A Journey Through Links

Each of the following movies has the same director: The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and A Passage to India. His name is David Lean. I saw the above mentioned movies years ago, only that I was a child or a teenager, so I watched them again these days. I was a bit curious about their director, and I was searching the web for his name. You might just want to do the same! Hats off to Sir David Lean!

While typing "David L" in order to continue with "ean", "ynch" was suggested. My mind went back in time to Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. I've finished typing the initial name, then I've came back to the suggested one.

I was surprised to notice Jerry Seinfeld's picture instead one of Lynch. I dug deeper, and I came over David Lynch Foundation. I thought "Why not?" and continued reading. From here it was just a step to Transcendental Meditation (TM), a new search and a new website. Never heard about TM before, so I was a bit curious about.

It is a simple, natural, effortless procedure practiced 20 minutes twice each day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed. It’s not a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle. It’s the most widely practiced, most researched, and most effective method of self-development.

http://www.tm.org/meditation-techniques

Reading further in order to decipher more about this technique, I was surprised to see materials that look rather like TV commercials, than something practical. I just wanted a starting point in order to see if it fits me instead of saying how you will manage to levitate.

I read more about TM, but generally I ran over the same kind of information. So I've typed and searched for "transcedental meditation pros and cons". I'll mention here just two articles:

• Does transcendental meditation really work? - New York NY | Examiner.com and
• Meditation Controversy.

Western life style might be a stressful one, but is meditation the cure? I'll continue with my body relaxation technique by watching a movie, and I'll have my mind busy for a while after watching it. If the movie has the right message, my mind and soul will benefit from it. If not, I'll try to select a better movie next time! Then I'll have a good sleep!

PS In order to figure out about the quality of a movie prior to watch it, see what people say about it, both on IMDb  and RottenTomatoes!

Consumption vs. Waste

World population is increasing. The demands are accordingly; any kind of demands, energy included. Actually about anything is energy: E=mc². Used energy must be produced. If we are producing more than we are consuming, we'll burn useless some primary energy resources. If we are producing less, we'll not be able to end our projects, or to reach our destination (whichever it might be). So we have to produce the same amount of consumed energy.

Is it everything consumed in order to obtain something useful? Are all the surrounding objects, things, actions or events useful? If not, it means that energy was consumed for the useless ones. I'd rather say that energy was wasted. Dropped! Wasted energy means heat! Should I link this heat to global warming? There's no point in using more energy than I need for this post, so I'll just stop here!

Are we consuming or are we wasting? How much are we consuming, and how much are we wasting? Everything is in our hands! It is up to each and everyone('s will) to weight the situation in order to maintain the perfect balance!

Post factum: pictures from the end of the world!

So: the end of the world is over now! We are we now?And where are we heading to? I am looking around me and I suppose that we are still here! Looking at the road, I also suppose that we are heading towards we were heading by now. So, how was the end of the world? Or was it the end of the Earth? I am a little confuse... Or is it difuse?

A Google's World - a worthy blog post

As a friend of mine stated, long posts keep readers away. Well, after reading a few lines from a worthy text, no matter if blog post, or chapter from a book, you will know if you intend to read it all or not.

Dunia - ddunia.wordpress.com

 A few minutes ago, a long blog post about Google, written by Lionel Dricot, drawn my attention. The facts about Google are all written in a brief history alike manner. I was pleased to read about services I am using daily, and about services I only heard about.

Where is Ploum? - http://ploum.net

 One of the most interesting aspects related to this post is the conclusion. I shall not reveal it here, only to let you discover it! Enjoy your reading!

Searching Google for "Sleepless Bobby"

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Without law, commander, there is no civilisation.

If we go on, we go on together!

I wanted to insert another quote here, but Sir Alec Guinness is the man for the job, so here is his monologue:

The Bridge on the River Kwai on RottenTomatoes.com.

SEARCH MOVIES / CELEB

Director:

• David Lean (also directed Lawrence of Arabia)

Starring:

• William Holden
• Sir Alec Guinness
• Jack Hawkins
• Sessue Hayakawa

And now, a link related to the movie, or the movie relates to:

Kanchanaburi Thailand Travel Informations

The Bridge on the River Kwai, Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Ravi Shankar - Rest In Peace

When I wrote last year about the Concert for Bangladesh which took place in Madison Square Garden 40 years ago, I did not fully realized how old those magnificent artists must be nowadays. Now another one belongs to Heavens.

Rest In Peace, Ravi Shankar!


I Am Missing You - along with George Harrison (George Harrison's page is automatically playing the song Prabhujee)

Lawrence of Arabia

The big things have a small beginning.

Young men are passionate. They must say their say, but wiser people must decide.

Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men. Courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men. Mistrust and caution. It must be so.

Lawrence of Arabia on RottenTomatoes.com.

SEARCH MOVIES / CELEB

Director:

• David Lean (also directed The Bridge on the River Kwai)

Starring:

• Peter O'Toole
• Sir Alec Guinness
• Anthony Quinn
• Omar Sharif
• Anthony Quayle
• Jack Hawkins

Fresh snow

I was quite surprised this morning to notice some unusual light outside.

It was the street light reflected by the fresh layer of snow in town!

(pictures taken with my hTC, so don't expect quality in low light... and low temperatures...)

In the parking lot this morning.

An office with a view: a "power" view!

September Sunset

30th of September, 2012, 7:00 PM

Mehedinti, Romania

← North by Northwest ↑

North by Notyhwest is a movie that I like since I first saw it, even I was too small to fully understand it. My words are useless regarding this masterpiece of cinema, simply because it's all in the trailer below, a trailer which is "a guided tour" by Alfred Hitchcock. Enjoy your American trip!



Directed by:

• Alfred Hitchcock

Starring:

• Cary Grant
• Eva Marie Saint
• James Mason

Google Data Center with Street View

Let's take a look inside and see how they work!

Lord of War - the movie

Ethan Hawke (Agent Jack Valentine) has the best description for Lord of War (the movie)

A dubious moral line...

And Yuri Orlov (Nicholas Cage) shares a secret with us:

That's the secret to survival: never go to war! Especially with yourself!

Now enjoy the trailer along with Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth":



Director and writer: Andrew Niccol

Starring:

• Nicholas Cage,
• Jared Leto,
• Ethan Hawke,
• Bridget Moynahan

The Way Back

Strength, will, power to forgive, and power to move on.
In 1941 three men walked out of the Himalayas into India.
They had survived a 4000 mile walk to freedom.
This film is dedicated to them.
It is inspired by the book "The Long Walk" by Slavomir Rawicz, a long journey from Siberia, to India, crossing Mongolia, China and Tibet. A journey to freedom.


The Way Back on IMDB.com.
Director: Peter Weir
Starring:

• Jim Sturges
• Ed Harris
• Colin Farrell
• Mark Strong
• Dragos Bucur
• Saoirse Una Ronan
• Alexandru Potocean

In Awe Of Rock

Let's Get ROCK!

Yes, rock music deserves my particular attention, so I've started a new blog: In Awe Of Rock!

WE WILL ROCK YOU - Freddie Mercury - (c) 2006 Mihai Midus Once upon a time, there was a Virgin Radio Classic Rock golden age, with listeners passionate about good music. Unfortunately that time is now gone, and former community members were "scattered [...] like brown leaves blown by the wind" (Manowar - The Warriors Prayer). Virgin's London radio station was sold and rebranded. Some devoted DJs (including Leona Graham) continued their good work they previously performed, but the community of listeners was thrown like an unuseful paper draft to the recycle bin. That moment the new radio station lost the relation with the ones it is supposed to broadcast for!

But that is an old story, and a new one is about to begin: Let's Get Rocked!

Inception

Christopher Nolan's movie Inception starts with a simple idea... the dream within a dream.

You create the world of the dream. You bring the subject into that dream, then...
It's not strictly speaking legal. It's called inception.

Einstein established a 1 to 99 ratio between inspiration and perspiration. The inspiration in this movie is the simple idea, and the perspiration is the action from various levels of... sleep!

Fiction, action, emotions, feelings, memories... What's real, what's dream?

Isn't the brain an amazing substance?

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Dileep Rao, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine...

Bruce Springsteen - concert in Vienna, Austria

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed a long show in Vienna, on the 12th of july, 2012!

The key word is "exuberant"! The short (German) description of the ones from OE3 was "Grandios Konzert"!

The Wrecking Ball Tour brought 3 premieres, "Tougher Than the Rest", "Loose Ends" and "Empty Sky", and was a very long show: 3 hours and 39 minutes (with no breaks)! Read more in Stan Goldstein's article.

Wrecking Ball

- a few pics -

Ticket bought from eventim.at

The BOSS!

Backing vocals

It's still light outside the stadium!

Beautiful fan(s)!

Ernst Happl stadium!

All the stadium's lights were turned on during the second part (bonus!) of the show!

Passion

E P I C A

Tonight I was stoned by the sound of this band: Epica. Is this a gothic metal band? No! I'd rather say it is a gothic metal orchestra! An orchestra with a powerful sound, an original message within the lyrics, and voices from heaven and hell. Yes, heaven and hell, because this is the best way to mix the sounds and the lyrics!

How did I missed them by now? Nevermind! From now on they are not only on my favourite list, but in my heart and mind!

John Baldessari

After listening to a few of Tom Waits' songs, I've noticed a brief history about John Baldessari, "the guy who puts dots over people's faces". He also named Jean-Luc Godard as the most important artist of the 1960s, my favorite director from the new-wave. I invite you to discover the artist who, in 1971, made a famous announcement: I will not make any boring art.

A New EU Copyright Law

Artists angered by copyright plan - a BBC article.

Emperor Trajan: Rome's Genocide

Watch "Emporer Trajan: Rome's Genocide" on YouTube. It is about Rome's genocide in Dacia, nowadays Romania. It still is a wanted country for its underground resources: a three letters company for oil, some corporation for gold, another one for copper, and so on... Not to mention the green gold: the forests! Well this is just an economic aspect.

I was taught that Romanians' ancestors are the Dacians and the Romans. This episode of Terry Jones makes me wonder who my ancestors are along with the Dacians: the Romans who left Dacia with the "pockets" full of gold, or the Goths from the North, driven by their own purposes? Maybe the Huns from North-East in search for rich land? Hmmm... Quite a challenge, for the people in this wonderful land, to be able to survive and to build, and to stand for such a long time, considering its crossroads position.

Belgrade Calling Festival 2012

The second day of Belgrade Calling Festival, the 28th of June, 2012, was the one of OZZY Osbourne and Friends.

Belgrade Calling 2012 - Golden Circle ticket

We've missed Satyricon and Sanatorium because on the event schedule the entrance on UŠĆE Park, Belgrade, Serbia, was announced starting 17 hours. While walking towards the park, the sounds of one of the two mentioned bands were floating into the air.

After we've passed the guardians at the entrance of UŠĆE Park, some nice BEAT THE STREET buses revealed to our view.

Ozzy and friends - tour busses

When we reached the Golden Circle in front of the stage, some preparations for Paradise Lost were in progress. Well, their performance was quite good. The length of the show was significantly short: 35 minutes!

Paradise Lost

Zakk Wylde, one of Ozzy's friends, pleased our senses with the sounds of his band, Black Label Society.

Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society

Even though they are not a metal band they know how to play some good rock music, as Ian Astbury mentioned! The Cult included on the show their most famous track: She Sells Sanctuary.

The CULT

Ozzy invited to accompany him on the stage three of his guitar friends: Zakk Wylde (already mentioned), Slash from Guns N' Roses, and Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath.

OZZY Osbourne - just before the show

We were close enough to the stage in order to see the details, but far enough to OZZY's water bucket showers over the public! The foam from his fireman hose reached the row of fans in front of us!

I am posting the clip Bark at the Moon in order to feel the atmosphere, and not for quality of the movie!

Recession?

We spend more than $1 million in online stores every five minutes. Who said we were in back a recession?

http://m.cnet.com/news/heres-how-much-data-we-generate-every-minute/57458895

Two Floydians

Pink Floyd is no longer a band. For quite some time. Unfortunately!
There were two strong characters within the band: Roger Waters and David Gilmour.
They are so devoted to the music that they are still concerting.
A reunion was intended. Their strong personalities are like two poles of the same kind of a magnet: they simply can not attract each other, so the reunion was merely formal.
After they started to act on their own, they changed a little the overall Pink Floyd style.
This change made me move in Roger Waters' way, although I must admit that David Gilmour has a better voice.
Pros and cons... These Are the Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking!

Facebook vs. Reality

London Boulevard

I'll start with my conclusion about this movie:

A good deed never goes unpunished. 

A sexy, stylish gangster thriller bristling with wit and brutal intrigue, London Boulevard stars Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley as star-crossed lovers who run afoul of one of London’s most vicious crime bosses.

London Boulevard - IFC Entertainment

London Boulevard (rated 6.3 on IMDB.com), the directorial debut of William Monahan, has also a great soundtrack!

The sounds of:

Kasabian, The Clash, 22-20s,

The Pretty Things, The Box Tops, Bob Dylan,

The Rolling Stones, The Knickerbockers and Electric Banana

are sending you back in the 60's. Oh, and here's my favourite track: The Yardbirds' Heart Full Of Soul

Dark Side Of The Moon

Browsing, reading, commenting, listening, reading again... So here I am listening to the Dark Side Of The Moon (DSOTM).

I wasn't lucky enough to be able to buy a ticket to any show of Pink Floyd. Well, at least I could say that I was way too lucky to have a ticket to Roger Waters' show/concert back in 2007. It was performed at Papp Laszlo Sportarena in Budapest, Hungary.

My words are useless, but my photos are eloquent, so watch them while listening to the music! Just click play!

In order not to misinterpret [my] "words are useless", here's an interesting article (1,500 weeks in Billboard Top 200!): Floyd's 'Dark Side' Celebrates Chart Milestone.

View all

Get your own

Swiss RoomBox

Some industries developped together with the automotives one. Recently I've found on the web some sort of "kaizen in the trunk of your car". My mind goes to the ones who like to travel from one place to another and want to be "booking" independent, without the lack of comfort. The Swiss from Swiss Room Box have the solution.

The next video is relevant:

From Drobeta Turnu Severin to Dubova

Recently, Tripadvisor has published my review about a one day trip between Drobeta Turnu Severin and Dubova Bay.
I am posting it here in order to add some more information.

Starting by car from Drobeta Turnu Severin, you can follow E70 towards Timisoara.

After 15 km you can stop at Iron Gates 1 Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), in order to visit its museum. After chronologically arranged artifacts from the area, starting stone age, continuing with bronze, iron, Roman period, and Otoman/Turkish one, you will have a visual description of the construction and the hydro power units of the Romanian side of the HPP. You will also have a glimpse of the machine hall (approx. 220 m long, 25 m tall), descending by an elevator.

Iron Gates 1, dam and hydroelectric power plant

After visiting the power plant, continuing towards Timisoara on the Romanian shore of the lake formed by the Danube River behind Iron Gates 1 dam. There are more than 30 viaducts and bridges over many golfs formed by the Danube. You are already in the Iron Gates Natural Park, so obey the specific rules.

After driving 5 km, you will see a road sign to the right, indicating 1 km to Vodita Monastery. Worth a visit!

Vodita Monastery

Continuing 5 more km on E70 you will reach Orsova (now you will leave E70, continuing on DN57), the city rebuilt after the level of the lake raised 30 meters! You will enjoy a walk on the Danube's shore, and in the evening take a break near the ship yard or the train station in order to take some photos of the city lights reflected on the water. In Orsova you can rent a ship and take a cruise on the Danube!
Before leaving Orsova towards Eselnita, go to St. Ana Monastery.

Orsova - Dragalina Park, and a cruise ship in background

So you are about to leave Orsova, and after 15 km you will reach Mraconia bay, the place where a sculpture of Decebal is carved into the mountain.

Decebalus Rex - Dragan fecit

I think that you've had many stops and you are already hungry or at least thirsty, so continue 3 more km to Pensiunea Melba, located on the shore of Dubova bay. "Papanasii" (home made donuts) are my favorite desert there!

Pensiunea Melba: Reflections first...

Bon apetit!

Delicious! Siting at the table, enjoying your meal... can you see where the Danube is entering the gulf? There is its narrowest and its deepest point!

Dubova bay (up and down)

Well, this is a 100 km tour, and enough places to visit for a day!

Travel safe!

Google Art Project

A good thing deserves to be known.
Google Art Project is more than just a good thing!
Are you interested in: acrylic, bronze, ceramic, chalk, clay, cloth, copper, etching, glass, gold, ink, ivory, limestone, lithograph, marble, oil painting, pastel, pencil, photographs, plaster, porcelain, pottery, silk...?
I was amazed! Have a look, no matter how you prefer to do it:
- by collection,
- by artist,
- by artwork,
- by museum (world map)...
You can also have a virtual tour (Google street view alike) of the museums around the world!


Google Art Project

Pain, Effort, Struggling...

Listening lately to Chet Baker, some of his words spoken as an intro to "I'm a Fool to Want You" have drawn my attention:

I don't think life is really worth all the pain, and effort, and struggling if you don't have somebody that you love very much...

To the above quote, I have to add the words of a friend:

... and who loves you back!

I hope you'll enjoy his song!

Let's Get Lost

JAZZ...
Trumpet...
Chet Baker...
Documentary...
Bruce Weber...

Enough said! Just watch, listen and enjoy!

The Dubliners - 50 Years

One of the most influential Ireland's traditional folk band is calles The Dubliners.

Initially called "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", and formed back in 1962 by

• Ronnie Drew (vocals and guitar),
• Luke Kelly (vocals and five-string banjo),
• Ciarán Bourke (vocals, guitar, tin whistle, and harmonica)and
• Barney McKenna (tenor banjo, mandolin, melodeon, and vocals),

in 2012 they are celebrating 50 years of career!

Happy Anniversary!

Jazz Trumpet

Homeland TV series was recommended to me by a dear friend, so here I am watching it!
The title of this blog is not apparently related to movies, but to music. Two or three times during the first episode my ear captured a few trumpet notes. Jazz trumpet notes to be more precise. Some like in Englishman in New York, a great song performed by Sting.

A simple search using "jazz trumpet" as keywords on Google have lead me to Jon Faddis. He is a great trumpeter, but it wasn't the kind of jazz I was looking for. So I was added one more simple word: smooth. The keywords for the new search are now "smooth jazz trumpet".

Well, if you simply want to lay down, to close your eyes and then fly over the world... over the great cities around the world, during the night, with no plans, with no worries, without any target, with no direction at all... well then... this is what you might like to hear: EDolutionary!

Edmund Sobczak - trumpeter, composer originally from Poland where he studied trumpet performance at the University of Music in Poznan - one of the best Universities in the country. For the last 6 years he's lived in Oxford (UK). After 18 years of playing the trumpet and being involved in countless music projects, in 2008 he decided to start his own solo career.
- from EDolutionary.com

The Mechanic

The Mechanic was planned for tonight. Quite an action, and quite a movie. Jason Statham is a calm, yet fast moving and powerful character (Arthur Bishop) in this movie.
The following line drawn my attention, so I was checking for it on the web (why not?):

Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.

I've found that it belongs to Jim Horning, a computer scientist "hooked on computing since 1959".

Also, on a gun which belongs to Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland), it was written:

Amat Victoria Curam
Victory Loves Preparation

So perhaps this is one of the ideas of this movie.

May all travellers...

My favorite quote from Seven Years in Tibet (starring Brad Pitt and David Thewlis):

May all travellers find happiness wherever they go. Without any effort may they accomplish whatever they set out to do. And have a safely return to the shore. May they joyfully reunited with their relatives. -- His Holiness Dalai Lama 

Shangri-La

For quite a long time a novel failed to captivate me as "Shangri-La. Cross in Antarctica" did. The author exploits a flaw information to the end of the Second World War (or one of its storage labeled "top secret"), explaining some events of contemporary history seen from another perspective: we do not walk on water because we know that we will sink, but because we were taught so! Murillo manages to assemble and to reveal a stunning puzzle about the characters that appear to lead the destiny of this planet, members of The Last Thule organization. Because sometimes the action takes place against the clock (one of the protagonists receives the suggestion to change his Swiss watch just because it remained behind), but some of the characters are former participants of lesser-known events from end of the last World War, Julio Murillo takes us from Germany to the United States, from France to Spain and from Britain to Antarctica. He manages to keep the reader breathless and, when things seem to be heading on a normal track, new twists require new revelations, new information to complete the puzzle that is becoming more complicated, but nevertheless better outlined. Is it humanity on the way to a new world war, one for energy resources or just one for water? The ending of the book seems happy... but Murillo is not a Hollywood director, but a Prize for Historical Novel Alfonso X laureate!

Julio Murillo Llerda - Shangri-La

UP IN THE AIR

After the Company Men (link to my Romanian blog post), Up in the Air seems to bring some of the unemployment issues to the big screen.

There are many other aspects of our lives in this movie, either we are single (George Clooney) or not (Vera Farmiga). The trailer gives you a clue about what is it about.

For some, flying ("miles and more") is a dream, for others it is just a way of life!

The Pioneers

THE COWARDS

NEVER STARTED

----------------------------

THE WEAK

DIED ON THE WAY

----------------------------

ONLY THE STRONG

ARRIVED

----------------------------

THEY WERE

THE PIONEERS

----------------------------

The above quote that draw my attention appear in a movie called "About Schmidt", starring Jack Nicholson. It says quite a lot even nowadays, although it was meant for the pioneers of the West.

An interesting link you might consider for your future navigation on the web, or on site - at Kearney, Nebraska - is Great Platte River Road Archway. This is the history museum that displays the plate.

Described by the Miami Herald as a “splashy, brassy history museum that uses film, computer graphics, light and sound, life-size dioramas, re-enactors and classic cars to document over 150 years of transportation and communication across America.” The Archway brings the westward migration to life.

http://www.archway.org/