely normal and kindhearted girls go on and on about Edward, Edward, Edward, and Bella as if they were real freaking people is quite frightening. It’s a book people! Get over it!

Don’t get me wrong, I obsess about stuff to, but I can hold an intelligent conversation without talking about college basketball and the Tennessee Volunteers. And, the athletes who I cheer for are actually real people who are living and breathing, just like you and me. And by no means do these athletes arouse me! I do not stalk them or daydream about them constantly. I even refuse to get a twitter, believing that it is just a legal way to stalk celebrities, or whom you think are celebrities. It’s fine to like and support a character in a novel, but wanting to shack up with them is another thing.

Oh yeah, and the whole sparkly thing really turns me off as well.

So, as all those “twifans” say, Team Edward or Team Jacob? I’m on Team I Don’t Give a Shit.

For my first post of this blog, I thought I would share my gear I am working with these days. I need to spend some more time working on studio gear, but will get to that later.

Here are some pics, with a brief list below

Current Photo Gear:

Canon T1i

Lenses:

Canon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6

Canon 55-250mm f4.5-5.6

Meyer-Optics 50mm f1.8

Takumar 55mm f1.8

Taumar 135mm f3.5

Takumar 28mm f3.5

Vivitar 24mm f2.8

Tair 3C 300mm f4.5

Muita gente desiste do sonho de escrever seu livro ou fazer o seu filme mesmo que seja um curta, porque é um meio extremamente fechado e restrito a poucos sucessos. E quem diria que o estouro do momento passou pelo mesmo dilema.
Esta sexta-feira, 20 de novembro, estréia Lua nova (New moon) o segundo filme da série Crepúsculo, grande sucesso nos livros, e trilha o mesmo caminho no cinema. Escrita por Stephenie Meyer, apesar de todo sucesso conquistado no mundo literário, a história do romance impossível de Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) e Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) poderia não alcançar a telona. A Paramont em 2006, mesmo com pouco mais de 4 milhões de exemplares do livro vendidos, não apostou na história de amor do vampiro e sua colega de escola. A justificativa foi que um filme juvenil sem sexo, erotismo e que aposta apenas na fantasia e no amor não lhes renderia um sucesso.
Foi então que uma pequena produtora comprou quase de graça os direitos da série que hoje acumula os números impressionantes de 400 milhões de dólares com o primeiro filme e deve chegar aos 3 bilhões de dólares até 2012. Atualmente as vendas dos livros aproximan-se dos 77 milhões com os seus quatro volumes, Crepúsculo (Twilight), Lua nova (New Moon), Eclipse e Amanhecer (Breaking Dawn).
Essa é uma prova que uma boa história para o público certo ainda rende mais que os clichês e besteiróes americanos, como já vimos em outros casos, exemplo de Harry Potter e Senhor dos Anéis.
Além do sucesso do filme devemos enxergar todo o trabalho envolvido e o número de oportunidades que muitos deixariam passar. Desde o trabalho, claro, do escritor, passando pela editora e a produtora que acreditaram na história e chegando até as grandes ações de marketing que envolvem um sucesso, como o cuidado para que o lançamento não encontre com outro do seu mesmo público, como aconteceu em 2008 com o primeiro filme, o as aparições do elenco na hora do lançamento.
Depois desse histórico, se você tem uma boa história, ou conhece alguém que tenha, pense melhor. O sucesso pode estar na sua frente!

Para ir aquecendo veja o trailer.

Se você ainda não conhecesse a série veja também o trailer do primeiro filme.

Flávio Leal @lealhc e Tobal @caiotope

So, since (perish the thought) New Moon is going to be realised in cinemas soon, I would like to address the matter of this fan girl love for Edward. To be honest, I hate Edward. Infact, I hate every character in the series, and I hate the series in general – but that’s a whole different post. What I’m really wondering is why so many teenage girls think Edward is the most gorgeous thing, from the way that he was described in the books.

See, what I always thought was attractive about vampires is how they are so dangerous, intimidating, emotionless, and mysterious. They set on fire in the sunlight, and sleep in coffins. They have fangs – just to add to the danger – which serve as a manner of killing, and have they have no reflection. This is what I think is attractive about the vampire. If they existed, then it would be almost impossible to be in a relationship with one, and if you were, then you would be at a true risk. It would also likely be based completely on lust, and if (s)he did have real feelings for you, I would expect the vampire to find this a difficult concept to grasp.

Edward, however, is pretty safe to be around, not unapproachable by any means, has emotion (even if it’s just being overly possessive), and goes to High School. He SPARKLES in the sunlight, doesn’t sleep, has no fangs, and has a reflection.In his relationship with Bella, he doesn’t seem to have much of a problem with getting involved with her (despite telling her to stay away from him, and trying to scare her, he never makes the choice to stay away from her). There are no real signs that he is a threat to Bella’s life, just to her freedom (he’s all talk, but he’s never actually hurt her), and, despite their relationship clearly being all lust, they seem to think that there is emotion involved. A major problem that I have about Edward, is that he was human at one point, and remembers it. Maybe I’m just attracted to fictional characters with no emotion, but I hate the fact that he clearly has some sort of human emotion, even as a vampire. Despite this, he acts as I think a heart-less should act in his position, and is very abusive towards Bella.

I have seen a lot of Twilight fans say that it seems like Edward is abusive towards Bella because they are in a completely different situation to any relationship that most teenagers are (Stephenie Meyer, also, said this). This might be a fair statement to make, if Edward had lost all of his human side, or was never human to begin with, and didn’t understand how he should treat his partner. But, he has not, and does understand. For that reason, there is not much concerning this that makes them any different to any other couple.

Take the fandom pairing of Orihime and Ulquiorra from Bleach. This is a good example to use, as Ulquiorra is a non-human, who does not understand any need for emotion, and Orihime is a human who is very caring towards others. This ship has a lot of supporters, despite Ulquiorra often saying nasty, manipulative things to Orihime. Now, the reason that non-supporters of this ship are not all jumping up to say that it would be an abusive relationship, is because it is a relationship that is very different to the ones that we know in the non-fictional world. Ulquiorra is clearly confused about Orihime’s feelings, and his own (not in a romantic sense, just in general), and does not seem to know how to handle concepts like ‘Heart’. Because of this, Ulquiorra’s treatment of Orihime can easily be put aside as him knowing no different then to treat her this way. There are many more fandom and canon relationships that we could look at in the same way.

Edward, however, does know about emotion, and has lived for many years to witness this emotion. He seems to feel it himself, and acts very human (so much so that he can go to high school without any problems). This means that we cannot apply the same logic to him, and can only compare him to other humans. If Stephenie Meyer is going to imply that Edward feels and understands human emotions without a problem, then she should agree that Bella and Edward’s relationship can be looked at as a normal relationship, and what is an unhealthy relationship between two humans, should be an unhealthy relationship between them.

I’ve gone a little off topic, but, whatever. The point is, I don’t understand what is so attractive about Edward, when girls have real vampires to lust after.