Happy Earth Day!!!

Hmmm... although looking it up in Wikipedia turns out this date is only marked in the U.S., elsewhere we get a different date. Oh well, any excuse is a good excuse to stop and think about this ball of rock we live on and the impact we have on the rest of the biosphere!

So just take a moment to think about your lifestyle and see if you can spot things that need improving in the environmental domain. Do you separate your trash? Recylce? Remember to turn off unnecessary lights around the house? Not over-heat nor over-cool your living space?

Every little bit counts!

I'm going to sign off with a reminder of some of the beauty to be seen around us... particularly in Spring, and even in such an arid region as the one I live in.

Cheers!.

Mimosas in bloom:












New growth on a tree felled by a storm last winter:
Mediterranean pine Pinus halepensis:
Teeny, tiny flowers on a willow tree (¿? at least I think it's a willow... trees aren't my forte!)












And this one I have no idea what kind of tree it is (other than a member of the Leguminosa family due to those seeds), but just love it because of its beautiful Spring colours!


Note the 3 seasons on one branch:

dried seed husks from last fall,early spring pink/purple flowers, and green summer leaves that are already starting to take over...

Movie Madness: Looking forward to the Blockbuster Season!

It's so frustrating the way Hollywood seems to have divided up the year into 3 movie seasons: Blockbusters in the summer, "Serious" or "Prestige" films (i.e. Oscar-bait) in the fall and early winter, and then mostly lame, empty films in late winter and early spring (with the occasional surprise). This often results in my not finding much to tempt me into the movie theatres for almost half a year, whereas during the other half I'm running around like crazy 'cause I don't have time to get to all the movies I want to see! Thankfully here in Europe (or Belgium and Spain where I've been living these past x years) I've also got European fare (and every once in a while something from even further away) to help me tide over the doldrums (and make the rest of the year even more hectic). Then there's also the fact that although most of the "big" blockbusters (i.e. the tentpoles) have a single international release date, all the other films get spread out over the calendar a bit better here than they do in the U.S. (this has allowed me to catch up to some of this winter's "serious" fare recently).

So, why this sudden movie-calendar rant? Well, I came across a couple of articles (Summer 2009 Preview, parts 1 and 2) by Noah Forrest over at Movie City News (part of his column "The Frenzy on the Wall") that reminded me that we're due for a change in the movie weather, and that Blockbuster Season is about to start!

Now I'll be the first to admit that most summer blockbusters are like a meringue, full of air and empty inside... but aren't meringues yummy?! Sure, an overdose will send you to the dentist with cavities, but there's something about them that keeps us going back for more. It could be looking for the one gem in the bunch (some damn fine movies have been discovered in blockbuster season, in spite of all their booms and bangs and shiny lights), or it could be just looking forward to some pure 100% escapist entertainment that lets us just forget the world for a couple of hours and enjoy the movie/actors/effects etc. You could be looking forward to the next instalment in a series (and we know how much HWd likes those!), happy to be reunited with old friends. Or you could be intrigued by such and such excellent (previously "serious") actor and wonder whether they've sold their soul for a paycheck or are actually guiding you to a top-notch blockbuster. Whatever the reason, this is the season the movie industry depends on to make most of its profits, what with holidays (so more time available to go) and possibilities of repeat viewings. These movies cost a fortune to make (sometimes up to 10x the budget of a "serious" film), but they're hoping to get that back and more... at least enough times to cover the ones who end up losing money (inevitable, some of them are really crap!).

So I've been going through Noah's calendar of movie releases (dates for the U.S. obviously; we'll see how long it takes them to cross the Atlantic), and these are the ones I'm most looking forward to (clicking on titles leads to trailers on YouTube -for those I could find). How 'bout checking into the comments and sharing the films you're looking forward to this summer?!
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* Wolverine (May 1)- Why? 1- I really enjoyed the X-Men movies (the 3rd not so much) with their great balance of a meaningful story, good acting and smashing special effects. 2- Hugh Jackman! ;o) 3- I actually saw parts of this being filmed when vacationing in New Zealand last year (South Island stands in for British Columbia apparently)!!! So I'm going to be scrutinising the film to recognise landscapes, mountains and the farm and helicopter that I saw and were made to be blown up! :o)
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* Star Trek (May 8)- O.k., I'll admit it, I'm a big Trekkie! Not so much a fan of the original series (I have trouble getting past how dated it feels), I grew up with Captain Picard and the crew of Next Gen, got caught up in intricate story-telling with DS9, enjoyed Voyager, and got bloody frustrated with the ending of Enterprise. And I am damn curious as to how they're going to "reboot" this mythic series. Looking forward to seeing both the "old" and the "new" Spock. And am looking forward to JJ Abrams action packed take on the origins of the first crew.
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* Terminator Salvation (May 22)- If we ignore the 3rd movie (as the wonderful series The Sarah Connor Chronicles did!), we've got an excellent premise in the first two and some great storytelling (let's also ignore the bad 80s hair!). Moving this story forward, past Judgement Day, is risky. It becomes less "be careful, technology must be controlled, or it might some day take over the world", and more your typical post-apocalyptic scenario with a hero (our old friend John Connor) who is the last hope of the human race. And although it's been told before... I'm still looking forward to it! Christian Bale being the number one reason for that. Also curiosity as to how they'll move the story forward (in comparison to T:TSCC). Will miss the "Governator" though!
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* Public Enemies (June 1)- Johnny Depp. Need I say more?! ;o) O.k. then, Christian Bale (double dose this summer, yes!)! Add in the lovely and talented Marion Cotillard and I'm really looking forward to Michael Mann's new period film about a bank robber! Hmm... this one actually doesn't feel like a summer flick, which is good news to me!
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* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 15)- Best book in the series (except perhaps for Prisoner of Azkaban), and from what you can glimpse in the trailers we're finally going to get some more quidditch!!! Am still pissed off at the studio for delaying this one... we should have had it at Thanksgiving!!! grrrrrr

* Julie and Julia (Aug 7)- Meryl Streep... she's good in anything! And Nora Ephron has brought us some delicious films in the past, so looking forward to her latest. Although from what I've read I'd better head straight to a meal after this one! It's said to make you hungry what with all the cooking and food on display! ;o)
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* Inglourious Basterds (Aug 21)- No those aren't typos, apparently it's the correct quirky spelling for Tarantino's latest explosive outing. I'm not a huge Tarantino fan (I tend to cringe at excessive effusions of blood), I just judge each film as it comes. But the trailer looks like a hoot and after Burn After Reading I'm looking forward to Brad Pitt showing his acting chops in another odd-ball role!
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* The Boat That Rocked (Aug 28)- new British comedy by director Richard Curtis (of Love, Actually and Notting Hill fame). All I know is the trailer is a blast and we'll be guaranteed at least 90' of excellent music! Am actually hoping we get this sooner as it is from this side of the pond... fingers crossed!

Am also curious about (but wary of):
* Angels and Demons - Dan Brown is a lousy author who knows how to weave a good yarn, but once you know how it all ends revisiting it is boring. Still curious about it, wondering if Tom Hanks will be as wooden and artificial as in DaVinci Code... will probably wait for the dvd.
* Up, new Pixar outing. Every year I drag my heels at going to see these, each time I come out pleasantly surprised!
* Whatever Works - New Woody Allen film... Hmm... never sure what to expect from him with his recent work. Loved Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Admired Cassandra's Dream. Loathed Scoop. Good points for this movie: no Scarlett Johansson! :o)
* The Post Grad Survival Guide - no idea what this is about, but the title intrigues me! Stars Gilmore Girl Alexis Bledel.

Trekked out...

Note (26/05/09): am changing the date on this thing so it's no longer on the main page... damn thing can be a bit annoying if heard repeatedly! :p

oh my!...
So this is what I'd look / sound like as a Vulcan?! No thanks! :p

And here I thought release dates...

... were just a continental Europe problem (particularly in Spain).

And now I discover (via a Guardian interview) that Werner Herzog's latest Oscar-nominated documentary film Encounters at the End of the World is only now being released in the U.K.!!! Hmmm... that explains why I haven't been able to order the dvd off Amazon yet! :p

I saw this back in December (thankfully in VO, love Herzog's quirky german-accented English narration!) and thoroughly enjoyed it! So if anyone reading this is in the U.K. then head over to catch it on the big screen (those polar views deserve the big screen treatment). For those in the U.S. Netflix! And I'll keep on waiting for a zone 2 dvd to be available... I want to watch it again (and again and again) and then dive into the (hopefully) plentiful extras.

It's not another penguin-friendly film (although there's a potential penguin "suicide" sequence that is goose-bump inducing). Herzog says it himself in the introduction, he's interested in people, in what makes them tick, in what is it about them and about the Antarctic that makes them want to spend so much time in such a harsh and isolated environment. The cinematography is grandiose (with those landscapes how could it be otherwise?!). The underwater sequences are creepy. The film is moving, poetic and amusing; and speaking as one who has spent time on an Antarctic base... very real!

Semana Santa

I'd say Spain's pretty well known at an international level for the Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebrations, namely all the processions that take place in various towns and cities, mostly in the south, some better known (i.e. tourism hot spots) than others. For those who don't know what it's all about, here's a glimpse into one of the biggest religious events of the year.

Holy Week takes place between Palm Sunday and the Saturday before Easter Sunday. It's a time to commemorate Christ's entrance to Jerusalem, his final days of life, including the Last Supper (Holy Thursday) followed by the Passion (Holy Friday) and then the Resurrection (Easter Sunday, starting the new liturgical year). In many places in Spain at this time you can practically breathe the religious atmosphere in the air thanks to the various processions, particularly in Murcia (not for the sculptures by Salzillo) and Andalucía and most small towns.

So what's the big deal with these processions? What are they all about? Despite my mom's going on and on about them when I was growing up, I didn't quite "get it" until I moved to Spain over a decade ago and my second Easter here was invited by a friend at college to spend the holiday with her in her (very small) town Cieza (province of Murcia). And there it hit me. WOAH! It's like I said earlier, you can breathe in the religious atmosphere with the air. Every day during Holy Week (except for Saturday) several "cofradías" (devout Catholics who come together in a Church and devote themselves to the care of one -or more- representations of Christ, the Virgin or the Saints) come together as a brotherhood and take the religious images (Christ, Virgin or Saint(s)) out of the Church and walk around town with them. These statues are placed on "thrones" (or floats), richly decorated with cloths, candles, flowers etc, and are CARRIED by the "nazarenos" (penitents and other people who carry the thrones or walk in front of them during the procession, they typically wear tunics and some kind of head covering -either a hood and/or a cone-shaped hat which represents a rapprochement with Heaven). They are usually accompanied by either a full marching band or just drums, and are followed by the parish priest and other religious authorities as well as any of the faithful who care to join in. Sometimes it's just one group going out, others several come together from different churches, but all in a certain order that makes religious sense. Basically it's like seeing the Gospels come to life before your eyes! The statues tell you a story. So my guess is the origins of this tradition had a double function: to give the people the chance to show their respects for the Christ/Virgin/Saints, but also as an educational tool, helping people visualise a story they couldn't read for themselves (as not only most people couldn't read, but the bibles were all in Latin!).

Some processions are rather joyful, particularly on Easter Sunday - La Gloria - when frequently they have the images "dancing" by jiggling the thrones, having them bow down, or even running with them. Others are more solemn, most notably that of the Passion on Holy Thursday at (or around) midnight, when the statue taken out is that of Christ Crucified. This one is usually called "La Procesión del Silencio" and is done in the dark (all the lights are turned off in the town along the procession's path, street lights included, only illumination comes from the penitents' candles) and in complete silence, only accompanied by the beat of a solitary drum. This one gives me goosebumps every single time (have seen 3).
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It's definitely an experience I'd recommend living through at least once, whether you are religious or not. Best in smaller towns and of course Sevilla. But for the latter you'd better be ready to find a spot along the route to watch them from early on... some people show up hours before because it gets very crowded!


I took these pictures during two processions on Holy Thursday in Callosa d'en Sarriá, a small town in the south of Alicante, next to the Murcia border. The processions are supposed to be "better" in the neighbouring town of Orihuela, but we went here as a trip down memory lane for my mom. She lived in Callosa for a couple of years as a kid and participated in several processions after her confirmation.
The first shots are from the procession of the "Virgen de la Macarena" while the later ones are from the "Procesión del Silencio" that took place an hour later, both leaving from the Iglesia de San Martín. You can see them better (bigger) if you click on them.

TV Addiction: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

So Season 2 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has come to an end... after two amazing and shocking almost final episodes (what a death scene! so abrupt, so harrowing, so real!) with an awesome finale that ups the ante and raises a ton of other questions in the "wtf?!" department and the "how the hell are they going to pull that off?!" or "where the *&* are they going with this?!" and "please, please, PLEASE network powers that be, bring us season 3 asap!!!"

I want to know how they're going to bridge two different time periods. I want to know if "they" will be reunited (vague, trying to avoid spoilers). I want to see John grow into the man we know he can be. I want to know which Cameron (or is it Allison?) we saw at the end. I want to know if "it" is good or bad, can "it" be trusted? I WANT A SEASON 3!!! I want to continue seeing how glimpses of past and future we caught in previous episodes tie-in together (the whole thing relating to the U.S.S. Jimmy Carter episodes was great!). I want to see how John reacts to an un-known environment. I want, I want, I want... geez, I sound like a kid before a birthday! :p
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It's been such an excellent show (there's a very good summary of the most impt s2 plot points at io9), not as good as BSG, but a good second placing. With relatable characters wonderfully brought to life by some very talented actors. Some very intelligent and often moving stories, thought-provoking questions about the role of technology in our lives. And the kick-ass action whenever Cameron came head to head with another Terminator! So if the people in charge have any modicum of taste and intelligence, we'll get our season 3. :o)
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And I must say, if for some sad, mysterious reason (*cough* ratings *cough*) this is indeed the end of the series... well then although it leaves you starving for more, in a sense it could be left as is. It's not incomplete, although it isn't quite complete. Does that make any sense? I can't say more without spoiling it, but am more than willing to to reply in more detail to any comments that you might want to make! ;o)

If TV Science was more like Real Science...

I stumbled upon PhD Comics a year or so ago via a friend on Facebook, and I've been hooked ever since! Even though they're centred around a group of characters who are basically American Engineering PhD students (whereas I'm doing a PhD in Oceanography in Belgium) and many of the "incidents" are unique to a US campus environment, so many of the themes they touch upon are universal! Particularly PROCRASTINATION (of which I am an expert... as this blog could prove...), or dealing with supervisors, funding nightmares, having family and friends wondering when the hell you'll be done ("but you said a few more months a year ago!"), feeling out of touch with "the real world" and wondering what you'll do when you DO graduate.

Anyhow, the reason I'm bringing this up today actually has nothing to do with PhDs, research etc... but TV! (and here one of my procrastination tools comes to light). I thought today's comic was excellent (click on it to see in a bigger format, easier to read) and oh so true! I've thought this many times, but forgiven my favourite TV shows their scientific errors in the name of "artistic licence" ;o)

PS: don't Booth and Bones look great?! hehehe...

Monthly Movies: March'09

Inconceivable! Is it possible that I've only been to the movie theatre twice during the month of March?! I repeat, INCONCEIVABLE! And yet, as I leaf through my agenda, the proof is there before my eyes, written black on white: only 2 movies! I guess weddings, birthdays, translations and class preparations kept me busy most weekends... Dammit! There were so many great movies I wanted to catch (Doubt, The Reader, Milk...), and now they're gone!!! Will have to wait for the dvds to become available to rent. Oh well.

So, what films DID I get to see?

I caught Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire at the beginning of the month... and a whole 30 days later it still resonates with me. Such a delightful film! Can't wait for the chance to see it in V.O. to get a better feel for it (am still miffed at the fact that they translated the whole thing to Spanish... if in English speaking countries they can accept almost 1/2 of it being in Hindi, why not in Spain?! I'm sure the film has a different rythm to it when they're switching between Hindi and English all the time). Anyhow, you can catch my impressions of it here, I couldn't help but writing about it the moment I came home from the cinema.

On March 19th I invited my Dad out for a father's day movie celebration, and he chose (out of the 3 options I gave him) Tony Gilroy's Duplicity: a "romantic" thriller set in world of corporate espionage. This was only Gilroy's second film as a director (after Michael Clayton, he also wrote all three Bourne movies) and in it he reunites the un-happily married couple from Closer: the gorgeous and charismatic Julia Roberts and the smouldering Clive Owen. I read frequent reports on the web comparing him to Cary Grant... well deserved comparisons! I don't think I've seen a single film with him in which I haven't enjoyed his performance! (and I still don't understand why he didn't get a nomination for Children of Men!)
I can't mention the plot too much without giving it away, plus there are so many twists and turns it would take too long. But basically it's about two ex-CIA/MI6 operatives who try their hand at corporate espionage. I got a bit dizzy with the continual "who is tricking who" deal, but I really enjoyed the verbal sparring and clear chemistry between the leads. And I for one could not have forseen the final twists, excellent!!!

Hmm... I've been so busy I actually have no idea what's currently playing at the movies! I'll have to try and correct that over the Easter holidays... There's a couple of new Spanish films I'd like to catch (not the least of which is Almodovar's latest), Keira Knightly's latest costume extravanganza The Duchess is finally out, and is that a thriller I see with Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman?! MUST SEE!!! And as I gleen through the programme of the one cinema that treats us with the occasional (one a week) film in VO, I see so many yummy nuggets coming up! Milk, Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, Les Ch'tis... I'll have to decide wether to try one last time to catch them on the big screen or just resign myself to dvds...

So many movies... so little time! ;o)

Monthly Reading: March'09

Oh boy, I just realised how busy this month has been when preparing to write this post! I was sure I must have left a book out of my reading list, not possible that I only read 2 books in March... but nope. That's it. Just 2 books (and one was started in Feb.). Ouch! That pile of books on my night stand -waiting to be read- must be getting pretty dusty. I guess staying up late preparing classes or working on translations doesn't leave me awake enough to read. I'll have to plan a trip or something in April to find more reading time! :p

Anyway, here goes. My "big" reading list for March:

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris.
"Welcome to Bon Temps. It's just your average sleepy backwater town. You know the kind of place... a dime store, a trailer park, a diner, and a gang of newly "out of the coffin" undead."
So this is the first in the series of "Sookie Stackhouse" novels, which was adapted last year as a TV show -True Blood- on HBO (starring Anna Paquin as telepath Sookie and Stephen Moyer as vampire Bill). I picked it up one day in February while I was wandering around the ailses of the Fnac (a very dangerous -for my budget- place I rather futilely try to keep away from), browsing through books and the like. I felt like picking up an "easy" read, as most of the stuff piled on my nightstand is currently "heavier" fare. Since I saw the series last Fall I've been curious about the books. About how well they were adapted, what was different, if it furthered the story and "what happens next". Well, I was a bit disappointed in the novel. Rather vulgar (almost more so than the show, and I thought that was rough), flat storytelling, and some of my favourite characters from the show either weren't in the book (Tara) or were just plain bleh (Lafayette is much more "alive" on-screen). The first person narrative does make for easy reading, and the story is a bit compelling (it's a novel idea, vampires "coming out of the coffin" and trying to live "normal" lives out in the open thanks to the synthetic "True Blood"), but it wasn't anywhere as near as entertaining as the series, and definitely not motivating enough for me to head back downtown to pick up (and so pay for) the next book. If I get hold of them through a library or someone loans them to me then I'll probably read them, as the story does awaken my curiosity somewhat.


Posdata: Te Amo a.k.a. P.S. I Love You by Ceclia Ahern (a friend loaned this one to me so I read it in Spanish)
"Cecelia Ahern's debut novel, PS, I Love You, follows the engaging, witty and occasionally sappy reawakening of Holly, a young Irish widow who must put her life back together after she loses her husband Gerry to a brain tumour."
O.k., so sounds like a potential downer. But if the term bittersweet ever applied to anything, it does to this story. It's a lovely tale of someone trying to make sense of their life and moving on after the death of a loved one. So yes some very sad moments, but mostly... it's FUNNY! Chock full of fun moments as Holly follows the instructions left to her by her dead husband in 10 little notes she's allowed to open once a month.
For those who might say "why bother reading this, I've already seen the movie"... forget it! Two totally different animals. They've got the same premise: young woman loses "soulmate" husband but he left her a series of notes/letters to help her grieve and move forward with her life. But from then on out the only thing the same are some of the names! In the movie she's an Irish-American New Yorker, in the book she's a Dubliner. Her friends are just a small part in the film, whereas they're integral to the novel. Ditto her family. And a totally different ending (that actually makes more sense than that of the film).
So give it a try. Enjoy the sad and the good moments. Don't be afraid to wipe away tears (they will come wether you want them to or ot), and enjoy the laughs that come right after! :o)

And that's that. Dunno if I'll have a chance to read much more in April... It's about time I locked myself back into my thesis with 0 distractions...

Homework Horrors!

I remember joking around as a student (high school, university, whatever...) that "homework is bad for your health".

Well, this weekend I've just (re-)discovered the other side of the coin: homework is also bad for the teacher's health!!! I'm spending my weekend correcting exams and a serious bit of homework (counts for half the grade) I asked my students to turn in (the high school bio class I have as part of getting my teaching certificate)... and it is so annoying!!! Argh!!! Why couldn't I have remembered the lesson I already learned a couple of years ago when I was teaching English at the University of Liège? That if you give the students homework... then you have to spend hours and hours and hours correcting it afterwards! And it's not just the time you spend on each copy, it's the brain-wracking as to how many points to give each question, how much do you give them if they tried but just didn't get it, how many if they've got all the necessesary info but is also full of errors, wishing you could give extra points to the one student who did it perfectly... and so on and so forth.

Sigh! Rant over. Time to get back to correcting those papers...

April First... crrrrrazy day!!!

Hmmm... I kind of miss being in a country where wonky things actually happen on April 1st... A little laughter helps bring Spring forward a bit (particularly when winter has decided to raise its head again... damn the rain and those temperatures dropping! grrrr).

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I'm not going to go digging through the mists of time searching for an origin story (there are so many to choose from!). I used to think April Fool's Day was mainly an anglo-saxon thing, being celebrated only in countries with close ties (i.e. colonisation) to England or those with heavy U.S. cultural influence... But after 8 years in Belgium I discovered (sometimes at my expense!) that both there and in France it's an old and highly valued tradition as well! It's Poisson d'Avril... with the basic prank being someone has to stick a "fish" on your back without you suspecting it (frequently with something written on the fish... or worse).

Here in Spain the equivalent is on December 28th: Día de los Santos Inocentes. It's a play on the term "inocente", as in an "innocent" is someone who is naive, doesn't expect what's about to happen to them, an easy target. Although originally the day is marked in the Catholic Church as commemorating the babies (so "innocent" souls, free from sin) who were massacred under Herod's orders way back in the day... Hmmm, dark origin for a day of pranks.
I prefer April Fools! ;o)

Got any good pranks to share? Make me laugh and help chase the clouds away and keep the sun shinning over the Mediterranean! :o)
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Here's one I particularly enjoyed last year, dunno if you heard about it. The BBC announced a new documentary as part of their advertising campaign for online-TV. Apparently my dear friends the Adélie Penguins no longer have to worry about the bitter Antarctic winters... they've all decided it's about time they put their flippers - sorry I mean wings! - to good use and have started flying north to the jungles of Brazil for warmth (and apparently to hang out with Tucan Sam!). Enjoy! ;o)

Hmm... I at first thought this year's prank on the BBC wasn't so great... but then I checked out the video they mention and the damn thing works! So I'm going to try out later on some family members and see if they fall for it! The video instructions are on YouTube.

Will report back in the comments' section with news on how it worked out! ;o)

The return of old (TV) friends

I really dislike this system some channels have of only putting out 1/2 a season per season... it means you have to wait waaaaaaay too long to find out "what happens next" and be reunited with old friends. But that time has (at last) arrived, and now...

Robin's baaaaaaaaack!!!!

Ok, so I'll admit this isn't the best TV series out there. In fact when I saw the first episodes I thought it was way too cheesy, over the top, and trying too hard to be "modern" and with too many puns or word games referencing things going on in our modern world (such as episode title "Sheriff Got Your Tongue?"). But I continued watching anyway if for no other reason that I've always loved Robin Hood tales, so I wasn't going to miss out on a series of adventures (not to mention the v. attractive guys -Jonas Armstrong as Robin!- involved! :p ). As the episodes moved forward, the "modernisms" and other awkward elements stopped bothering me and I found myself just enjoying some grand old adventures with a fun set of well acted characters (as usual the Sheriff gets the best part) and regularly looked forward to what crazy things were going to happen next. And I was really hooked into it with the end of Season 2 when things got a lot darker... and then they actually killed a main character (cabrones!)!!! So I've been wondering how on earth Robin was going to go on without this person in his life... and now we both get to learn that and meet Friar Tuck (love the twist on that one!). First episode did not disappoint and am once again looking forward to my weekly dose of silliness and adventure. :o)


And if that weren't enough... we get more of Henry the 8th and his crazy wife-swapping antics starting next weekend on The Tudors!!! Jonathan Rhys Meyers does an amazing job bringing that one to life!

"Volta a Peu": or a 45' walk around Alicante with >3000 people... in the rain!

What do you get when you bring together > 3000 people (aged 2 months to 88 yrs) -with mascots- and set them loose to walk around town? Organised chaos! :p

So today was the 12th edition of the "Volta a Peu", that's Valenciano (local language, off-shoot of Catalan) for "Circle on Foot" (or something like that). Basically a group walk to promote walking vs driving. Newspapers stated over 3000 people signed up for it by the middle of last week. If we add on people who joined since then, and take away those who didn't show due to the rain (well, really a constant drizzle, but in sunshiny Alicante a drizzle is as bad as real rain for most people!), then I'd say those numbers are about right. With prizes for male/female oldest/youngest participants, school with the most participants, most amusing mascot... it was a hectic morning for a leisurely - and very crowded - walk around town. All in all fun! Well, I'm not sure the poor dog agrees with me... she hates crowds and has a distinct dislike for the rain! But she was a good sport... until she got scared out of her wits when the Mascletà (sequence of firecrackers, frequent during holidays here) went off at 13h30! She litterally jumped out of her collar! ;o)

The Dream Team: a crazy redhead, two ol'fogies, and a four-legged-furry-critter!

Dreaming of the South...

Heading South... Oh I wish I could!!! And by South I don't mean the warmer temperate/tropical climates that people in the north part of the Northern Hemisphere yearn for. Nope. I mean the REAL South... as in south of the polar circle!!! ANTARCTICA!!!

A colleague and friend of mine from Belgium has managed to get himself sent down there again (am rather envious at his success in this field! but am so glad for him!), this time as part of a BAS trip (British Antarctic Survey) to the Scotia Arc region. New places!!! ME TOO PLEASE!!!

Anyway, if you're interested in following what goes on during these crazy missions (and how can it not be crazy when you lock a bunch of scientists up on the same boat and send 'em off for an extended period of time?!), my friend Anton has started up his own website -Antonarctica- with pics and videos of previous campaigns (now why haven't I done that???), and has a regular blog of his adventures on this trip. Enjoy!

And bon voyage to those on-board!

Adelie penguins in Terre Adélie, East Antarctica

Movie Magic: Swing Time!

It's almost time for "Musical of the Month" again over at The Film Experience, and as a big fan of musicals (particularly those from the 30s, 40s and 50s) I couldn't let such an event pass unnoticed. So tonight I'm dining with that unsurpassed pairing on the dance floor of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

If you've never seen a Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers on-screen pairing, time to get out and correct that mistake! They made 10 films together (9 with RKO between 1933 and 1939) and have been pretty much universally acknowledged as the finest dancing pair to grace the silver screen. He was generally considered the better dancer (and choreographed their numbers), while she was the better actress and enhanced his performance with her grace, talent and beauty (but he was a lot funnier when paired with Bing Crosby!). I don't know if people who haven't danced feel it as well, but when I see them together on screen, making something so difficult and complicated seem to effortless and beautiful, then my feet start getting their own ideas and wanting to walk me out of the house and towards a dance hall! If only I hadn't left my dance partners in Belgium! :p

So which one is it today? The sixth of their films together, Swing Time!
As stated quite simply in IMDB "A performer and gambler travels to New York City to raise the $25,000 he needs to marry his fiancée, only to become entangled with a beautiful aspiring dancer." Fred Astaire being the "performer/gambler" (aptly nicknamed Lucky), while Ginger Rogers is the "aspiring dance".

I usually start out having a bit of trouble buying into these old stories and don't usually care for the "comic relief" duo always present. And although some of the songs don't quite feel right (too much of a stop the show to sing a song sensation, even though much better than others of the same period), others just give me goosebumps ("The Way You Look Tonight" or "Never Gonna Dance"). Then once they start dancing, well I stop caring about all the rest.


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Some moments I particularly enjoyed: the courtship through dancing, the dancing (of course!), particularly "Waltz in Swing Time" (beautiful!) and Astaire dancing with his triple shadow (astonishing combination and such fun! that's him -again- pushing the limits of dancing and what can be shown on-screen, got an Academy Award nomination for "best dance direction", didn't know those existed!). Fred Astaire singing "The Way You Look Tonight". Had fun with both of them singing "A Fine Romance".

Romantic phrase of the evening: "I've danced with you, I'm never going to dance again." Moment I wished I could be in Ginger Rogers' shoes: last dance number "Never Gonna Dance".

And so, voilà! Done for the evening... shall go to bed with music in my ears. Sweet dreams guaranteed! :o)
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And as a coda on my Battlestar Galactica obsession that's lasted all week: anyone know what was one of Fred Astaire's last appearances on screen? As Starbuck's supposed father on the original BSG in 1979!!! Such a colourful character from what I remember... ;o)