panoramka z ręki, 6 zdjęć – 18mm, f8

Mimo wielkich planow na weekend majowy, te kilka dni postanowiliśmy spędzić w stolicy naszego kraju, bawiąc się na koncercie Zero 7 i spacerujac !

Zreszta zobaczcie…

A wieczorem …

Do kina chodzę ostatnio niemal co tydzień. Najczęściej wybieram Multikino Złote Tarasy, bo mam do niego najlepszy dojazd, a skoro już kupuję często po dwa bilety, korzystam chętnie z ich programu lojalnościowego – Karty Multikinomaniaka. I przez jakiś czas było dobrze – jeden bilet to 10 punktów, za 100 punktów jest darmowy bilet, więc raz na jakiś czas miałem darmowy seans w kinie (zwłaszcza jeśli chodziłem do kina z większą liczba znajomych – mimo iż maksymalnie jednego dnia można było zdobyć 40 punktów).

Niestety, ostatnio wszystko się zepsuło. Jakiś czas temu, wprowadzili możliwość odbioru tylko jednej nagrody dziennie. To jeszcze nie było takie złe. Gorzej, że wprowadzili też zapis w regulaminie, mówiący o tym, że niewykorzystane punkty zerują się 30 czerwca oraz 31 grudnia każdego roku. Przekonałem się o tym chcąc wziąć darmowy bilet 2 stycznia. A jakby tego wszystkiego było mało, teraz okazuje się, że także nagrody w tym programie są mało atrakcyjne. Kiedyś za odpowiednią ilość punktów można było otrzymać zniżkę w jednej z warszawskich szkół jazdy. Teraz pozostały już tylko darmowe bilety, coca-cola i popcorn. Zgodnie z tabelką poniżej.

Nagrody w programie Multikinomaniak

Niestety, czasem zdarza się tak, że dystrybutor zabroni uznawania różnych kart czy karnetów przy zakupie biletów na jego film (czyli punkty nam nabiją, ale darmowego biletu nie dostaniemy). Takie filmy zawsze były jednak w mniejszości. W tym tygodniu, jednak, filmy bez ograniczeń dystrybutora są w mniejszości. A są to: “Cziłała z Beverly Hills” – film na który nie pójdę ze względu na sam tytuł, “Włatcy móch. Ćmoki, Czopki i Mondzioły” – film oparty na podstawie serialu którego po prostu nie trawię, “Wyznania zakupoholiczki” – które mają chyba stać się drugim “Diabeł ubiera się u Prady”, ale patrząc na trailer, trochę nie wyszło, oraz “Zamiana” – film na którym byłem tylko ze względu na grającą tam koleżankę, a który jest po prostu słaby. Za całą resztę, w rodzaju “Slumdoga”,  “Ciekawego przypadku Benjamina Buttona”, nawet polskiego “Popiełuszki”, czy “Krwawych walentynek 3D”, trzeba płacić. Jaki jest w takim razie sens takiego programu lojalnościowego? Bo ja na przykład dzięki niemu przypomniałem sobie o istnieniu konkurencji…

Multikino - repertuar z 28.02.2009

PS. Z okazji premiery “Włatców móch”, zestaw duży popcorn + duża cola zmienił się w zestaw duży popcorn + duża cola + “podkładka pod mysz z Czesiem”. A przynajmniej w kinie twierdzą że to podkłada, bo moja mysz chyba jej nie polubiła…

Mighty Mouse i Czesio z Włatców Móch

Aug 2008 – photograph from my previous website

They recently opened a skating rink at Zlote Tarasy shopping centre. It is located in the basement level hole between the shopping centre itself and the bus/rail station. You can’t miss it.

In true Polish ‘golden hand’ style, a few guys turned up with some bits of wood, a lot of plastic pipe and several rolls of gaffer tape and before you knew it an Olympic quality skating rink had been erected! It opened a day or two after I took these pictures and seems to be a popular attraction.

They have managed to nicely incorporate the tree as a ‘feature’ inside the rink. As far as I can remember from my few earlier attempts at this ridiculous pastime, the inclusion of a tree is a rather unusual design enhancement. Unavoidable in this case as the tree was there first. No doubt it adds greatly to the excitement and boosts scores for technical merit for all skaters who leave the rink with noses of the same shape as when they entered.

You’ll see from the above photo that they’ve decided to apply padding only to the lower section of the trunk, from knee level down. This helps because at least anyone unfortunate enough to hit the thing will, assuming they are still conscious, be able to walk their bleeding face off the ice so as not to disturb the other punters.

I can’t help feeling that British Health & Safety regs would make this sort of impromptu assembly an impossibility by requiring as a minimum;

1. Removal of the tree
2. Load tests on the rink substructure
3. Crash tests on the perimeter fencing
4. Adequate space for watching crowds
5. Fire certificates for all the wood used in the construction
6. Toxic fume certificates for all the plastic pipe used in the construction
7. Proof that the materials used were hewn from sustainable forests and plastic farms
8. Proof that the managers had passed all required examinations in “advanced skating rink management – part 5c”
9. At least five “lifeguards” to make sure nobody gets hurt
10. …and so on

On those conditions, the thing would never be built. Thankfully, this is not the UK and so lots of people will have some fun on a botched job of a skating rink and if anyone does hurt themselves they won’t go whining for compensation from the nanny state.

Sadly, it is highly unlikely that the rink will be graced with my wobbly backside given that I am about as good at ice-skating as I am at open-heart surgery. I am, truth be told, utterly useless at anything that involves removing my feet from the ground – ice-skating, horse-riding, roller-skating, skiing……..you name it, I’ve damaged myself trying it! Give me a placid horse, sit me on its back and watch it turn into Red Rum and hurdle the nearest six-bar gate throwing me off in the process. Give me skis and watch me rip knee ligaments and a fracture ankles. No doubt about it, I am UTTERLY useless without feet on the ground. This would be depressing were in not for the fact that I make up for it with a fair degree of natural talent for more sensible sports like – golf, squash, badminton, tennis, cricket, football, darts, bowling………

I’ll leave you with a video of me skating (I’m just slightly less cute and don’t speak Spanish)

Pogoda się zmieniła. Szybko, nagle i wkurzająco, Mgła jest ciekawą sprawą, ale razem z nią przyszedł wiatr i chłód. Wczoraj gorąco, dziś zimnica. O co chodzi?

Nie lubię chodzić do jakichkolwiek centrów handlowych, ale Złote Tarasy są mi najbardziej dostępne. Wszędzie to samo, co za różnica.

Potem krótka wizyta na starych Powązkach. Dla mnie miejsce bardzo sentymentalne, bo za murem moja była szkoła. Codziennie przez pięć lat. Ten sam mur. Ze szkolnego okna widziałem grób Kiepury. Wizyta przez grobem Bułhaka i mistrza Niemena.

Oczywiście wszędzie młodzi fotografowie biegający ze statywami. Nie wiem dlaczego, ale mnie to strasznie śmieszy

Centrum Handlowe Złote tarasy położone jest w centrum miasta, ściśle połączone z dworcem PKP oraz okolicznymi placami. Piękna architektura, duża liczba butików, kawiarnii sprawia iż jest to miejsce idealne na spędzenie czasu w zatłoczonej Warszawie.

While I’m sort of on the subject. What gives with the hundreds of teenage girls I see wandering aimlessly about inside Zlote Tarasy every day?

Not a word of a lie but you can visit ZT any weekday at just about any time between 10-17 and roughly 50%+ of the population will be groups of teenage girls.

Do they not have school, or homework or something to do? Where are all the teenage boys? I didn’t see any games arcades, sex shops or bars so what are the boys up to? I did see a gang of three useless looking teenage boys a couple of days ago buying cigarettes, Marlboro Menthol from the walking vegetable that serves in the Inmedio shop. The one they sent in with the money was probably 16 but looked more like 12. He was served without question. Is there not an age limit for smoking in Poland?

So, back to the point. From whence do the teenage maidens spring forth? Why are they all dumped in ZT all day long? Why do they have to use plastic and discount tickets to buy something in Coffee Heaven? Why are they all in front of me in the queue?

I could possibly speculate about school trips from all-girls schools but the sheer numbers and regularity would rule that out. Bunking off school?

I am Mr. Perplexed.

I have crossed paths a little too often recently with that most fierce of creatures, the late middle-aged Polish lady! In my experience, these creatures are just as fearsome as the mohair beret brigade, if not more so, because they can move faster!

A couple of days ago I was standing outside the office having a smoke and noticed what can only be described as a gaggle of ladies exiting the Sala Kongresowa and dragging their little wheely suitcases across Emilii Plater heading for Zlote Tarasy. Presumably they had just finished the AGM of the “Evil Cows of Mazowiecka” society and now they were in the mood for a little shopping.

They walked in extremely determined fashion straight past me and a few negotiated the revolving doors into the office entrance lobby while the others stood guard outside. The advance posse soon returned to tell everyone that this was the entrance to the offices at which point it seemed they all started walking around randomly, like rocks in an Asteroids game, as if the magnet that had been holding them together had been switched off.

Being the helpful chap I am I asked a couple of them if they were looking for the entrance to the shopping centre. I did this because it happens all day, every day. The architects of ZT have cunningly placed the office entrances at exactly the points where the shopping centre entrances should be. They have then, in their wisdom, failed to put up any signs saying “Entrance to Offices” so they spend all day redirecting people.

Anyway, these ladies just stared at me with nasty looking faces like I’d just asked them if they wanted a quick shag, ignored me completely and carried on getting collectively lost. A few walked in the right direction to the entrance that is 30m from where they were standing while most just got back in line behind Pani Sławomira and headed off dragging their bags (and sorry arses) in completely the wrong direction. They had ignored me so completely that I thought for a while they might be foreigners but I listened carefully and it was definitely Polish they were speaking.

Today. We’re in the Alma supermarket. Not in our part of town but we fancied a change and they did have a Haagen Dazs fridge so it was worthwhile! Anyway, as you know, it is completely, utterly, impossible to shop in Poland without there being an argument about who was next in the queue. Usually at the cold meats counter, which is exactly where this one was. An excited bunch of men were engaged in discussion with, yes, a late middle aged Polish lady, who had just inserted herself into the front of the queue. No shame whatsoever was written on her face. She was basically saying “Late middle aged lady trumps anything you’ve got so you can all go screw yourselves!”. What’s most annoying is that that is exactly what they all did! A couple of whimpers and then everyone resigned themselves to the fact that this lady was speaking the truth. There is no power on earth that can beat the power of the LMAPL.

!!!

Can I just say – Come on you Irons!! (we’re away at Chelsea today and they are on a run of something like 70 games unbeaten at home) I’ll also place my vote for “the special one”, Jose Mourinho, to be the next England manager although I’m certain the FA will prove not to have the gonads required for such a decision.

On the workplace front, things are looking up. We move into our new office this weekend and I grabbed a couple of shots for you. The “before” picture is here.

And one of the views from the windows:

The English language handbook for my car arrived. So now, after a few months driving it backwards, I can finally get the thing working properly!