Music Maestro!

Woah! A friend just linked me to a page with a podcast from my Choir's concert last Friday, sweet! And since it's got a video that can be embeded I think I'll share it here! ;o)

Just a one minute fragment from our Baroque Concert. We sang works by Bach, Purcell, Zipolli and Buxtehude (a bit of which is in the video), accompanied by a string quartet and a clavecin (dunno the name in English). Hmmm... hearing oneself sing isn't always such a good idea though, I'm picking out all the little mistakes we made! :p
Still, not at all bad for a University Choir, all amateurs (except for the director). :o)

Looks like we got a good review on Alicante musical website Alicantissimo as well! They're the ones who provide the video btw, so here goes!

Coral Universitaria de Alicante cantando Jesu, meine Freude de Buxtehude:

An award?! Oh WOW!!!

I'm full of Blogging Pride at the moment... I just got my first Blog Award!!! :o)

O from The Road There gave me the award along with some lovely words.

MUCHAS GRACIAS!!!

Now it's my turn to follow the rules (aha! it seems blogging awards have rules to be followed!), answer the questions, and share the love. So here goes! ;o)

Rules: Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention, and add one additional question (hmmm... so I guess this thing could grow exponentially as it makes it's way across the blogverse).
Unfortunately I'm not very good about playing by the rules, I tend to bend them a bit, so look for a few lopsided or composited answers from me!

1). What is your current obsession?
Blogging! I'm afraid my main procrastination activity is becoming something of an addiction! :p

2). Where are you right now?
Alicante, Spain... smack looking out over the bright blue Mediterranean.

3). Coffee or tea?

TEA! (Earl Grey as the default option, others depending on mood)

4).What's one of your favourite movies?
Only one? Ouch! How to choose between Star Wars and Lord of the Rings? ;o)

5). What's one thing you're looking forward to?
The day after I defend my PhD Thesis, whenever that may be. I'll be in full William Wallace mode, ready to yell out at the top of my lungs: FREEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOM!

6). Who was your childhood crush?
Luke Skywalker... until the day I realised he (well Mark Hamill) was 20 when I was born. *sigh*

7). What is your (current) favourite Song?
Another frustrating question... Can't do "current" so I'm just going to go with an age-old favourite that I always thought represented me well since I was a kid: Thank You For The Music by ABBA

8). What would you like to get rid of?
15 kgs and my current sense of lethargy.

9). What's your favourite book?
Hands down Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. I've lost track of the number of times I've read it. I love getting lost in its pages! :o)

10). Why did you start your blog?

Here's an original answer: it was HOMEWORK! :p (see first post here). For the ITC class in my Teaching Certificate programme. Then I slowly got hooked and it's been downhill from there... ;o)

11). If money was not an issue, what is one thing you would purchase for yourself?
A nice chalet on the Mediterranean coast. With plenty of room for a library, guest rooms, spacious living areas, garden and pool, and with nothing blocking the view of the sea!

12). If you could live in a foreign country, which one would you choose?
What would you define as "foreign"? I don't really have a "home" country! And do you mean live for a while or to settle down in? 'Cause I still have no idea as to where I'd like to "settle" down (although Spain is gaining traction) but there are plenty I'd luuuuuv to live in for a few years! For the purpose of this post I'll go with New Zealand... a few years there would allow to get in shape hiking through some gorgeous parks, do some wonderful diving and give me the chance to visit neighbouring countries.

13). What is one trait about yourself that you wish you could change?
My indecision. I would like to be more sure of myself and what I want in life, and then go for it!

14). Tipple of choice?
With a meal red wine, preferably a Rioja (although in summer sangria is an acceptable alternative). For a cocktail, a mojito or a strawberrie daikiri. And for a night out on the town, dancing 'till dawn, rhum&coke always!

15). What is one trait about yourself you're proud of?
Loyalty to my friends. They know I'd walk through fire for them!

And now for the fun part! I get to tag 5 others to spread the love around and help this list of questions gros! :o)

I'd like to share it with:

Lover of Life who's blog Life in the Second Half is so very sweet and inspiring and as a thank you for frequently visiting me here and leaving me lovely comments!

The Grand High Poobah over at NeoLibrarium also for stopping by frequently and for hosting such a great spot with insightful reviews on the books she reads as well as for having such great litterary taste! And let's not forget hosting a "guest review" by me!

The guys over at Sci-Phi (Josh and Brian) for providing such interesting discussions and giving me food for thought!

Benjamin from Spiral Reverie also for writing insightful posts on a wide variety of subjects (although the ones that got me hooked were sci-fi related) and providing some interesting conversation.

And since apparently you can't tag back the person who gave it to you (otherwise number 5 would be O) I'm going to leave it at 4. Since I'm still rather new to the blogging world I don't follow too many Blogs, and half of those I do are more sources of information than places and people I interact with.

to all of you: your Blogs are as deer to me as cupcakes! :o)

TV Addiction: Cancellation rant....

So, I recently finished watching Veronica Mars... and wondering why on earth I never saw it when it aired on TV?! My guess is it never crossed the Atlantic, sigh! Why do we only get the more commercial stuff (and frequent crap) over here?

The bigger mystery is why the *@*@ do such great TV series get cancelled before their time?! And most of the time without enough advance notice for the show-runners and writers to give the fans a semi-satisfying ending?! grrrrrrrrrrr.... damn suits and their ratings-addiction!!! I'm not going to go into the unsolvable mystery as to why so many intelligent and original shows are ratings-challenged... if only to avoid saying something nasty about the TV-watching public in general (my grandma taught me "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all").

Nope, not going into all that. I'm just here to vent!!! Vent my frustration at witnessing the end of yet another series on a (semi-) cliffhanger. At realising it probably disappeared in favour of some lame, no-brain-required replacement. And again remembering this isn't the first time it's happened and won't be the last. snif, snif, snif! :o(

Other frustratingly cancelled series (that I can think of off the top of my head):

Angel: cancelled towards the end of the 5th season, they left us with L.A. having gone to Hell in a handbasket, thanks for Whedon and co. for at least wrapping up the story-line in comics!

Eli Stone: quirky legal drama with great music?! interesting characters?! what's not to like?!?!? well, at least the final episode was semi-satisfying and we can imagine it ending there. But we wanted MORE!

Firefly: no mystery as to why the ratings went south on this one, Fox aired episodes out of order and kept switching nights on it, cabrones! Makes you wonder at Whedon's leap of faith in trying a new project with them again this year... But at least we got another chapter on the big screen with Serenity! Although, gulp! I cried, and cried, and cried. Damn Whedon's penchant for tearing our hearts out by suddenly killing off beloved characters!

Jericho: well, at least thanks to all those NUTS we got a (way-too-short) second season that didn't leave us hanging and at least gave the writers the chance to wrap up this part of the story, but what about that looming Civil War?! Please suits, give us that movie we keep hearing rumors about!!!

Star Trek Enterprise: Ok so the first two seasons weren't all that great, but after the whole Xindi arc and getting into the conception of the Federation you don't continue?! And let's not even talk about that final episode... grrr

Veronica Mars: I heard the 4th season was going to have Veronica in the FBI. Now that's something I would have luuuuuuuvd to see! Plus, now we'll never know who won the elections for Sheriff!!! Another one with regular movie rumors... please make it so!

I'll sign off with a video by Thomas Dekker a.k.a. John Connor from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, another excellent show that appears to be "on the bubble" (i.e. low probability of renewal). Is a nice gesture to fans of the show who've worked to get it renewed, and I have my fingers (and toes!) crossed hoping that they've succeded.



Any of your favourites you'd like join me in a rant about? ;o)

Illustrating "Moros y Cristianos" in San Vicente, take 2: Embajada Mora

Next instalment illustrating the crazy Moros y Cristianos festivities in San Vicente del Raspeig. I'm afraid the quality of the pics isn't as good as the others, they were taken with a small compact camera at night, but it gives you an idea of the going-ons.

So what's happening here basically represents the Moors' victory over the locals during the invasion, in this case by taking over the "castle". It all starts around midnight with members from each "comparsa" walking through the main streets of the town shooting their "trabucos" into the air (just with gunpowder). "Christians" followed by "Moors" who are supposedly chasing them out of town. They all end up coming to the plaza where the stage has been set for the final battle. First the Moorish Captain sends his Embassador to the Christian Captain offering terms of surrender (he is rudely sent away). Then the Captain comes in person and exhorts the good people of San Vicente to not listen to their Captain as he will get them all killed. The Moorish Captain promises to spare their lives if they surrender. Of course they don't (where would the fun be in that?!) and so the plaza is cleared, the Christian Captain and the leaders of his troops (particularly his Alferez) head out to prepare for battle. The "soldiers" arrive at the plaza amidst loud explosions and a very strong gunpwder smell. Then the two Alférez and the two Capitanes duel it out respectively, and the Castle is taken. Of course all this happens again (in a reverse situation) a few days later when the "Christians" re-conquer the "castle".

Representatives of the Christian "Comparsas" entering the "Castle":
Christian Captain and Alférez above with heads of the different Christian "Comparsas" awaiting the Moorish envoys:
Moorish Embassador:
Moorish Captain giving his speech:
Waiting for the "battle":
A member of the troops with his weapon ready to re-load:
Duel between Captains:
The Captain / King and his Alférez take possetion of the "Castle":
Overview of the plaza:
Troops (loudly) saluting the victory:
Members of the Benimerines Comparsa celebrating the capture of the "Castle":
You can find some more of these on my Flickr page here. And below is a short sequence filmed with a friend's camera... might help you get a better feel for the noise level. ;o) (we were standing at the corner where it all ended, by the time they reached us they were supposed to be practically out of gunpowder.

Blood-thirsty? ;o)

and speaking of books... have you ever read Dracula by Bram Stoker? If not you've got a chance to do so now in a rather unique format, via blog! One post per letter / diary entry (it's an epistolary novel) on the date it was written (so if journal entry is May 9th, then it will appear in a blog post on May 9th). If you have read it time for a re-visit?! ;o) It only started a week ago so there isn't too much catching up that needs to be done.
I found out about this via NeoLibrarium, and have just started reading (after taking a day to catch up). I know I've already read it, just can't remember when, so I'm thinking this is a cool way to rediscover the original vampire novel!

If you're interested, dig in!

"Experience Bram Stoker's Dracula in a new way -- in real time. Dracula is an epistolary novel (a novel written as a series of letters or diary entries,) and this blog will publish each diary entry on the day that it was written by the narrator so that the audience may experience the drama as the characters would have."

http://dracula-feed.blogspot.com/

Monthly Reading: April'09

Oh boy... was actually wondering if I should post this one for April or not, considering how little I've actually read. Ouch! Just two teeny, tiny books. One a short story, the other a small collection of fairy tales for wizards. But since this is as much for me (to keep a record of what I read) and to share, well I might as well go ahead and do it!

So, first off: J.K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard. I think it best if I copy the description on the back of the book:
" The Tales of Beedle the Bard contains five richly diverse fairy tales, each with its own magical character, that will variously bring delight, laughter and the thrill of mortal peril.
Additional notes for each story penned by Professor Albus Dumbledore will be enjoyed by Muggles and wizards alike, as the Professor muses on the morals illuminated by the tales, and reveals snippets of information about life at Hogwarts."
So in other words these are five short fairy tales for wizard children that vary from those (frequently) told to Muggle children in that the heroins are much more active in controlling their fate... and that magic isn't the root or cure of the problem but a tool used to help solve it.
I think it's a lovely little book, cute stories, though I must say what I enjoyed the most were Prof Dumbledore's commentaries on the subject matter. Well worth dropping a few hard earned pennied, particularly as a percentage goes to a children's education and welfare campaign.

The next tale was even shorter! The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Now I picked this one up out of pure curiousity. ;o) I had read on various websites that the recent movie (my post on it here) was really nothing like the original short story. And indeed, basically all they did was use the original premise: a baby is born as an old man and grows backwards into middle age, adolescence and infancy. The time periods are totally different (one starts on the eve of the Civil War, the other at the end of the First World War). In the story Benjamin isn't abandoned by his father, but said father insists he behave and dress like the child his age should (i.e. short pants, baby clothes etc...). Then later on Benjamin's own son also finds it insulting that his father should appear younger than him. There are quirky scenes about what is "proper" that are quite amusing, poor Benjamin! So a curious tale indeed... but I prefer Brad Pitt! ;o)

Here's to hoping I'm not as tired at night in May as I was in April and perhaps I'll be able to read a bit more... I have at least half a dozen books on my nightstand regularly reminding me that they want to be read!

Movie Madness: "To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before"

O.k., so as a "Trekkie" I couldn't possibly leave my impressions of this until the end of the month movie recap, now could I?

I think I can sum this one up in one word: AWESOME!!!

:o)

Hmmm... although I think it might be more useful for anyone reading this if I develop that a bit! :p

I'll admit I've been a bit wary about this film ever since I heard about it and the fact that the idea was to "reboot" the franchise... A recipe for disaster if ever I heard one! And so o.k., JJ Abrams has brought us some damn good TV shows, but Mission: Impossible III just felt like an over-blown Alias episode, so not very inspiring for something with the scope (and baggage) of Star Trek. Plus there's the fact that -much as I've enjoyed them- most ST movies feel like double episodes of their respective TV series (although I'm basing myself mostly on the TNG stuff as I shamefully admit I've seen very little of the original series, at least that I can remember). But then I hear stuff like Abrams is a Star Wars (original trilogy) fan and wants to bring a bit of that panache to Trek. That the scriptwriters are die-hard Trek fans and will respect the "canon" (in other words nothing will contradict what has been previously filmed). Then we learn Sylar (a.k.a. Zachary Quinto) will be Spock... and I'm starting to feel a bit reassured (in sooo many episodes Sylar has actually kind of reminded me of a Vulcan, detached, logical... perfect choice!). And finally I start seeing the movie trailers:



After a series of these I was psiked!!! And man was I NOT let down! Hats off to these guys, they really pulled a good one out of their hats! The 2h just fly by at warp speed and not once leave you looking for an escape pod. Although I suspect that, in spite of many winks to Trek fans -Admiral Archer and his dog anyone?-, it might play better at first with people who aren't die-hard Trekkies... Why? Well, without spoiling it (or trying not to), all the while respecting everything that came before it, it definitely blows it all out of the water to completely reboot the franchise! I guess I should have expected it somewhat when I heard that time travel was going to be a key component... Also, it seems rather odd seeing such an emotional side to Spock... (but I liked it). Plus there's the fact that in a way it does seem more like Star Wars than Star Trek, with more emphasis on space battles than the philosophical/sociological ideas that were cleverly hidden / disguised in the various series.

But leaving all "canon" discussions aside, I just plain enjoyed the movie! The actors felt totally true to their characters (although I think they might have done so even more in English... man I HATE dubbing! grrrr, particularly that recitation at the end by Leonard Nemoy... I could just imagine his voice in my head "Space, the Final Frontier...") and the story was pretty solid.

In any case, I'm already looking forward to the next installment! And the idea of a Federation without one of its key races playing an integral part to it all? So curious to what that would result in!

So, Live long and prosper, and go see it! ;o)

Illustrating "Moros y Cristianos" in San Vicente, take 1: Entrada Cristiana

Oh boy... Haven't I posted these yet?! That's what happens when life gets in the way of blogging. Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Shame on me! :p

Part of the problem was that I had a hell of a time choosing only a few photos (click on them for better viewing) to put here as Blogger isn't unfortunately the best spot to share pictures... So for those interested in seeing more, there a link at the bottom to an album on Flickr. I'll post two more groups (nightime shots and Moors) over the next couple of days.

If you haven't seen my previous entry on this rather unique Alicante festivity, it's in the Blog's April Archive, or you can just click here.

Today's selection are from the "Entrada Cristiana" on Sat. April 18th, in San Vicente del Raspeig (small town next to Alicante, Spain). The two groups with "extra" roles are at either end: Los Astures (representing a northern Spanish "kingdom") with the "Captanía" and Los Maseros (representing farmers etc.) with the "Alferecía".

Some of the dancers (peacocks!):

the Captain's "avant-garde":
The Captain and his lady:
Troups from other "comparsas":

Comparsa Contrabandistas:

"Mock" fights:
Participants of all ages!

a young crusader

and his elders

a young princess

and her "soldiers"

Comparsa Estudiantes

The beginning of the end (boato de Comparsa Maseros):


I hope you enjoyed them! The rest of this grouping can be found in my Flickr album:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37770593@N07/sets/72157617779193380/
They tell a much more complete story so go check them out!

Monthly Movies: April'09

Oh boy, in spite of all my good intentions it's been another slow movie month. I just can't seem to motivate people around me to join in a movie outing, and I've been too tired to make the effort to go by myself! I miss living smack downtown within two blocks of 2 good movie theatres with a wide selection of interesting films (i.e. when I was in Liège). Sigh! Add to that the fact that, although I really enjoyed these films and they were very good, they weren't particularly wonderful... although that might be my current fatigue speaking, the reports below I wrote as I came back from each film so they're probably a bit more enthusiastic. ;o)

Deception: Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor... what more could anyone ask for?! :o) Wow! Talk about being late to the game... I caught this the day it came out in Spain, and just discovered that it's been almost a year since it came out in the US!!! The original title is much more appropriate than the Spanish title (La Lista) which kind of acts as a red herring by letting you think the "list" is a key part of the plot, but niet, just the bait for the hook. I can't quite decide whether I liked the film or not, but one thing's for sure the performances by the three leads are excellent! Hugh is charming and charismatic, Ewan surprises as a bland character at the beginning, and the lovely and enigmatic Michelle Williams shows just what she can do.

Les Femmes de l'Ombre (English title Female Agents): another movie released here a year after its original release date (in France), but that's more common, for some reason it takes the Spanish dubbing industry longer to dub French films than English-language ones... go figure! Hmmm... for some reason it bugs me even more to hear Spanish over a French film than an English-language one... dunno why! :p Anyhow, back to the movie. An true and little-known WW2 story of French women recluted by British services to rescue a British geologist (in a German hospital in Normandy) before the Germans find out about him and the plans for D-Day. Secondary plan, kill the principal Nazi character. Great group of actresses (headlined by Sophie Marceau as well as Julie Depardieu and Marie Gillain) bringing to life an interesting and not frequently told story (that of women's participation in WW2). Definitely had the feel of a French film (as opposed to a glorious Hollywood version of the story), quite real and at times bleak (as war is). Just wish it had been in French!!!

State of Play (La sombra del Poder): wow, it's been a while since I've enjoyed Russell Crowe in a movie, but I really liked his turn as an investigative reporter giving his all for a friend in this one! Good work also from the rest of the cast, particularly Hellen Mirren as a strong editor and Rachel McAdams as a gutsy young reporter (originally a blogger for the paper!). Plus it's always nice to see Robin "Buttercup" Wright Penn! ;o) And for once I also enjoyed Ben Affleck's turn as the bright congressman who calls on his old college friend for help! That guy needs to keep chosing good projects like this and he'll eventually make us forget all his lapses in judgement over the past decade... Anyhow, a thrilling, tight, well-knit story, apparently adapted from a BBC 6-episode series (which took place in London, this one in D.C.), condensed to fit a 2h movie format, but you wouldn't notice anything missing nor does it feel rushed (but I haven't seen the series so can't compare). Also of interest are the glimpses we get through our reporters of how the newspaper world works, with some interesting discussions as to the increasing financial pressure they're under and the insistence (by those in charge of the purses) of selling copies over good news habits... A good choice when you're wondering which movie to pick.

Must make more of an effort in May to head out to the cinema... some of this month's releases should be experienced on the BIG screen! ;o)

And to sign off, if you're a science fiction fan, I recommend checking out this column by Yaniz over at Airlock Alpha on why science fiction films deserve to be taken more seriously by the "awards community". There are some excellent science fiction films that have been made in the past several decades, thought-provoking on a variety of subjects, and they never seem to get the proper recognition

Looking outside my window...

Over on Life In The Second Half a request was made for an image of what the world looks like outside our window... so here go a few pictures of what it looks like from my living room. I couldn't find one for a "nice, normal day" and right now it's too hazy for a nice pic, but I'll share a few others that I prefer anyway because the view here is nicest when the sky gets "interesting". This usually happens during Spring and Fall storms, and even better with winter sunsets. Should make it easy to understand why I prefer working on the dining room table than in my office... :p
Enjoy!

The first two illustrate why we try and be home for sunsets in the winter... ;o)

This one's a storm front moving over the bay. Most of our storms roll in from the sea, but this one snuck in overland! I have yet to catch a good storm shot... must keep that in mind next time the thunder rolls! ;o)
And these last two were taken a few weeks ago once the sky started clearing up after an all-day rain fest (very rare event here).
So, any images from home anyone else would like to share?

May Flowers

HAPPY MAY DAY!!!

(well I hope this appears May 1st, I'm going to try and "schedule" this post as I'm heading out to Barcelona for the weekend and I really wanted to share these flowers on MayDay!)

Hmmm... although technically they should be "April Flowers" since that's when they were shot... ;o)

A few posts ago I shared flowers and new growth on trees in a lot in front of my appartment. (click for post here) Today I'm going for wild flowers: weeds and shrubs! All local (i.e. Mediterranean) plants, but am afraid don't have the time now to look up the names (I should have them written somewhere, I collected all of them for my "herbarium" for Freshman Botany). All in a "protected" (not very well I might say) area that slides down towards the Mediterranean. Enjoy!

A member of the carnation family I think

This is one of my favourites, I always love the rich colours, so rare in a land of pastels! It's also pretty hard to spot (tiny!) so am very proud of having photographed it. If I remember correctly 5 petals like this means it's part of the same family as apples etc... And if you look closely there are some even tinier yellow ones, those belong to the family "Labiada", same as thyme, rosemary, lavendar etc... (will have to go into the hills and photograph those some day!)

A member of the "Compuesta" family (in other words each "flower" is actually hundreds of flowers! each "petal" is really its own flower).

Fuzzy purple flowers!!! ;o)

I remember these guys were so hard to dry and press properly...

PS: Oh, and I know I promised some pictures from the crazy "Moros" weekend, but things have been hectic and haven't gotten around to working on those yet. They'll have to wait 'till next week. Sorry!