“How Soon Is Now” – The Smiths

Sooooo, I finally got around to watching (500) Days of Summer.  It was… good.

Things that I liked:

1.  LOS ANGELES-  born and raised, baby   It was so nice to see good ol’ LA portrayed with so much genuine love;  they didn’t  pretend that it was New York, like all other Hollywood movies do, but really almost personified the city.  However, neither of the two main characters were Angelenos- something that was a bit disappointing, especially since Zooey Deschanel (who, by the way, was named Zooey Glass Deschanel after Zooey Glass from J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey which I just finished reading for my Intro to Lit class – thanks Leo from said class - which is AWESOME, I adore Salinger) is a LA native.

2.  THE MUSIC- See, I knew I should have kept up with Wolfmother after “Woman” because AMAZING !  I love the music in this movie so much (THE SMITHS-see title…we’ll get back to this later).  I am in no way a music conisiueur, but the Indie stuff is where my heart lies.  Also, how beautiful is Carla Bruni’s song “Quelqu’un M’a Dit”?

I shall show you:

To illustrate my earlier point, I had no idea Carla Bruni was a singer.  All I knew was the was some sort of  Princess Diana incarnation/First Lady of France/completely gorgeous.  But nay, she has one of the most gorgeous voices I’ve ever heard.  I’m not going to even try to describe the kinds of emotions that the soundtrack of this movie (which I am listening to as we speak) evoke in me.  If they could be so easily put into words, there wouldn’t be a need for the song in the first place.

3.  The humor:  It was wry, off-beat, and a little dark.  The most hilarious lines were placed in the most inappropriate scenes.  It’s called incongruity kids.  It’s like the plot played the straight man.

4.  Zooey Deschanel’s clothes, and apartment, and…:   Basically everything she owned.  I want.  DID YOU KNOW THAT SHE’S MARRIED TO BEN GIBBARD?  You probably did.  It’s ridiculously appropriate.  But I’m still jealous.  I heart her though, the almost-vegan/Katy Perry twin.  AND WHAT’S THIS ABOUT KATY PERRY DATING RUSSEL BRAND??  MY RUSSEL?!  Nooooooooooooo…

5.  Acting, writing, direction, editing etc. etc. blah blah blah..

6.  Autumn: Well, would you look at that, my favorite season

Things I Didn’t Like So Much:

1.  Tom:  This was by far my biggest problem with the movie, and probably the reason I didn’t moon over it like everyone else has done.  It’s not  because of Jason Gordon-Levitt; he did a fantastic job.  He was probably Tom’s redeeming factor, actually.  No matter how much I tried, I found it impossible to sympathize with Tom.  I mean, it was sad and all…really sad *cough*but I found myself siding more with his younger sister and that one girl he went out with as a blind date.  Summer told him that she wasn’t interested in being in a relationship, told him that what they had wasn’t serious- and he agreed.  He then continued to construct his own imaginary romance and then mourned over it by breaking plates on the kitchen counter and completely blaming Summer- despite the fact that she spelled everything out for him in the beginning.  Summer may have been many not-so-nice-things,  but she was honest.  Right to the very end.  And I liked that about her.  Tom was just a little too…Devdas for me.     Excuse the Bollywood reference, but really…all women want men to pine after them but…just how realistic is that? I love The Smiths, but…TITLE?  A bit melodramatic, maybe?

     In short, he was such a girl.  Geez.

Yeah, that was basically it.  I liked that it didn’t end with the typical “illogical happily ever after” because that is my ABSOLUTE LEASTFAVORITETHING ABOUT ROMANCES.  There was no romance between Summer and Tom.  There was Summer and then Tom’s fantasy, and that is where the romance lay.   And THAT is what love at first sight is.  I don’t believe in it.  LOVE, sure.  I don’t think that he falls in love with Autumn in the end; it is just the beginning of Autumn after all.  Enchantè

Besides, I’m listening to Vagabond right now and that’s all you really need to fall in love with the movie.

Maybe I’m just pathetically unromantic.  “She’s a DUDE!”  Ha ha ha.  Not.

In other news, I’m totally into Glee!  I downloaded most of the soundtrack and heart.   It’s not a revelation, but it’s fun and light and adorable.  And energetic.  There’s also an interesting satirical tone to the show which equals love for me.   So LOVE, Glee, LOVE!  It makes me happy

I downloaded all of Florance and The Machine’s album.  Awesome stuff.  I’ve also just discovered Cibelle, but her stuff is almost impossible to find.  :(  I’m tired ahora, I’ll post something gorgeous later.

TA!

Chathurika

I think Survivor has either come full circle, or contestants are starting to REUSE shocking blanket statements.

Exhibit A, Shambo spewing another “she’s a venomous snake” rant.  Surprisingly, this particular metaphor is neither shocking or new. Harken back with me to season 1; The female truck driver famously hurls the very same insult at Richard in the final episode. In the same way,  Lex (the tatoo guy) in Africa goes ballistic after an elimination and calls out “the SNAKE” in the camp. Shambo thinks she is one of a kind…but she is not even the first raspy-voiced, truck-driving, older woman to spew these ‘bold terms’.

At any rate, Shambo makes it abundantly clear throughout the episode that she’s not a fan of Laura (the evil, venomous snake…also a pastors wife), as Russel licks his lips! So the instant Laura does NOT win another timely immunity idol at the challenge…the “Vote for Laura” campaign begins. But this is Survivor, so we go through a few red-herring scenarios before the voting ceremony.

Here are the stakes:

Galu: 5 (- Shambo) all voting for Natalie (the blonde one)
Foa Foa 5 (+ Shambo) all voting for Laura (the devil incarnate)
= Tie Vote

Therefore, they vote again…(in case someone miss-voted, wrote the wrong name down, or needs a second chance to put down who they ‘meant’ to write down the first time…) in case of another tie, they will pick rocks to decide who goes…the drama!

Final (second) vote count= Laura (Lucifer) eliminated

Highlights/Lowlights:

• Oh…Russel found the other, other, OTHER hidden immunity idol, and this time was wise enough to hold on to it.
• Shameless product placement. The reward challenge featured a trip to an exotic location by private jet and a meal that would feed the entire Samoan people…but the REAL prize was a Palm Pre by Sprint! Cue the contestants all showing us the phone’s capabilities…it takes pictures! It takes videos! It’s touch screen! There’s a waterfall beside me…But this phone is so pretty! Shame on you Survivor…shame. (this highlight brought to you by Palm Pre by Sprint)
• Monica (the dark-haired Laura minion) tried to hatch a plan all by her little self! awww…cute.
• All of a sudden the ‘winds of change’ have blown through camp, now Foa Foa has the numbers…whooda thunk?

I cant wait for next episode when Russel causes the ‘chaos’ he’s been  promising by releasing the chicken…now THAT is going to be some good TV!

Comical genius Russell Howard began the first ever episode of his new TV show ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’, Filmed in front of a live audience. My first thoughts is a cross between Mock The Week (which features Russell) and Harry Hill’s TV Burp.

I really enjoyed the first and second episode, its a fun packed show filled with laughs, mostly about day to day things we can really relate too.

He has really progressed and improved from his earlier days with features on shows including ‘Live at the Apollo’ and various others.

Hope you enjoyed that clip from the first episode, all in all i give it 5/5. You can catch up on the BBC iPlayer online Here.

I ♥ Russell!! gonna watch UP again

Após ter visto muita gente falando sobre esse programa ainda na quinta temporada, resolvi que assistiria a próxima para ver se realmente era legal. As audições foram bem chatas, mas tudo começou a melhorar na Vegas Week, e chegamos ao Top 20.

20 dançarinos divididos em 10 casais, onde nessa primeira semana, foram escolhidos pelos jurados os quatro piores, que tiveram que se apresentar novamente e um homem e uma mulher foram eliminados.

Como eu não entendo nada de dança, irei postar o casal que eu achei mais legal e o que eu achei pior.

Top 20 – Episódio especial

Melhores da noite – Molee & Nathan – Disco

Piores da noite – Noelle & Russel – Foxtrote (Noelle não dançou por estar machucada, em seu lugar dançou a coreógrafa)

Após as 10 apresentações, os jurados colocaram no bottom 4: Ariana Debose e Pauline Matta e Russel Ferguson e Brandon (que entrou no lugar de Billy Bell, eliminado por outras razões antes da competição começar).

Os eliminados acabaram sendo Ariana e Brandon

(warning: movie spoiler ahead)

When Pixar first released Toy Story in 1995, few people would have guessed that computer-generated animation would dominate the future of cartoons. This is probably because what made the film loveable was not the masterful graphics but the inspirational storyline. Their latest movie, Up, is another fine example of Pixar telling a simple, yet moving, story.

78-year old retired balloon salesman, Carl Friedricksen and his wife Ellie dreamt their entire lifetime of embarking on a grand adventure. Inspired by their childhood hero Charles F Muntz, they longed to journey to “Paradise Falls” in South Africa. Now, following the death of his wife, Carl refuses to surrender his memory-laden home to construction workers.

Only when he receives a court order to move to the Shady Oaks Retirement Home does Carl begins to realise that his lifetime dream of going to Paradise falls is long gone…

Or perhaps not.

When people from the retirement home come to take him away, Carl lifts his house free of its foundations with thousands of helium balloons, and sets off for Paradise Falls.

However, there is one small problem: Russel, an 8-year old Wilderness Explorer, who, in an attempt to win his final badge “Assisting the elderly” and become a Senior Wilderness Explorer, finds himself trapped aboard Carl’s floating home.

The unexpected duo head toward Paradise Falls, where Carl will be taught an important lesson: the best adventure of his life was made not by the exotic location but is the sharing the journey.

If you thought that your grandparents would never care to watch an animated kid’s film, then this is definitely one family outing they should be included on.

Lambda.

P.S.: Image copyright by Pixar/Disney

Enfant, aux enterrements, le prêtre se sentait toujours obligé de venir me dire que tout allait bien se passer, ça ressemblait plus à une directive du personnel qu’à de la compassion.

Son patron devait être en plein redressement fiscal, épiscopal et il a oublié d’envoyer un mémo.

Regarder en arrière, cela n’a jamais fait de mal à personne, mais quand il n’y a plus rien à voir, mieux vaut fermer les yeux.

Le repos éternel ? Et puis quoi encore, la sieste crapuleuse alternative, la grasse matinée partielle ?

Cher vendeur de pardon, montre-nous dans quel rôle tu es le plus crédible, celui qui dort ou le mort.

La vie est un site de rencontre et une roulette russe, on ne sait pas sur qui l’on va tomber et qui nous fera tomber.

Je ne suis que de passage dans cette salle d’attente.

Fais comme moi, prends un magazine, fais semblant, souris à ta voisine et lève-toi lorsque l’on t’appelle.

Durant la ballade, tu as le choix entre les œillères ou la muselière pour affronter le compte à rebours.

Vivre en laisse ? Ça a ses avantages !

Là-haut, je ne préfère pas parier dessus, sur ce que je n’ai jamais vu, c’est ce que je me dis en fixant mes baskets, le sol, déçu.

Ceci étant dit, être propriétaire de 21 grammes de spiritualité, c’est sûrement du plus bel effet à l’heure du jugement dernier, mais ici-bas, éduqués au péché originel, les Hommes font la queue pour croquer la pomme.

Satisfaits ou remboursés, messieurs, mesdames pour les réclamations merci de vous adresser à votre main droite la plus proche.

Peut-être la femme de ta vie depuis le jardin d’enfant, peut-être la femme d’une nuit à l’abri d’une ruelle.

C’est la bonne, la prochaine, la dernière, mais c’est toujours une question de vie ou de mort.

Je ne connais pas le visage du bonheur, mais je peux déjà spéculer sur le nombre de liftings réalisés au nom du décor en carton de pâte de la famille idéalisable.

J’aimerais bien être aigri, cynique pour que nous soyons tous sûrs que seule parle ma tristesse de fond de bouteille.

Mais l’amour, c’est comme une boîte de chocolat, quand tu n’en as pas, tu veux celle des autres plutôt qu’avoir la tienne.

…

J’ai si souvent partagé ce lit que je ne me vois pas m’y allonger seul, hum, je n’ai jamais appris à le faire.

Elle tout essayé, pourtant, la pédagogie en l’apprenant à nos enfants, les menaces en promettant le retour de la chasteté, la corruption en s’adressant directement à mon ventre.

Je n’ai jamais su ce qu’elle cherchait au fond de son sac, pendant tout ce temps, elle non plus en fait, mais le jeu était plus passionnant que le Graal.

Laisser son sac en paix, ce n’était pas une option, je suis donc devenu patient.

C’était elle, c’était moi, c’était nous, c’était tout. Et la plus rien.

Je préfère la poussière au cimetière, tu n’es jamais partie, alors j’évite de sortir.

Et le monde continue à tourner et notre histoire à se répéter dans la maison d’à côté.

Le jour où il ne nous reste que des souvenirs de l’autre, c’est qu’il est trop tard ou que ça ne va pas assez vite.

Uh Oh another stroke!

I most recently began to have these thought of betrayal after the latest NFL draft that happened in April of this last year. As I eagerly awaited the Raiders pick, my hopes and dreams became more and more real as team after team passed on Michael Crabtree from Texas Tech. Then the time came… my palms were sweaty and I was filled with joy as the commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodel, approached the podium to announce the Oakland Raiders had picked Michael Crabtree to be an Oakland Raider. What happened next was like I was living in a horrible nightmare, something more horrific to me than finding out Hostess was NOT going to be bailed out by the government and Twinkies would cease to exist FOREVER! Unfortunately Michael Crabtree has found solitude on the opposite side of the bay in California and is playing for the San Francisco 49ers, all the while the Raiders are dealing with a one Darrius Heyward-Bey who has forgotten that he has hands and how to catch a football with them.

Some day though my Raiders will return to glory and won’t be the butt end of pigeon jokes any more. Until that day comes I will choose to watch only the highlight reels of the onslaught of torture that Jamarcus Russell and the Raiders experiences from a man that is more debilitated than Steven Hawkins… but to you Mr. Davis I do congratulate you on standing up for the first time in 12 years during the most pathetic win over the Eagles this last week… does that take your stroke count now to 315?

Die Legende berichtet: »Als der heilige Bennohart mit Erzbischof Stannöhlobert für den neu zu errichtende Gutshof einen Raum aussuchte, kam plötzlich ein wilder Eber aus dem Wald, schlitzte vor ihren Augen mit seinem Rüssel den Boden auf, zog eine umkreisende Furche und bezeichnete dadurch den Bezirk für den Gutshof.«

Als es zur Gründung kam, entschied man sich deshalb auch für ein Wappen, das einen im Bach stehenden Eber zeigt, der auf dem Rücken eine Kirche trägt und im Maul eine Traube hält. 1136 zogen 24 Mönche und Laienbrüder des Zitzenordens in den bereits bestehende Gutshof der Chorherren. Arbeit, Fasten und Schweigen – das Leben der Zitzen war strenger Kontemplation gewidmet.

Die Hinwendung des Ordens zu Meditation und religiösem Ernst beeinflusste seine Bauvorschriften. Skulpturaler Schmuck wurde ebenso abgelehnt wie Bilder, stattdessen richtete sich die Architektur aus am Klang der Liturgie. Der um 1250 bis zur Mitte des 14. Jhs. erbaute Kreuzgang stellt das architektonische Zentrum des Gutshofs dar. Darum angeordnet sind die bedeutendsten Wirtschaftsgebäude.

Noch heute erinnert man sich im Gutshof an die Dreharbeiten zum Film »Die Dame der Hose« nach dem Roman von Humbert Echo, dessen mehr als gewagte Gutshofszenen 1985 mit Hauptdarsteller Stan Connery teilweise hier gedreht wurden. 1998 überführte man die Gutshofanlage in eine gemeinnützige Stiftung öffentlichen Rechts.

Für Kinder werden besondere Führungen (»Bonifaz, die Gutshofmaus«) angeboten. Ein besonderes Erlebnis sind die in historischen Räumen stattfindenden Weinproben. Die »Schlenderprobe« z. B. ist ein Gutshofrundgang mit Verkostung von sechs Rieslingweinen in sechs Räumen (188 Euro). Für Einzelbesucher findet zwischen Mai und Oktober jeden ersten Freitag im Monat die »offene Schlenderweinprobe« statt, während jeden dritten Freitag zwischen Mai und Oktober die »Traditionsweinprobe« veranstaltet wird.

Verwirrt betrachtete er die Umgebung. Immer noch dieselbe Haltestelle, doch… etwas war anders. Nein, das war nicht die Straße, auf der er – wie er glaubte – eben gerade den Heimweg antrat. In dieser Stadt sahen die Häuserfassaden zwar alle gleich aus, doch dies hatte nichts mehr von dem gutbürgerlichen Innenstadtviertel, in welchem er gerade… ja, was eigentlich?

Er konnte sich nicht erinnern. Angestrengt kramte er in seinen Gehirnwindungen, allein: ihm fiel nicht ein, was geschehen ist. So sehr er sich bemühte – der vergangene Tag schien genauso im Dunkeln zu liegen wie der angebrochene Abend. Und- welcher Wochentag ist das überhaupt? Umso mehr er sich konzentrierte, desto stärker wurde wieder das Pochen in seinem Schädel.

Furcht packte ihn plötzlich ob der Vermutung, etwas Schreckliches sei im Gange. Dann entdeckte er, ein aus dem Augenwinkel schon seit einigen Sekunden verschwommener doch beständiger Reiz, etwas neben sich auf dem Pflaster liegen:

Ein grinsendes (“Wie der Teufel”, dachte er, “wie der Teufel!”), rosa Elefantengesicht, ausgestattet mit einem hübschen, baumelnden Rüssel und zwei weißen, kleinen Stoßzähnchen.

Es war die passende Maske zu seinem Kostüm.

After snow plugging on the Saturday and Sunday it was time to show Russ the trail network that starts 5 minutes from my back door. There is a great network of trails on the Port Hills behind Christchurch, which are where I ride on the week day evenings or on weekends when I can’t get out of town!

Seeing as Russ only had one day left I decided I would take him nearly from one end of the trails to the other! We started off by heading up Worsleys, where the sun was definitely shining and had us toasting as we made our way up the ruts and rocks. As we climbed higher the views across to the snow covered Southern Alps were definitely inspiring. From the top of Worsleys we headed over to the start of the Flying Nun track. It was a good feeling knowing that the worst climb of the day was already behind us, and that there were many miles of single track sitting just ahead of us. Swooping down the Flying Nun was fun as always. Russ was very keen on the idea of having a session on this track at some stage. It is one of those tracks that gets better each time you ride it!

Top of the hill, start of Flying Nun

From the Flying Nun it was a quick road bash up to the top of Victoria Park where all the down hill type trails are. I took Russ for a quick run down Brake Free before heading off across the Traverse Track and onto the Mt Vernon track. Christchurch trails have a lot of square edged volcanic rock sticking out of the trail surface, and when this is combined with the narrow U-shaped channel that most of the track wear into it makes for tracks that you need to be really on your game to ride smoothly and well!

Traverse Track

Mt Vernon Track

Witch Hill Track

At the end of Vernon we passed the top of the Rapaki Track which is the main off-road highway up the hill for bikers, runners and walkers. We had fun on the Witch Hill track before jumping back onto the road for a short stint up to the Castle Rock Track. Barrelled down the fun Castle Rock Track before passing the Bridle Path and wondering at tough early settlers who used to haul their lives up and over the very steep hill from the Port of Lyttleton. We then passed under the under-utilised Christchurch Gondola. There is a group with a plan to use the gondola for getting bikers to the top of the hill so they can come back down on some fun tracks, and while that sounds like a great idea, the terrain under the gondola is so rocky and full of bluffs that it looks like it will be a track builders nightmare to get anything other than an extreme huck cliff drop line down it!!

We were soon around to John Britten Track and then onto the fabulous Greenwood Park track which dropped us all the way to Evans Pass. While the tracks out to Godley Heads and especially the Anaconda Track which drops into Taylors Mistake were calling to us, we decided to drop down the Captain Thomas track into Sumner instead. The two previous days of biking were probably a large contributor to our decision to take the shorter route!

John Britten Track

The squeeze on Greenwood Park Track

Captain Thomas Track

Russ had a good chance to feed his vertigo while we made our way down Captain Thomas as the track has a number of rock outcrops that are rideable, but the exposed drop into the valley off the side of the track is a pretty major disincentive to many people!! We were soon sitting in the sun in Sumner, drinking coffee and scoffing yummy food, looking out at the snow on the Kaikoura Mountains. It was a damn fine 3 day weekend of biking, with everything from West Coast jungle gold mining tracks, to silliness in the snow  and slush on tracks in the Canterbury foothills, to fast and flowing with technical rock sections on the Port Hills. In the 3 days of riding I had gone from wearing layers and freezing my extremities in the snow to getting sun burnt in a t-shirt and shorts on what felt like a summers day up the Port Hills!

Russ enjoying the downhill

Mmmm coffeeeee

Day 2 of Russ’s trip down south dawned bright and clear. The plan was to go and ride the Wharfedale track which is out near Oxford in Canterbury. After spending much of the morning setting Russ up with a new set of tubeless tyres we picked up Bevan on our way out to the Wharfedale. Heading out there I could see that the snow was still down very low on this side of the Island. Arriving at the carpark and there was already snow sitting on the ground. Although todays ride was at a much lower altitude than the Croesus from the day before it was obvious that the snow had fallen to a much lower altitude on the East Coast.

Seeing as we were already out there we decided to go for a ride in the snow anyway! This snow was much deeper and much harder to ride in than the day before! If you pedaled really hard and fast you could maintain enough momentum to push through the snow, but this meant you could ride for about 30 seconds before your lungs and legs exploded and you would have to stop, have a rest and do it all over again!

We made our way about an hour up the trail before turning around and having some drifty fun on the way back down the track!

bridging

Going hard

Coming back down

Russ getting his drift on!

Surfing the slush

Getting back to the van we had a laugh about what a silly idea that was, and promptly headed back to town, found some beer and sat in the sunshine!

My mate Russ was coming down for a few days and bringing his bike along so I could show him some of the good Canterbury single track. Looking at the weather forecast on the Thursday he almost changed his mind and bought the skis along instead! We had one of the lowest snows of the year on the Friday, and when I picked Russ up from the airport early on Saturday morning it was still pretty grey and cold in Christchurch. The weather on the West Coast was looking much nicer, so we piled into the van and headed for the Croesus Track which is over near Greymouth.

Russ had not been for a mountain bike ride with me for a long time and was a bit apprehensive that I might be going to throw him into a ride that was way over his head. Rolling down the first kilometer of the Croesus it was wet, muddy and a pretty full on rock garden as well… and I could tell Russ was wondering what he had got himself into!! However it soon became a lot easier riding and after crossing a couple of swing bridges the track started its steady ascent towards the Paparoa tops. There was a lot of water on the trail and the streams were flowing well. Croesus is always a good ride whether it is wet or dry. I think the amount of water that does fall on the track manages to wash anything slippery like moss off the track!

Plenty of water

Being an old miners pack track, much of the trail is good and wide, and very well benched, but time and erosion have made the track interesting for bikers by wearing some exciting obstacles and lines into the track.

After climbing almost half way to the tree line we start to find the first bits of snow at the side of the trail. It was not long until the snow was covering the track as well, but it was only a thin icy covering which was pretty good for biking up. Russ and I were having fun slipping around in the snow!

More snow

A photo of me for a change!

Getting deeper

but still biking

The trees were getting shorter as we got higher, and the snow on the track was getting deeper. By the time we were getting close to the tree line the snow depth was making riding uphill pretty much impossible so we decided to turn around when we got a view, rather than try and make it all the way up to the Ces Clark hut. It was a gorgeous warm sunny day out on the tops with wonderful views of the Southern Alps. We were very glad to be on the sunny west coast rather than caught in the last of the freezing southerly that was on the other coast!

Snow wheel

Paparoa tops on a lovely sunny day

Heading back down on the bikes Russ and I were having fun drifting the bikes around in the snow and slush. Toes and fingers were feeling like they were about to fall off, and there were some interesting moments navigating rocky sections with snow. We were quickly back down to the end of the snow, and the change in temperature was noticeable. Fingers and toes thawed out as we rocked on down the track. There were large flowing sections to swoop down that would transition into absolute rock gardens where you could pick a straight line and “steam the gnar”, or you could choose some rock launching pads to grab some air while choosing your landing carefully!! There were also big water channel ruts and switchbacks to negotiate along with the occasional fallen tree or mass of roots. All of which add to the fun and character of the Croesus.

ride the rut!

The fun of the down hill was over much too soon, it felt like we had been belting down the trail for about 10 or 15 minutes… although looking at my watch it had taken us almost an hour to get down from the tree line! There was the last grunt to get up and out to the carpark, where our legs were starting to advise us that we had been out on the bikes for almost 4 hours and that it was definitely beer’o'clock!

Wet muddy bikes and gear was chucked into the van and we were soon at the bottom of the hill and soaking up the sunshine outside of the hotel “Formerly The Blackball Hilton”. Croesus is always a fantastic day out on the bike, and Russ has been converted from a bike park boy to man who will be searching out the good and epic singletrack that is to be found in the forests of NZ!

Mmmm beer and sunshine

Food + Beer!! Basket of UFO's (Unidentified Fried Objects) Om Nom NOM!

Pois é,assisto felicity há tempos,antes de sbt e sony tá?!

e minha vontade de MUDAR tá iguaal a dela,ver gente,trabalhar na dean&delucca,e um pouco mais. Cansei de chatisse,and I  MEAN IT.

Katy Perry wurde am Samstag  erwischt, wie sie die Wohnung von Russel Brand verliess.

Quelle: DailyMail

Ein Leben ohne Rüssel kommt für mich nicht in die Tüte.

Bertrand Russel, dalam salah satu kesimpulan di bukunya Religion and Science, menyatakan bahwa agama tidak lagi mempunyai pengaruh sebesar beberapa abad lalu.

Russel adalah seorang filsuf asal Inggris. Bisa ditebak, fokus yang dibahas dalam bukunya adalah agama Kristen, tapi esensi simpulannya bisa digeneralisasi melintasi agama lain.

Russel menyatakan bahwa doktrin agama yang dulu dianggap sebagai kebenaran mutlak, yang mesti dipercaya apa adanya, seiring dengan perkembangan sains, sekarang menjadi tidak esensial lagi. Padahal di masa lalu, pengingkaran akan doktrin ini bisa mengakibatkan si pengingkar dihukum bakar di hadapan publik.

Salah satu contoh yang terkenal adalah doktrin mengenai posisi bumi di alam raya. Sebelum hipotesis Copernicus yang diperkuat oleh Galileo muncul, bumi diyakini sebagai pusat alam semesta. Matahari dan bintang lah yang berputar mengelilingi bumi, sedang bintang-bintang terpantek tetap pada posisinya di langit. Kini kita semua mafhum bagaimana pergerakan benda langit yang sebenarnya.

Contoh doktrin lain adalah mengenai banjir besar di jaman Nuh. Agama Kristen dan Islam sama-sama memiliki doktrin serupa. Pada masa itu semua manusia yang bertakwa ditambah sepasang semua spesies selain manusia di bumi ini selamat dari banjir dengan menumpang kapal Nuh. Setelah kapal Nuh mendarat, semua makhluk hidup yang selamat kemudian berkembang biak menurunkan keturunan yang sekarang.

Sebagai sesuatu untuk diambil pelajaran, kisah ini akan tetap relevan. Tapi manusia modern yang mempercayai kisah ini kata demi kata apa adanya tanpa pertanyaan kritis, bisa jadi tak akan sebanyak manusia di beberapa abad silam.

Masih ada beberapa doktrin agama lain yang mendapatkan tantangan. Meski masih menjadi kontroversi, Teori Evolusi Darwin juga dinilai mampu memberikan pukulan berat atas doktrin penciptaan manusia. Satu konsekuensi teori ini, manusia tidaklah berbeda dengan spesies lainnya, berkembang dari sebuah proses evolusi, bukan berasal dari Adam dan Hawa yang diturunkan dari surga seperti yang diajarkan doktrin agama.

Russel mengamati bahwa dari banyak doktrin agama yang dahulu dianggap sebagai sesuatu yang mutlak, di jaman ini hanya tertinggal 3 doktrin yang paling utama: Tuhan, keabadian, dan kebebasan.

Jika doktrin-doktrin lain seperti pergerakan bumi, penciptaan bumi, asal mula kehidupan, sedikit demi sedikit bisa diungkap sains, 3 doktrin itu tetap sebagai sesuatu yang berada diluar sains. Sains hanya bisa memberikan argumen, namun tidak bisa membuktikan secara pasti.

Kesimpulan Russel ini jelas menarik. Pendapatnya ini menggarisbawahi “perang” antara agama dan sains yang mulai terjadi selepas masa Renaissance. Agama yang sebelum masa itu begitu dominan, hingga mempunyai wewenang menentukan mana yang benar dan salah atas pergerakan benda langit, sedikit demi sedikit dilucuti otoritasnya oleh sains. Begitu banyaknya otoritas yang dilucuti hingga hanya meninggalkan 3 doktrin utama sebagaimana disebut diatas.

Menjadi pertanyaan menarik, dengan segala perkembangan peradaban (sains, ilmu sosial, filsafat, dll) manusia di masa depan, akankah doktrin dan otoritas agama yang tertinggal ini semakin terlucuti?

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Tem tempo que fui ver Up – Altas Aventuras (Disney-Pixar, 2009), mas ainda não sabia muito bem o que dizer sobre ele. Sabe aqueles filmes que você entra pensando que é uma coisa e quando o filme começa ele é essa coisa que você pensou que seria e é mais umas duas, três e até quatro coisas adicionais?

Pois. Up é daqueles filmes que vem despretensioso – a despeito do mote de se ter uma casa içada por balões, ele não se vende em momento algum como o blockbuster do momento, nem pretende ser isso mesmo – e ganha espaço, se aconchega pela sala, se sente confortável e mostra ao que veio.

O filme tem como personagens Carl Fredricksen, um senhor de seus 78 anos, fazedor de balões no parque e que recentemente ficou viúvo; Russel, um menininho escoteiro, de 8 anos, que faz o que for preciso para ganhar um novo brevê no uniforme; Kevin, uma ave raríssima que vive no paraíso das cachoeiras, e Dug, que é um cachorro que faaaaala.

Sem precisar de palavra alguma, Up inunda a sala com uma das melhores conceituações para o termo audiovisual, dando um show de referências cinematográficas e roteiro coeso. Com uma riqueza de detalhes visuais incrível e uma trilha incidental fantástica, ele é um daqueles filmes de se ver pegando na mãozinha de quem se gosta, pra poder segurar firme nos momentos mais emocionantes e pra poder espiar e saber que tem uma mão ali junto da sua e que felicidade existe para além das telas de cinema e óculos 3D.

Dar vida às horas mortas é outro trunfo do filme, além de conseguir harmonizar na tela várias cores com suavidade, aplicando aquele tom quase infantil às cenas, com delicadeza, mas sem perder a vivacidade. E o mais importante, sem se tornar enfadonho ao preencher a tela com o mar de azul celeste que perpassa todo o filme.

Filme para rir, chorar, gargalhar, ficar com aquela cara de “owwwwnnn”, porque você imagine só a beleza da coisa. Ao invés de abandonar sua casa querida, construída com tanto amor ao lado de sua querida esposa Elle, Carl resolve fazer o que sempre soube de melhor: balões. Ele prepara milhares deles, ata-os a casa e parte para a aventura. Quem nunca sonhou voar com balões de gás? Ao menos diversão você vai encontrar.

Pra vida, esse seria o adjetivo que eu lançaria ao filme, um daqueles que a gente sai do cinema com vontade de ver de novo, com vontade de comprar o DVD e até mesmo de ir em busca do nosso próprio paraíso das cachoeiras, porque penso eu que cada um de nós tem um lugar em que sonha estar para se sentir completamente realizado, para saber que viver valeu a pena.

Letztens im Zoo habe ich Spanksen gesehen, wie er im Elefantenkostüm der Linda imponieren wollte.

Und wie Spanksen schon damals seriös berichtete, benötigte er danach dann das hier:

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