Lives of Others

It's amazing to think that a society like the one in East Germany really existed. A country where everyone was spied on. A place where the State decided what everyone should think about every topic. And where if you were an artist, you had to sell your soul to the State.

The latter is at the core of this excellent movie. In a totalitarian state , you can't really be true artist. If you are, you can't live there since you are not free to create. If you stay there and prosper, you have by definition to have sold your soul to the government. You are a government hack.

This is a thoughtful, intelligent and at times, incredibly supenseful movie about how a surveillance man for the government and a writer both realize that one has to make a stand in life. That,in the end, we have to take a side. And that one can't sit idle and watch an injustice being committed.

did you see it?

Did anyone else watched this last night? It was quite a sight. I live in an apartent bulding surrounded by other buildings and I noticed I was the only person looking at the moon. It was their loss.

Anyway, I'm glad I did. I'm happy to have stopped whatever I was doing and have enjoyed one of the most wonderful sights in nature.

Where do I begin?..lalarararara....

Oliver Barrett IV: "What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful and brilliant? That she loved Mozart and Bach, the Beatles, and me?"
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When I was a kid, I remember walking with my parents by Ponce De Leon Avenue and seeing the longest line I had ever seen outside a movie theater. It was the old Radio City theater in Santurce and the movie playing there was a romantic flick called "Love Story". This movie was one of the biggest movie phenomenoms of the early 1970's. The music became a huge hit. There were a million versions of that song. Over here, every tv singer sang "Love Story".

I had never seen the movie and to be honest I was never too interested in watching it. But last week it was playing in one of the HBO channels and I thought "what the hell. watch and try to understand what all the fuzz back in 1970 was all about."

And I watched it. And, it was pretty interesting. It is a tearjerker for sure. Every cliche in the book is in it. Well, not every cliche, when the woman gets terminally ill, she doesn't show it by suddenly coughing. And what about this "Love means never having to say you're sorry" line? What on earth does that mean?

But you know what? I liked it. Because it was unashamed to be a simple, by the numbers, love story. Imagine this , mega rich Harvard guy meets poor, but proud Radcliffe girl. They fall in love. He rebels against his snobbish parents and marries her. They live a modest but happy life. And then she gets terminally ill.

But the movie is more than that. It as an artifact of its time. This was 1970, the Beatles had split, the 1960's had gone all wrong, the dream of Woodstock was destroyed by the reality of Altamont, Kent State and the Vietnam War. It must have been a pretty depressing time. And here was this, boy meets girl story with a sappy ending. A reassuring movie for a restless, insecure time.

Babel

I read somewhere that when it comes to works of art, creating something that says that life is awful is always easier than creating something that says life is good. That statement came to my mind a lot as I watched this movie that spends more than two hours telling you how ironically terrible life can be. Not only telling you that but hitting you with a hammer to make the point.

When the film ended I also realized something: the shallowness of this movie. Since the movie jumps between different stories, there is really no time for character development. So you get cliched characters having breakdowns or facing terrible tragedy. All shot in a 1980's MTV video style, in the sense that it is all very pretty and well filmed, but the characters are cardboard, you don't get inside the head of any of them.

Which is not to say I hated the movie. There were some good things in it. But it was nothing special.

this morning from my apt and with a few effects

Letters from Iwo Jima

We are so used to seeing World War Two from the side of the Allies. Then suddenly here comes a movie that dares to show it form the Japanese point of view. That is a feat in itself. That the movie is a masterpiece, well, that is nothing short of miraculous.

This is a moving movie about the nature of war, about fanaticism, about love of family and about everything that makes us human. There are moments in this movie that stay with you. This is not a simple war movie. This is so much more.

A must see.

We need help

A couple of weeks ago I visited a Barnes and Noble bookstore in Miami and noticed something very interesting. The "self-help" section was small and in a back corner of the bookstore. Visit a bookstore in Puerto Rico and you are attacked by self-help books as soon as you enter the place.

This is not surprising. According to a newspaper article, almost 70% of books sold at local Borders stores are self-help, spiritual books. That is an amazing figure. A figure that makes one think about the current mental state of people in our island.

The need for books to be able to deal with life,love, happiness goes against the silly notion that we are "the happiest people in the world". We are not. We are an island searching for ways to cope. We are an island searching for relief and trying to find it alcohol, religious huckters and on self-help books.

Zen of coffee

I have officially become a Starbucks addict. Every workday I go there around 8:30am and have an "Expresso Machiatto Wet Non Fat" while I read the paper. It has become a pretty cool routine. In fact, it has become my time of day to truly relax and enjoy the moment. I realize that the workday will be full of rush jobs and arguments, so that half hour that I spend at Starbucks becomes a sort of "calm before the storm".

Plus there are other benefits about going there. At least once a week I run into someone I haven't seen in a long time and we chat a bit. And since this Starbucks is located next to a spinning place, the most amazing women with the most amazing butts drop in to have a coffee after exercising. What more can someone ask?

Anyway, I have to go. I have to shower, dress and get some coffee. Have a good day.

Flags of our Fathers

I finally saw this movie on DVD. This was supposed to be the nominee for Best Picture, but its companion piece "Letters form Iwo Jima" made as an afterthought ended up being the one up for the Oscar.

The movie is divided in two: the battle for Iwo Jima in which we see the horrific invasion of that island and then the movie cuts to when the three survivors of the plantingg of the flag there were turned into heroes in an effort to raise money for war bonds. So the movie is both a homage to the soldiers who faced overwhelming odds at battle and a strong repudiation of how the government war machine used these soldiers in order to keep the war machinery moving. There is one scene in which the soldiers are asked to restage the planting of the flag in a papier mache hill in the middle of a football game at Soldier Field in Chicago that makes this point very well.

In a way, the movie reflects what we feel about war these days. We feel sympathetic for the soldiers who have to make that horrendous sacrifice while at the same time feel cynicism for the government and the whole military industrial complex.

In a way, this is much better than "Saving Private Ryan", a movie that ends up saying nothing about the war. This one says a lot about the nature of war, courage and decency. Once again Clint Eastwood shows he is the best American director today.

I love this movie

Some people have written as to why "Volver" was not the Spanish language Oscar nominee. And the answer is simple. Because "Pan's Labyrinth" is 100 times better. "Volver" is a nice drama..."Pan's Labyrinth" is a masterpiece. It puts to shame every fantasy movie you have seen (except perhaps "Wizard of Oz" and I emphasize the "pehaps"). This is a magical,sad, thrilling, funny movie that truly sees the world through a child's eye. And it never panders to the audience.

This movie is so fucking good. Ivana Baquero, the girl, is amazing. So is Sergi Lopez and Maribel Verdu.

Go see this one. Starts tomorrow at Fine Arts.

Sunday at the Game

taking a few days off

words

"creo que uno espera demasiado de la vida, y la vida es solo tiempo"
"I think we expect too much from life, and life is only time"

A friend told me this the other day. And I've been thinking about those words a lot. I can find some much meaning in them. We complicate our lives so much. We take it so seriously. We analyze it so much. And life is only time. Hours. Minutes. Seconds. Just that. Simple.

three movies

Been watching classy movies these days. Two of them at the theater and one on DVD.

I enjoyed "The Illusionist". It's quite a rare movie. An intelligent mainstream movie. There used to be dozens of them every year, now we're lucky to get this one. It's about a magician who runs into his teenage crush from way back. Only problem, she is engaged to be married to a future Emperor. That's all one can really say. Edward Norton is great and Jessica Biel is pretty good. A fun movie.

I also liked "Volver", an Almodovar movie for people who don't especially like Almodovar movies. There are no gimmicky sequences here, no kitschy scenes, no transvestites. It's a movie about secrets and bonding between women, especially mothers and daughters. Penelope Cruz is so damn good here. How can she be so amazing and sexy in Spanish movies and so annoying in American movies?

"Notes from a Scandal" is also really good. An aging, lonely lesbian who develops a crush on young teacher. She learns that the teacher is having an affair with a 15 year old student. So she blackmails herself into her life. Judi Dench is great as the lonely woman, simply because she portrays the character as a real person and not as a "psycho from hell" we see in so many movies. Cate Blanchett is also great as always.

There you go. Three classy movies that satisfy the brain and are very entertaining.
Anyway I have "Slither" on DVD to watch so I don't become too highbrow.

Sherrybaby

I just saw this terrific independent movie on DVD. Maggie Gyllenhaal gives an amazing performance as an ex-junkie coming out of jail and trying desperately to reconnect with her 6 year old daughter. This is heartbreaking stuff and there are a couple of scenes that stay with you and that explain so much without being obvious about it. This is also one of the few movies that show how hard it must be for someone to try get rid of a drug dependent life. Check it out.

words

"If you achieve success you will get applause,
and if you get applause you will hear it.
My advice to you concerning applause is this:
enjoy it but never quite believe it."

Robert Montgomery, actor

Popi

I remember seeing this movie when I was a little boy. It's a mostly forgotte comedy about a Puerto Rican man(Alan Arkin) who wants a better life for his kids, away from the Bronx. So he goes to Miami, puts his kids on a small boat, hoping that people will think they came from Cuba and some rich Cuban family will adopt them. It's an outrageous concept, but the movie is pretty good. A strange mix of realism and sitcom humor.

One weird thing about seeing this movie now is that in 1969 the world of crime, junkies, gangs presented in this movie was so alien to our island. It was a world of the "boricuas de alla", of the Bronx. We were safe here. But seeing it now, all the social problems presented in the movie are here. We have turned into the Bronx of 1969.

Kind of sad if you think about it.

more strange double features

I saw some pretty interesting movies this week. At the top, "The Last King of Scotland", a movie about a young Scottish doctor who goes to Uganda as a way tof rebelling against his family and ends up as the personal physician of Idi Amin. The movie traces the strange bonding between the Scotsman and Amin, a ruthless dictator obssesed with all things Scottish.

The movie shows us the strange world of Idi Amin but it also shows the hypocrisy of all politicians. When he seizes power, he gives a speech that makes one realize how all politicians are scumbags, as he promises "more housing, more roads, more jobs.". And, of course, all he really plans to do is bankrupt the country. Haven't we heard that before?
This movie is playing at the Metro in Santurce.

I also saw " Bandidas". OK. So I saw it because the DVD cover featured Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz showing cleavage. But this is a pretty entertaining little movie. It really doesn't take itself very seriously. It kind of reminded me of Louis Malle's "Viva Maria!". A nice movie to see when one wants to simply be entertained.

quote

"The things that are really for thee,
gravitate to thee."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

how's this for a double feature?

Saw two movies this weekend. "Children of Men" at the movies and "Devil wears Prada" on DVD.

"Children of Men" tells a story set in the near future when women are unable to have children (cause unknown). Great Britain is a paranoid state in whcih illegal inmigrants are sent to camps and there are terrorists acts everywhere. In the middle of this, a subversive group finds the only woman on earth capable of having a child. And they must protect her from the bad guys (the state, well, almost everyone). It's up to Colin Owen to do it.

This excellent movie, from a novel by PD James, is an intelligent, unpredictable and truly exciting science fiction. In these days when sci-fi means so shit Marvel comic book movie and when "V for Vendetta" is considered "deep"...here is the real thing. An Orwellian, "Soylent Green", "I am Legend" type of great science fiction. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron ( "Y tu mama Tambien"), this is a rare thing. An intelligent mainstream movie. It's playing at the Metro and at Plaza.

As for "Devil Wears Prada", well...believe it or not, it is quite an entertaining movie. A chick flick a guy can actually enjoy. Meryl Streep is great, so is Anne Hathaway and especially Emily Blunt. This is a cool movie that talks about commitment to work but also the commitment that one has to make with quality of life and being with the people you love. Having gone through that phase myself and deciding on the side of quality of life, I can appreciate what this movie says.

Billon Dollar Brain

One major casualty of the Cold War were great spy movies. Somehow the world of spies worked better in the context of the US-USSR battle. Now spy movies are about terrorists and, quite frankly, terrorists don't make for great villains. They don't because they are of a one track mind, and quite frankly, not very interesting. With the Cold War you had moles, people double crossing each other, double agents and truly interesting characters.

I was reminded of that last night as I watched this excellent 1967 movie starring Michael Caine as Harry Palmer. There is so much to enjoy here. The Cold War antics.
There's a Texan who's a religious fanatic and sees the world in terms of us against them and wants to start WWIII (hmmmm...)There are some nice action sequences, but it's all about intelligence, about outsmarting your opponent. Damn I miss this kind of movie.

Try catching this film playing on Showtime at odd hours.

moment

There is an interesting moment in life. And it is when one realizes that the point of life is not to change the world, but to change oneself. To stop looking at the faults and the agendas of every other person and to simply try to change that little corner of the world that is you. To try to make that small place a better one, a more peaceful one. And maybe, with that peace you can make a difference. A small one, but a difference indeed.

I don't think that moment in life comes suddenly. It wasn't like I thought about that out of the blue. It came quietly and slowly until one day, it simply made sense. That's all. And it does.

Bye, bye lights

Nothing says Christmas is over than the act of removing the Christmas lights from the balcony. Lights are such a symbol of the season and their removal brings home the idea that Christmas is over, gone, finito. You realize at that moment how fast time has flown by. How the other day you placed them there thinking that the season would last a long time.

Maybe that's why, I've noticed, people still have their Christmas lights on after January 6. They want to feel like it's Christmas a bit longer. They are refusing to face the fact that the "normal" year has begun again. So they leave them on for a few days, until their minds are ready to face the fact.

As for me, well, today is Sunday so it still feels like a Holiday, so I will leave the on tonight. One more night. Tomorrow, as I face a long day at work, I will remove them. And face reality. Maybe.

Pandora's Box and Louise Brooks

I had read that this was one of the best DVD's of the year. The Criterion Collection DVD of silent movie "Pandora's Box". And it is a true discovery. A great print of one of the great movies of all time. And it is not only a great movie but it also features what many consider the firt modern actress in cinema, Louise Brooks in an amazing perofromance so full of life and sexual energy that it is amazing to think that this movie was made in 1929. A tale of a woman who destroys the life of everyone around her, the movie is also a portrayal of life isn the carefree 1920's and of pre-Hitler Berlin.It is also the first cinema portrayal of a modern woman, independent, aware of her sexuality and not afraid of a world dominated by men.

But it is mostly about Louise Brooks, a Kansas-born actress who went to Holywood, was too independent for her own good, made two great movies in Germany, went back to Hollywood, refused to submit herself to the casting couch and retired from movies. Forgotten for 30 years (she even became a sales woman at Saks), she was rediscovered by French critics and staged a comeback in which she was finally recognized as one of the great actrsses of all time.

Ths is one great DVD.

Happy Three King's Day

The Black Dahlia

This movie was one of the big flops of 2007. And in terms of reviews, it received so so-so notices. And even though it is not a great movie, it is an interesting one. It is a fictional story built around a true life murder in 1940's Hollywood. A wannabee actress was found butchered beyond belief in a LA. The yellow press of the day named her "The Black Dahlia" and it was big news for a couple of months. The killer was never found.
Writer James Ellroy turned this story into a best seller and now director Brian De Palma turned into a pretty good DVD flick. It has good period atmosphere, good acting and the mystery angle is interesting. A nice flick for a dull night.

The Good Shepherd

The "pre-Star Wars" 1970's were a great time for movies. A time when Hollywood mainstream movies were intelligent, thoughtful and character driven. And more important mainstream movies had adults in mind and featured grown up themes such as love, loyalty, sex in a serious way. Now look at Plaza's movie schedule and every movie is made for 12 year olds.

Except this one. This excellent movie, directed by Robert De Niro, reminds me of the Golden Age of the 1970's. A movie about the beginning of the CIA, it is also a movie about life's decisions, about friendship, love, loyalty, regrets, family. This is a terrific movie. And it is great to see Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie(heartbreakingly beautiful here) in such a fine, adult movie. And it is good to see DeNiro in a small, but touching role, a million years away from his recent self parodying performances. And Tammy Blanchard as the one woman who got away from Damon is amazing.

There are no chase scenes here, no CGI, just real life with all it's problems and issues. I loved this movie.

By the way, it is playing at Plaza theaters only during the daytime. I guess during the night that screening room becomes the fifth one showing " A Night at the Museum".

on a new year

We all make promises to ourselves on a day like today. Most we never keep, I suppose. There were times when I would do the cliche thing and write them down. Then I decided not to do that. Well, I am back to writing a few resolutions. But instead of having a list with 20, I will place them under one single category. I want to be more at peace. Sounds simple. Yeah sure. I know it isn't. But maybe thinking about that will help me react to all the things I face every day. Someone hurts me, be at peace. A negative thought comes to my mind, be at peace. You get the picture.
I hope to do that. And smile more.ok, that too.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, a Happy one to everyone!!!!!!!!!
All the best.

The Descent

When was the last time you literally jumped out of your seat while watching a movie on television? Well, this movie made me do that. Six women friends decide to enter a cave in the Appalachian mountains and things, well, don't go well. Saying anything else would ruin it for you. This is a movie so full of suspense, so claustrophobic and dark that it is amost uncomfortable to watch. This is a really amazing horror movie. Up there with the best.

as the year ends...

I am in a quiet mood. Just doing my ordinary Saturday morning house chores.
But in the back of my mind is the realization that another year is ending.
Should I make plans for the new year?
Try to make the usual list of things?
or simply go on doing my chores?

about weekends

Here comes another four day weekend. Which is a very rare event where I work. So it's funny because one places so many expectations on a weekend like that. I will do this, I will do that, now I finally will do this. And in the end, really, we just do the normal things we do every weekend.

So I guess the lesson learned is not to expect too much of days like this. Just go with the flow and see what happens. Like Anthony Hopkins said in an interview, "Ask nothing. Expect nothing. Accept everything."

Have a good one!

Little Miss Sunshine

I loved this movie. It is funny, touching, has some wonderful gags. A funny ending. And a great turn by Alan Arkin as a grandfather whose advice to his grandson is "Fuck as many women as you can". This is one cool movie.

The old books

Ever since I was a little kid I had seen the Shakespeare books in my parent's library. They were wonderful 1923 editions from Yale University. The kind of book binding you don't see anymore. I remember browsing them as a child and knowing how special they were.
Last month my parents decided to clean up the place and they told me whether I wanted the books. I inmediately said yes. I placed them in a bag and said I would take them to my apartment later. Well, I forgot about it for a month. And yesterday when I went to look for them, they were not there. The cleaning lady had mistook them for trash and had thrown them away.
I know it's silly to cry for books, but I felt such sorrow. This books are something I wanted to remember by father by. His love for reading. His love for Shakespeare. The thought of these books being taken away by a garbage truck was truly painful.

Well, I figured I should look for them. Maybe the garbage truck had not passed by my parent's house. I looked through all the bags. Nothing. Suddenly I looked in the bottom of a garbage can and there they were. I almost cried from the joy of it. The books were there.

I took them to my apartment today. I smelled their wonderful "old book" fragrance.
I was the happiest man on earth.

Peace

There is something special about Christmas morning. I love waking up early and just going into the balcony and enjoy the silence. There are no cars in the street, no trucks and their horns. I guess everyone is back at their homes, exchanging gifts or simply recovering from their hangover. But that's not really important, the important thing is this silence. This peace. And well, peace is what Christmas is all about, isn't it?

Feliz Nochebuena. Feliz Navidad.

Felicidades

Well, we are so close to Christmas weekend. A long one since yesterday they gave us Tuesday off. I did all my shopping already so I won't have to go to Plaza. So maybe it's time to catch a movie or keep watching the "Band of Brothers" DVD that someone lent me. Hmmm..maybe that's not great Christmas fare. I'm sure Turner Classic Movies has a few great films for the season.


Anyway, I'll have my share of pernil and pasteles and all the great Holiday food. And I'll spend some quality time with my family. Which is always a good thing.
Well, have a good one...Felicidades!!!

Apocalypto

I wasn't sure whether I wanted to see this movie, but I went to see it today. This is the kind of movie that creates mixed feelings. It is extremely well made, the acting is excellent (these people were all non-actors!!!), one gets involved in the story. And there are scenes such as the one featuring the sacrifices that are extremely effective.

But suddenly one realizes one is watching every action cliche in the book simply set in a different place and time. The wild animal chase, the jumping off a waterfall etc. But maybe that's the whole point, this is an old fashioned adventure movie and that's all. A Mayan Indiana Jones.

As for the violence, well, it's not as terrible as some critics make you think. Plus, it doesn't really shock you in the context of an adventure movie.

The Queen

Nowadays there are very few movies that challenge. That do not take the easy way out.
Here's one of the few. An intelligent, sometimes even funny movie about Queen Elizabeth's II's reaction to Lady Di's death. Instead of taking the easy way of showing what a terrible person she must have been to react coldly to her death, the movie makes us understand her and even sympathize with her. Here's a woman brought brought up with the old English ways, having to react to the E! entertainment world of today where the death of an ex-princess creates world mourning.

Anyway, the movie has an amazing performance by Helen Mirren as the Queen. She's a shoo-in to win the Oscar. Watch it at Fine Arts.

A childhood memory

Maybe it's the season. But I've been reminiscing about things I used to like as a kid. And one of them was Peanuts. I guess I learned English reading the comic strip. There was something wonderfully reassuring about its world of little kids. And, although I didn't realized it at the time, there was a whole philosophy of life in it.

So when I learned that there would be a Peanuts movie I was thrilled. And finally, the movie arrived in Puerto Rico. And my uncle, who knew about my love for Peanuts, invited me to a Gala Premiere!! You can imagine how special I felt. Gala Premieres used to be a big deal way back then. People would dress up and everything. So there I was, 9 years old, dressed with jacket and tie, at my first movie Gala Premiere with my uncle and aunt. As you can imagine, I loved the movie. Many of the gags and situations were lifted from the strip, so it was wonderful to see them in the giant screen of the Radio City theater in Santurce. Well, I loved it so much that I made my parents take me to see it again three days later.

Anyway, I saw this movie again yesterday. And it was wonderful. I had not seen it since 1970!!!! Maybe it's the season. But I love revisiting it again.

Happy Feet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I took the day off and went to Plaza to do my Christmas shopping. After doing that, I decided to catch a movie. I was not ready for the gore of "Apocalypto", so I decided to see "Happy Feet".

Well, I was really surprised by it. I thought it was going to be all cute, dancing penguins but it turned out to be quite different.But this is an animated movie directed by the man who made "Mad Max" and "Babe". Which means that this is a movie full of nice moments followed by some pretty dark sequences.

Still, it was a cool movie to watch. Some nice songs (the movie begins with The Beatles "Golden Slumbers" and there's a reference to the famous last Beatles tune "And in the end/ the love you take is equal to the love you make"). But they are mostly funky tunes.

Robin Williams supplies one of the voices, but is mercifully not allowed to go wild.

The movie is bit too long though, but well worth seeing. And those Latino penguins are funny as hell.

thought

The New Year is arriving. And with it a milestone in my life. In April of 2007 I turn 46. I would be past the middle of the decade that an older friend of mine called "The last really good ten years". I always remember when he told me that on my 40th birthday. And now almost six years later, those words come to my mind.

Then again, fuck it. I'll start jogging, eating really healthy and start taking Viagra and go on. Anyway, there are still four years left until that. There's today and tomorrow. And tomorrow. Yeah, fuck it.

true

"I never think of the future. It comes soon enough." ~Albert Einstein

Christmas magic

Once upon a long time ago, local tv channels used to show these wonderful Christmas shows, "Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and others.But these two were always favorites of mine when I was a kid. There was so quaint and reassuring about them. There is an innocence to them that is so incredibly irristible. No wonder they are shown year after year in the national networks.

A couple of years back I bought them on DVD and it felt great watching them again. This year I gave them to a friend that has a two year old boy and he loves them too. And that madem e feel so good. To think that another little boy discovers a bit of the magic of this season through the work of Rankin Bass and their amazing stop animation specials.

"Scoop"

I wonder why this movie got so many mixed reviews. It's a light, funny farce about a college student who receives a big news scoop about a serial killer from a dead reporter. It's pretty cool and reminds me of old 1940's movies full of wonderful comic moments. Maybe after "Match Point", critics were expecting another masterpiece from director Woody Allen and instead he delivered a solid little romantic comedy. A romantic comedy a million times better than the crap that plays at Plaza theaters every week. Check it out and be surprised.

on cold and snow

I was watching the news channels on Friday, seeing all the images of the winter storm that hit the Midwest. The cars stuck in the snow or slipping down icy roads. And it made me realize one of the main reasons I didn't stay in the Midwest or Northeast when I graduated from college or grad school. I never got to enjoy snow and cold weather. Sure, if you're on vacation, it's great to see snow and then come back to warmer weather. But when you live there and you realize that the cold weather will last form November through April, well, it's not so great.

Anyway, it was cool to see the images on CNN, and then go to my balcony and enjoy the warm breeze.

new channel from Onelink

I've been watching this new channel available on OneLink called Vene Movies, from Venevision. And it is quite interesting. It features movies from Spain, Argentina, Mexico and other Latin American countries. They are shown uncut and without commercials. I prefer the ones from Spain and they seem to have a nice library of them.
Check it out on channel 144.