8:30 am

My boss recommended me a new camera the other day. It's the CanonG10. And i decided to test it by taking some photos at the beach the other morning. And it does feel like a great camera. And I was able to capture the world of the Ocean Park beach at 8:30 am. The people practicing beach volleyball. The people walking or the ones just sitting there, looking at the ocean, maybe meditating. It's a wonderful, quiet little world. And one that I hope to capture again.

why I don't go to movies anymore

I used to love going to the movies on Saturday afternoons. Usually to the Metro in Santurce. I would go in, catch a flick at 2pn and leave around 4:30pm. But these days I can't. Just look at the garbage mainstream movies that are playing. "Wolverine", a movie concentrating on a character from the mediocre at best "X-Men' movies. A movie aimed at 14 year olds. Then there's the Beyonce vehicle "Obsessed", the one millionth variation on the "Fatal Attraction" plot, that was itself a replica of "Play Misty for Me". Haven't people seen this stupid plot too many times? Maybe not. Since it was the #1 movie of last week. Oh, right, it's aimed at 14 year olds and 14 years old were not born when the whole femme fatale, erotic thriller cycle happened, So I will watch a movie I rented from Netflix and enjoy it at home. My own Saturday matinee at home. But somehow it isn't the Metro theater. Still, a movie fan has to see a movie on Saturday afternoons.

a year ago

A year ago today I was fired. Then came the months of an almost sabbatical period in which I was able to detox from the world of advertising. I had freelance jobs here and there, but most of the time was spent traveling, writing and taking photos. Not bad.
Here I am, a year later, working in an advertising agency again. Happy to have a full time job in these days of crisis, but still battling a bit with my love-hate relationship with advertising. Loving the camaraderie and the fun times, hating the sense of servility that permeates this industry in Puerto Rico. Loving creating the ads, but pissed that they have to be filmed on a Saturday.
Although here I find these problems in a lesser degree, they are still there. Lurking. Waiting to get out.
Still, it's great to have a job. On the other hand...

Secret Diary of a Call Girl

Late night premium cable. The land of the same 4 or five soft core actors appearing in rather boring movies. But there is something really different and cool these days on cable land. It's called "Secret Diary of a Call Girl", a fun, sexy Showtime series starring Billie Piper. It concerns the adventures and misadventures of a London high priced call girl. It is an intelligent, although I imagine unrealistic look at the world of prostitutes and their clients.

What makes it interesting, apart from the wonderful performance by Piper, is the adult way it approaches sexuality: as something normal and human. It basically tells you we all have our quirkiness in that area of our life and that we should not feel guilty about it. And we do see all the range of human weirdness when dealing with sex. And yet, it feels ok. This is a series rated TVMA that somehow doesn't feel sleazy. It feels fun and normal. Like sex, I guess.

Stardust Memories

Yesterday I was kind of tired from the previous night's partying and i decide to spend the morning in bed, relaxing and watching movies. And I ran across a great movie on the Retroplex cable channel. It's a Woody Allen movie I had never seen before, called "Stardust Memories". I remember that when this movie was released the critics didn't like it too much. This what at the time when Allen was rejecting all his slapstick movies and was trying to make serious movies. As every artist who initially wants to make a change in his or her career, Allen became kind of pedantic and pretentious. And this movie has some of that pretentiousness, still it is an interesting one. And there are actually funny moments in it.

And there are moments that are downright brilliant. There is an amazing scene in which he talks about a "perfect moment" he once had. It involved sharing a quiet Sunday morning with his then girlfriend. The camera shows this scene in all its simplicity and wonder as we see Charlotte Rampling simply turning the pages of the Sunday paper and smiling. It is such a beautiful scene and Rampling shows what an excellent actress she is.

Here is what he says on that scene:
"It was Sunday, and you-you knew summer would be coming soon. I remember, that morning Dorrie and I had gone for a walk in the park. We came back to the apartment. We were just sort of sitting around. And…I put on a record of Louis Armstrong, which is music that I grew up loving. It was very, very pretty, and…I happened to glance over, and I-I saw Dorrie sitting there. And I remember thinking to myself…how terrific she was, and how much I loved her. And, I don’t know…I guess it was the combination of everything…the sound of that music, and the-the breeze, and, and how beautiful Dorrie looked to me. And for one brief moment, everything just seemed to come together perfectly, and I-I felt happy. Al-al-almost indestructible, in a way. It’s funny that that simple little moment of contact moved me in a very, very profound way."

A wonderful moment in a wonderful movie that I saw in a marvellous, quiet Sunday

favorite actors

The old line about they don't make them like that anymore certainly applies to the late George C. Scott. I was a kid when he reached his peak in terms of popularity and I recall always wanting to see his movies. He projected such intensity. His characters were decent people who seem to stand their ground in a world gone wrong. And maybe that was what drew me to his movies, the idea of a morally upright man, albeit an angry one, who was willing to face the world alone and with dignity.

It amazes me to think that in the early 1970's, he was a movie superstar. Here's a 50 something guy, not exactly good looking who drew millions of people to his movies. It says a lot about the open mindness of the movioegoer at that time, who were willing to see a movie based on an actor's talent, not on his look.

Scott was certainly lucky to have developed in the 60's and 70's, today he would have been relegated to playing the villain in comic book movies aimed at 14.

Must see: "Petulia", "The Hospital", "Patton"

The Reader

I read "The Reader" when it first came out and I recall liking it, but strangely enough I had forgotten basically what it was about. Last week I finally saw the movie version and I liked it. It really reminded me why I had enjoyed the book in the first place. It's a story of love, lust, forgiveness and cruelty. It shows how duty, politics and ignorance can cloud our vision of the world. And it shows how even the most terrible monster deserves a certain level of forgiveness. Kate Winslet is amazing in this movie. She portrays a cold character, yet we want to know more about her and we are even able to consider forgiving her.

It is also a movie that asks the question, in a time of war, are we responsible for the crimes we commit in service of our country? If a country can kill thousands with a bomb and get away with it, why can't an individual do the same?

A really excellent movie.

Two French movies

This weekend I decided to see two recent French movies. First, Un Secret, a movie about a boy who unearths some family secrets from the time of the German occupation of France. To say much more is to ruin a really fine movie that sort of reminded me of Louis Malle's Au Revoir Les Enfants, as to why, I can't reveal either. It's one of those movies that combine history and personal life perfectly. It's also a movie about choices and how they can change life in a moment.

The second movie is The Witnesses, a movie about the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in France. To be perfectly honest I rented this movie because I am completely in love with Emmanuelle Beart, I will watch anything she's in. Having said that, this is a great movie about those early years when people didn't know what to make of this new disease. It is also a movie that deals with sexuality as only the French can, in a serious and mature way. Highly recommended.

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday. And even though I'm not a religious person, thidsday brings out many memories from my childhood. In those days, Good Friday was a very serious day. Nobody would work. All the local television stations would change their programming and show religious shows. Same for music on radio stations. And even the movie theaters would stop showing regular movies and would feature "Ben Hur", "Ten Commandments" and "The Robe". And every year I would go see these movies with my mother and grandmother.

Today, the only tradition my family keeps is the buying of cocas mallorquinas, a traditional pizza made with sardines that has been part of Good Friday in my ancestor's birthplace of Mallorca, Spain. I still enjoy eating them.

So today, I basically celebrate a celebration. A family tradition. Something that ties me with my childhood and with my ancestors.

Elegy/ I've Loved you for so Long

This weekend I decided to see two movies about adults and second chances. I am in a stage in my life where those themes appeal to me. The first one I saw was "I've Loved you for so Long" a French film about a woman leaving jail after being convicted of murdering her son. Little by little she starts to get used to being a free woman, facing everyday situations. The movie make us wonder why she killed her son. And after, two hours, the revelation comes. And to be honest, it is quite a cliche one, after two hours, it turns into a Lifetime movie. Still, the acting is great and there's something about the everyday life of the French that I find so calming and appealing.

"Elegy" is about a college professor who falls in love with one his students. That the student happens to be Penelope Cruz is another topic altogether. The love story is interesting. Can an old man really fall in love with a younger woman or is he simply living an illusion, a desire to be young again. It is interesting that the professor wonders about that. And tries to sabotage the whole thing. But, maybe he is love. And maybe she is in love with him. And maybe, we all have a right to be happy. I found this movie really interesting, one of those movies that can create night long discussions.

It works

The other day when I went into Borders, they had the classic self help book "How to Win Friends and Influence People" on display. I had heard about that book. Hell, the phrase has become a cliche in the English language. And since the price was right and I was kind of curious about it, I purchased it.

And I must admit I am pretty much amazed at the book. Especially its central premise that says that the main thing a human being wants is to feel important. If you make another person feel important, you have them eating out of your hand. So instead of talking to someone about yourself, you should talk about the other person and the things that interest him or her. The important thing is not to do it out of hipocrisy, but out of genuine interest.

I tried it the other day when I ran into someone I had not seen for a while, and, damn, it works. Somehow I wish I had read that book 20 years ago. Maybe I would have been more successful socially and business wise. But I guess it's never too late.

I just realized, Dale carnegie wrote another book about worry, one of my main character flaws. So I bought it. Maybe it will work.

trips

In a few days I will be taking a short trip. I just started at a new job so I can't do the long vacation thing. I had planned on going to Europe again this year, maybe concentrating in Germany, Prague and Northern Europe. But it's ok. I will take my short trips and visit friends. Sometimes a few days is all it takes.

two movies

Once again I have been off this blog. But I'm back with a commitment to it. And for this post I have decided to write about two movies I saw on DVD this weekend. Two movies that did not win any Oscars but that may be better than all of the movies that were nominated.

The first is a vampire movie called "Let the Right One In". It's a Swedish vampire movie so you know that it won't be your run of the mill flick. And it isn't. It's an eerie, strange, somehow romantic movie about about a 12 year old boy who runs into a 12 year old girl who is really a vampire. But this is no pre-teen predictable story. It is a story about loneliness, love and the idea that romance can be above everything, even the small detail of vampirism. The movie drags you in and doesn't let you go. There is an American remake on the works and it is sure to be inferior.

I also saw "Happy go Lucky", a British movie about an impossibly optimistic 30 year old woman. It is a feel good movie that doesn't throw the "feel good" down your throat.

Two wonderful, unknown movies in one weekend.

Slumdog kids

While watching the Oscars the other night I couldn't help thinking about the slum kids from Mumbai who star n "Slumdog Millionaire". They created magic in that movie, they were paid something like 500 euros and they remained living in the atrocious conditions of the Mumbai slums. And here they were at the Oscars, smiling, saying hello to all the big, glamorous stars. And today they may be on the way back to their life of extreme poverty. It's hard for me to comprehend this kind of situation. I hope they won't be forgotten. Someone for Fox should create some kind of fund for them. As I look at their smiles I don't want to see them in ten years in an E! documentary about their hard life or early deaths. Maybe someone is making sure they prosper. I do hope so. I even pray so.

Happy Birthday, Metro theater!!!!

Today I read that the Metro theater, the last of the great San Juan movie palaces turned 70. And that's quite a feat. It is the last remaining survivor of all the wonderful downtown theaters of my youth. The radio City, the Cinerama, the Metropolitan, the Paramount, they are all gone. But amazingly enough the Metro still stands. And it's still showing movies.

I have so many memories of this movie theater. I remember seeing " 2001" here as a little boy and being both amazed and perplexed by the movie. I saw a re-release of the "Wizard of Oz" here and of "Fantasia" too. I remember Tom & Jerry festivals shown on Saturday mornings at the Metro.

And even though I loved all the old theaters, to me, the Metro was the special one. Going there was a treat. The Cinerama screen. The smell of popcorn as one went in. The architecture of the whole place. I even had a special seat where I always sat when i went there.

The single screen theater was later turned into a triplex and perhaps it lost something. But it still remained a favorite. Sure, the theaters at the malls were bigger, but the Metro had something wonderful about it. Something about the moviegoing experience remains there. The buying of the ticket in the street. The marquee. The old memories and the new ones to be had.

Happy Birthday, Metro! You are one of a kind.

"Ship of Fools" and middle age

It's interesting when a work of art acquires new meanings when one grows older. Many years ago I saw the movie "Ship of Fools" about a cruise ship full of German passengers in 1933, just as the Nazis were taking power. And I realized the historical nuances that were present in the movie. Every passenger represented a particular type of person; the Nazi, the Jew, the aristocrat. But I saw as simply a movie with a definite historical allegory to tell.

Then seeing it yesterday, I discovered something. Almost every one of the characters is middle aged. And having entered that phase of life myself, the movie becomes something else entirely. I can see the characters as more than just stereotypes, they are people entering a particular phase in their lives. Every one of them is full of regrets, of what they did, of what they didn't do. They are wondering whether they can change this late in the game.They have moments in which they express hope, others in which they are so disillusioned that they can't feel but pessimism about it all. They are full of mixed feelings towards everything. And I can't help think that during these years I have experienced all these feelings myself.

Which also made me realize how very few movies deal with middle age. Most movies are about the younger years. There are movies about thirtysomethings. And even movies about seniors and their problems. But I can't think about many movies about people in their 40's and 50's. such a crucial part of life and movies (and books) pay little attention to it. So in a way, "Ship of Fools" is a great movie because it does.

This theme in the movie adds greater significance to something Michael Dunn says in one of those rare moments in movies when an actor talks directly to the audience: "You may say what does this have to do with you? It has everything to do with you". And he is right.

laughing again

The other day I saw the trailer for the new Pink Panther movie. And I was reminded how much I liked those movies when I was a kid. I would see the new ones at the movies and enjoy the ones from the 1960's on tv. In fact one of my most vivid memories was seeing "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" with my mother and grandmother at the old Cinerama theater in San Juan. I laughed so hard and had such a wonderful time.

But something happened many years. In one of those nostalgia trips I seem to take so often, I bought a Pink Panther movie DVD collection. And I saw "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" for the first time in maybe 20 years. And it was such a letdown. There were a couple of laughs in there, but not much more. Which made me realize that even though we can see adventure movies form our youth again and enjoy them as one did as a kid, comedy doesn't age that well. What made me laugh years ago, doesn't do it for me now. There are exceptions like "Top Secret!" and the Monty Python movies (not all of them). But, in general. laughter seems to be a product of a particular period in one's life.

Reds

I realized that the new job would cut down on my writing and my movie viewing. When I get home from work I usually don't feel like watching a movie. I become tired and sleepy really quick. So my movie watching will probably be limited to Saturday afternoon. So I decided to watch special movies those days. Especially movies on DVD that come with a lot of extras. I love to watch a film and learn everything about it.

My first Saturday movie is "Reds". An epic movie that is remarkable for many things. It was one of the last of the intelligent epic movies. It marked the end of an era in which mainstream movies were aimed at adults. And on a personal level, it is the last movie I remember seeing at the old Cinerama theater in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Imagine telling a studio right now that you want to make a three hour movie about a Communist. You would be laughed off the phase of the earth. But Warren Beatty had enough clout at that time to pull it off. The movie is part romance, part history. And it works well on both levels. Maybe it works better on the historical side, because the romance seemed a bit cliche ridden.

The movie is also the last one I can recall that had an Intermission. This was a practice common to long movies in which the public was given a chance to take a 15 minute break, go to the bathroom, get something to eat or simply stretch the legs. I miss those wonderful Intermissions. And I love the fact that the DVD features such a break. It is a really nostalgic thing to experience.

All in all, a nice movie to watch again.

about the game

For many years my father would get tickets to the Super Bowl. A company he did business with would give him 4 free tickets year after year. And it became a ritual, a time for some extra bonding between my father, my brother in law and me. They were some amazing times. But every year I would wonder whether that year would be the last. And one year it was. Basically because one year we realized my father was not able to handle the stress of going to the game.
So now we stay at home, have some things to eat and enjoy the game. And I will do that in a couple of hours. And I am so happy to do that.

current obsession-Man from UNCLE

As a child I rememebr my father watching a tv show called in Spanish "El Agente de CIPOL". I recall seeing it but not really understanding what was going on. I must have been four or five years old then. Years later I learned the real name of the show "The Man from UNCLE".

And a couple of weeks ago I began watching it thanks to Netflix. I have watched a few episodes and I love it. The thing is I have always loved the whole look and feel of the 1960's. The hipness. The attitude. Even the whole political incorrectness of the era. And nothing embodies this quite like this show.

There's the obvious Cold War mentality. But instead of the Soviets the bad guys was an international organization called THRUSH. The were all over the world, always ready to create mayhem through terror. Sound familiar?

Then there are the women. There is something so cool about the look of women in the 1960's. They were not model thin women, but women with curves. No fake boobs. They wanted to go-go dance. And they were so damn sexy.

And last, there's this totally incorrect barter between men and women at work. Today all of them would be thrown in jail for sexual harrasment.

And everyone smokes.

I can't wait to get more episodes in the mailbox. Hell, I may even buy the set.

moments

It's interesting that most of the time the moments one treasures are the ones that just happen by chance. The ones you never figure will even happen. And today I decided to write about one of them. Who knows? If I like the result I may even extend it to a series of essays.

When one sits down in a plane, one always wonders who will sit next to you. Will the person be quiet, will he or she talk and be incredibly obnoxious? Well, this happened to me almost 20 years ago on a flight from Madrid to San Juan. That particular flight left at 3am from Madrid. I was tired and sleepy when I sat down, hoping to get a bite and just doze off. That was all I wanted.

Suddenly next to me sat a young woman. She smiled, It's hard for me to explain how beautiful she was. Not in fashion model sense, simply in a down to earth kind of way. The thing was that we started talking. About what we did. She was finishing her studies and was going back to Peru for some days off. And one thing led to another and we ended up talking about life, fate, love, dreams. I had never felt so comfortable talking to a complete stranger. Maybe because we were strangers and would never see each other again, we felt such a willingness to talk freely. And we did for hours. In retrospect, those hours seem like mere minutes. It was the fastest 8 hour flight in my life.

And then we landed in San Juan. She stayed on the plane since she was continuing on to Peru. We said goodbye. No mail exchanges. No phone numbers. We would never get in touch again. It was just two strangers who met in a flight and talked. And yet here I am 20 years later thinking about it. And wondering if things could have been different.

And yet one can't help realize that today we could have kept in touch via e-mail. Skype. But that was so long ago in a world in which friends would vanish, in which it was so hard to keep in touch. When someone talks to me about the dangers of new technology, I nod, smile and think of that woman in the plane and of the difference a simple e-mail address could have made.

photos on a Monday

works in progress

As someone who works on the creative side of advertising, I have always find it fascinating to see the creative process at work. How one begins work on something and how it evolves until one reaches the "final work". Sometimes the first draft ends up becoming the final version. Or sometimes it is just a small step in a huge process.

I am writing this because in the last few days I have been listening to The Beatles "Anthology" and to Cat Stevens "Teaser and the Firecat" deluxe CD. They both feature demo tapes of their popular songs. And I find it so interesting to see how a song changed from demo to final version. The lyrics that were changed, the different beat, how the singing and interpretation varied. Sometimes the demo tape has an immediacy that was lost in the final version. But, most of the time, the final version has something that makes one realize that it is "final". The first draft may have had some rawness that made it interesting, but one can see (and hear) so much more in the final version.

Which brings me to my profession and the fact that it seems that in my advertising career I have only had time to do first drafts. I have never been able to think about a project and be able to correct mistakes, to do the little things here and there that transform something into a special project. So I have never had a really great commercial. Just a bunch of OK ones and lots of "might have beens"

Maybe It's time to realize that I will never be able to do that in the advertising world and that I should look for that in some other creative area.

photos on a Monday

The other day someone I know who does a bit of modeling and tv work asked me to take some photos for her portfolio. She learned that I have been doing a bit of phototaking and was wondering whether I could help her. And I did. And it was a lot of fun. We took some portraits and then went to the beach for most photos. We came up with some interesting shots, we improvised, laughed, made fun of some of the poses. But the result was creatively fullfilling and well, we came up with some good photos.

I guess that, in a way, after so many years in advertising, I needed some new means of expression. And maybe I have found it.

Local Hero in HD

The other day HD Net showed my favorite movie of all time, "Local Hero". Even though I have seen it quite a few times, it was magical to see it in high definition. Especially since the movie is set in Scotland and seeing that scenery so sharp and crisp added a whole new dimension it. But the reason I love it remains the same. The low key humor, the music. The fact that it is a movie that consists of so many wonderful scenes. There are no big scenes in the movie just small ones that add up to something special. Just like in real life.

Oh...and it features the most wonderful, magical, sweet, touching last scene of any movie I have seen in my life. It invariably brings a smile, goosebumps and a small tear of happiness. No other movie has done that to me.

Oh, and it makes me feel good about life.

tomorrow

Tomorrow I begin a new job. Part of me is excited, part of me afraid, part of me says "It will be great", another says "Don't put too much hope on it". But, here I go.

How Green was My Valley

When I was a boy, my grandmother would sometimes mention "How Green was My Valley" as a movie she loved. And I always wondered why. Well, the other day I saw this movie again and maybe realized why. This is a basically a movie about family. A family of miners in a Welsh village. They go through many problems, facing them bravely. And at the center of the movie is the character of the mother, trying desperately to keep the family together against all odds. And that's what made me stop and think. Because I remember that when family feuds would erupt, she was always trying so hard to keep everyone together through it all. Even if it meant admitting she was wrong, when she wasn't. Sometimes she was successful, but sometimes she was not. And when she was not, you would notice the pain in her.

So I watched this movie again, not as "the movie that beat 'Citizen Kane' at the Oscars, but as a work of art that touched the heart of someone close to me. And it moved me beyond words.

"You like this song too?"

There was a time in which if one visited a someone's home for the first time one would inevitably look at his or her record collection and try to figure out something about that person through their taste in music. Did you share any music in common? Did you find their taste interesting, intriguing, boring, scary? And wasn't it great when suddenly while browsing one saw that you owned an album in common? It was an instant conversation starter. There was an instant bonding becauseof simply liking the same music. It was a wonderful to be able to have those moments.

Now with music confined to an MP3 player a person's taste in music is not out there for all to see. Music is a more private matter now. No more "Wow you like 'Tea for the Tillerman' too? Great. Mind if I play it"? . Through technology we have gained access to every song in the world, but we semm to have lost some access to each other.

Man on wire

What would you do for art? How about doing a high wire walk between the Twin Towers? That's what Philippe Petit did in 1974 and it makes for one of the most fascinating documentaries I have seen in my life. Petit, a high wire artist had become famous for walking across the Notre Dame Cathedral and on a bridge near the Australia Opera House. But he became obsessed with the idea of doing a performance in the soon to be inaugurated World Trade Center.

This would not only mean doing the improbable act, but also breaking in the towers, avoiding security and throwing a line from one tower to the other using (get this) a bow and arrow. Well, how he and some friends did it is recreated in this movie and it has more suspense than any heist movie you have seen. And against all odds and quite frankly, common sense, they did it.

And then there's the footage of his high wire walk. One is in awe of someone like that. One feels he is a genius, an artist, a madman. It is a quite a sight.

And then there is a curious thing. There is never any mention of the destruction of the towers in the movie. And I'm happy that there is none. Because for 90 minutes the towers are there, as real as anything in the world. Perhaps this movie is the real work of art that people will will remember about them. And it is so damn beautiful.

accomplishments

A person in another blog did this year end exercise and I thought it would be a good idea to do it too.

First, I realized that I really needed a change in terms of job. In the end the only thing keeping me there was the camaraderie there and the fact that it was close to my house. Working somewhere just because of short commute is not quite right.

I also learned that I could travel alone again. I had a great time during my time in France and in New England. The fact that I took a guided tour always kept me busy and entertained. I simply enjoyed the scenery, met some interesting people and took some nice photos. Not once did I feel uncomfortable about traveling alone. That is quite an achievement for me.

Which takes me to the fact that I realized I am a pretty good photographer. My friend Erika gave me some insights into composition that I needed to learn and off I went into the world.

I learned that I will probably be a good retiree. My months away from work were really interesting. I was able to write, travel, read,take photos, watch old movies. I established a routine that kept me busy, interested and content.

I got over my self pity about the injury. My knee eventually got better. Sometimes I feel a slight discomfort, but I do a short exercise and it feels better. Time heals all wounds. And I learned to be patient with things that life throws at you.

I did a small thing that maybe is not so small at all. I learned to face my fears little by little. Fear of loneliness by meeting people. Fear of traveling alone by doing it in a grand scale. Seems it works when you do it like that.

I went back to my blog. I had stopped writing because I was tired of doing so much ad writing at work. I found the time and the energy to do it. I realized there's pleasure in writing. And that this blog is a little work of art I am creating (maybe).

Well, that's it for now. Maybe I will think of other things.

No thank you, I am waiting for the Joseph Stalin one.

For the revolutionary in your household who needs to keep his or her appointments, a Che calendar. Available at Borders.

I hate this ad

I just saw the creepiest ad in my life. It is a TV ad for One Laptop Per Child in which John Lennon is brought from the dead to endorse this program. First you hear a voice similar to Lennon's talking about the idea behind One Laptop Per Child and then we see old Lennon footage talking to camera. what's worse the lip synching is not even that good.
It is a strange concept for a commercial. Maybe it will work since it will certainly get people talking. But still, the fake Lennon voice is really, really creepy.
Type "Lennon laptop ad on You Tube"

Trash I like

When I was studying communications at Grad School, the professor asked the students if anyone enjoyed watching trashy movies or tv. And it being a snotty school, nobody raised their hands. Except me. The professor and the other students looked at me as if I was a lunatic. The professor then asked me what trash I enjoyed watching. And I said "Good trash". And he replied, "And what is good trash?". My answer was "Trash that I like". Everyone laughed, some with me, others at me. But at least I had been honest.

Well, here's trash I like. Goofy 1960's movies. I love them. And last week I saw two of them. First up, "Casino Royale", a so called James Bond parody that is completely unfunny but is a truly watchable mess. Bad jokes, outlandish sets, gorgeous women. The movie had five directors, actors leaving in mid production and all kinds of complications. Actually, the "making of" featurette in the DVD is better than the movie.
"Casino Royale" is also one of the first movies I remember seeing as a kid. Seeing Ursula Andress and Barbara Bouchet posters in the theater lobby made me realize I liked women. So there's nostalgia involved in it too.

"Battle Beneath the Earth" is about a Chinese plot to invade the USA....from underneath the earth. Through tunnels where a Fu Manchu type villian plans to attack America with atom bombs.. It is also completely politically incorrect (Chinese portrayed by British actors), but the movie is so outlandish that one just laughs at the whole thing. This is one movie I wish I had seen as a kid. But watching it made me feel like a six year old again.

Photographs

I have been scanning old photographs to place them in a digital phot frame that I will give my parents for Christmas. Maybe it's the season and the fact that I'm listening to a cable music channel that plays Christmas music, but I can't help but be moved by all the old photographs. First, when I look at the people who are no longer here. But here they are in these pictures, most of them taken on Sundays when all the family would get together and have lunch. Here they are dressed literally in their Sunday best. They are all there, smiling, going about their life. Facing their days like I am now.

Then there are the people who are still alive, but here they are so young. Probably younger than I am now. Smiling, wearing the latest fashions.

And hitting me on the face was the passage of time. And how fast it goes by. All the people in those photos were probably thinking so too. But there were place to go, gatherings to enjoy. Because against time, it's all we can do.

changes

With my new job comes a sudden realization: the trip that I wanted to take next year will have to wait. Which is a shame since I wanted to visit Europe again, maybe visit Germany and some Eastern European countries. I guess I will try to get a couple of days off and maybe go to New York City to visit a friend or maybe go to Miami. It's funny, but I got so used to not having to worry about things like that when I was freelancing. But the reality is that the freelancing world is dead here. I am lucky to get a job.
So Prague can wait.

two movies

I have 3 weeks until I begin my full time job so I have been basically taking it easy. I have been reading a lot and watching a lot of movies on DVD. And the other day I enjoyed quite a double feature. First I watched a movie called "Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days", a critically acclaimed movie that deserves all the accolades. Its set in 1987 in Romania and it deals with the relationship between two friends when one of them has to get an illegal abortion. It is a truly amazing movie, with great acting a a ten minute sequence so full of suspense, fear and dread that I found myself closing my eyes. I am not kidding. Very few movies have touched me the way this movie did. It won the big prize at Cannes and I hope it gets the Oscar. This is such a great movie.

While still on this mood I watched an Ingmar Bergman movie called "The Silence". I recall seeing this movie on PBS when I was kid basically because it dealt with sex and had some nude scenes. Since the world of sex was still a mystery to me, I was enthralled by this movie. Now many years later, I realize that it is an interesting, somewhat cold movie about the relationship between two women(sisters). There are some undertones of lesbianism and incest, which must have been pretty weird back in the early 1960's. Well, the idea would be unthinkable in a movie today, but that's another story. The acting is amazing, the camerawork is excellent ( I am sure Kubrick saw this movie before shooting "The Shining"). But like all Bergman films it leaves one kind of cold and pessimistic about life. Still I liked it.

I must admit this was quite an interesting double bill. But I made a note to myself to watch a lighter movie next. And I did. I watched "Snoopy, Come Home" which turned out to be not so light at all.

"Gregory's Girl" : loving movies and life

Yesterday I saw two movies on tv, first I saw "Wanted" a typical new action movie with a million gimmick shots and CGI sequences. It was fun and ok. And then I happened to run across "Gregory's Girl" on cable. And I realized why I love movies.

"Gregory's Girl" was movie written and directed by Bill Forsyth, a Scottish director, who made some of the 1980's most wonderful movies. "Local Hero", 'Comfort and Joy" and "Housekeeping", before disappearing from the phase of the earth. His movies were about the small things in life, about the little moments. His movies contained no great, bombastic scenes to try to capture you. They had small scenes that added up and charmed you.

My favorite Forsyth movie is "Local Hero", but I love "Gregory's Girl', a movie about teenagers that is not about getting laid, but about finding someone that likes you and maybe love you. Gregory, an awkward kid, develops a crush on a girl...but she has other (wonderful) plans for him. There are so many priceless moments here: Gregory realizing that the girl has actually accepted his invitation for a date. His scenes with his younger sisters are truly great as she gives him advice on what girls like. These moments are sweet and touching. And I love the two guys that realizing that girls do not like them, make plans to travel to Caracas, where the women to men ratio is 8:1 (or so they think).

"Gregory's Girl" is kind of technically clumsy, which works brilliantly in a movie about the most awkward and clumsiest time in anyone's life. I love this movie. It reminds me of my teenage years and, most important, of the fact that life is about the small things. It's not about the bombast, but about the whispers.

Catch it on FLIX this month.

shows

I am becoming an NCSI fan. My father recommended this show and now I am completely hooked. I know these CSI shows are kind of routine, but I think this one is better. Great, quirky cast, interesting mysteries. I guess this is the kind of show you either love or hate. Well, I guess I love it.

on movies

The other day I was watching a movie from a few years ago ("Carried Away") and an interesting thing happened. There was this nude scene featuring a middle age Amy Irving and a late middle age Dennis Hopper. There was no sex involved. They just happened to be naked. And I realized that there are very few scenes like that in American movies, especially mainstream ones. You can see it in European movies, but not in American films.

Strange, isn't it? A common thing like walking around nude in the house is off limits to movies. Movies can show you violence. gore, guts hanging out...but let a breast or a penis hang out and it's the end of the world.Try explaining that to a creature from another world. Yes, we have people getting killed in all sorts of ways in our everyday pop culture, but our naked body is off limits. It is taboo. It is dirty.

Strange.

what might have been

28 years ago tomorrow, the dream of a renewal of a Lennon-McCartney writing partnership ended. Some jerk with easy access to a gun, ended that possibility. I've always figured they would have eventually collaborated, maybe not as The Beatles, but as two old friends doing some music just for the fun of it. The old grudges would have been put away. Time would have healed the wounds and the two of them would have given us some new songs. I am sure that would have happened at some point.

But it never did. Damn.

Adios

One of the people who taught me to love movies (and taught me to read English and understand puns), passed away. R.I.P. Forrest Ackerman.

love

When asked why his books never had a love story, Ken Vonnegut said that because once you put a love story in a novel, it overshadows everything else in it. You can have the most amazing plot, but once you put the element of love, the love becomes the most important thing. I thought about this while watching Sam Peckinpah's "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" the other day. The movie is about revenge, money, the hipocrisy of religion. It also touches on the end of the Old West. But then there's the love angle, on the relationship between Hogue (Jason Robards) and Hellie (Stella Stevens) and everything else becomes secondary.
Love conquers everything, especially in art.

old movies I saw again

When I was a kid, the Music Hall theater in San Juan used to show Disney movies all thetime. They would show the recent ones and also re-releases of all the classics. I, of course, went to see every one. I loved all of them, except two, "Fantasia" and "The Three Caballeros". Although I remember sitting still throughout "Fantasia" (which I think was hown at the Metro theater), I recall being completely restless and out of control during "Three Caballeros".

Well, I decided to see these two movies again. First up, "The Three Caballeros" and surprisingly I really liked this movie. It lacks the slickness of most Disney movies. In fact, the whole thing seemed completely improvised. And it may have been, since it was an effort between Disney and the U.S. government to create some goodwill between the United States and Latin America during World War II.

So it is an interesting movie for historic reasons. But it is much more. It is a fun, weird movie featuring some psychedelic visuals 25 years before "Yellow Submarine." And Donald Duck acts really strange. He acts like the horniest cartoon character ever, lusting after all the Latin senoritas. And I mean, Donald behaves like a drunk, spring break student in a "Girls Gone Wild" video. Truly bizarre. And I also noticed various instances in which inanimate objects became erect at the sight of some Latinas.

All in all, this is a really interesting movie to see. And the DVD comes with a behind the scenes documentary on how Disney helped the U.S. reach out to Latin America. The short film "Saludos Amigos" is also included.

changes

I just wrote a person in another blog about how life can change things from day to day. And I feel like expanding on that today. A week ago I was pretty much set on the idea that my present career was pretty much over. Well, not over. But the idea of being freelance was already ingrained in my mind. I would work sporadically, in small places here and there because I figured the big, important ones would not want me anymore. Well, the other day I got a phone call that may change all that. It's from a good agency and the work situation sounds interesting since it will be in a specialized field. I see it as a way of being inside an agency, but not in a regular agency. And I see it as a place where I can end my days as a copywriter. Then again, I am assuming they will offer me a job. There are quite a few unemployed copywriters out there that could be interested in that same position.

But the thing is, suddenly all plans were changed. And maybe a I won't get the call, and all I'm planning now will come to nothing. Believe it or not, I'm finding a kind of beauty in this. I have never been a person who loves unpredictability, but I'm realizing that I better start loving it because that's what life is all about.