(Un)Related Stuff: Art & Science et al.

'The descendants', a 2011 movie of Alexander Payne

2012-01-20T18:37:00.002Z

One must stress the brilliant performances of GC and (the 'girly') SW in this (comedy-)drama movie where the intricacies of the (fabric of) human relations are subtly dissected. Love, anger, friendship, and other natural human feelings are seen in or inferred from the actions (and reactions and consequences) of the story's main characters (e.g., infidelity, omission, deceit, or death of a significant other). In short, a straightforward yet powerful (i.e., touching) movie.

(Own review)

'Moneyball', a 2011 movie of Bennett Miller

2012-01-13T09:52:00.003Z

'Martha Marcy May Marlene', a 2011 movie of Sean Durkin

2012-01-13T09:50:00.000Z

'A Real Hero', College ft. Electric Youth (2011) (with Drive's footage)

2011-12-30T22:37:00.000Z

Drive's OST (by Cliff Martinez): a cool medley

2011-12-30T22:27:00.000Z

'Drive', a 2011 movie of Nicolas Refn

2011-12-29T10:02:00.000Z

A thriller where Academy Award Nominee RG performs brilliantly (probably better than ever before) as a stunt driver in a Tarantino-based atmosphere but with (some) purpose and human feelings (namely, affection and love) underlying the shown violence. One cannot fail to appreciate the bad boy look in the 'clean' RG and his cool style combined with lots of blood-stained clothes and the 'retro', kind of 80s, soundtrack that fits perfectly well in the (not ad nauseam) slow-motion action scenes. Lastly, one acknowledges the good supporting roles of Academy Award Nominee CM, the sensual CH, and the great AB.

(Own review)

P.S. A better, much more informed review of this movie is available here.

'Mysteries', Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man (2002)

2011-12-27T15:23:00.003Z

'Oceans', Pearl Jam (1991)

2011-12-23T16:29:00.001Z

Only got six words for you...

2011-12-23T09:55:00.003Z

'The Rum Diary', a 2011 movie of Bruce Robinson

2011-12-22T17:07:00.001Z

The great JD, the funny MR, the talented GB, and the beautiful AH in a movie based on the homonymous novel of American journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson. While one is likely to enjoy some laughters in the 1st half of the movie, it is unfortunate that the story unfolds into near idleness at the end.

(Own review)

In need of inspiration? Remembering Steve Jobs... (I)

2011-12-19T13:47:00.001Z

"Let's go invent tomorrow rather than worrying about what happened yesterday." (2007)

'Sprawl II (Mountains beyond Mountains)', Arcade Fire (2010) (via Sis)

2011-12-19T09:39:00.000Z

A Darwinian rationale in PT's 2012 national budget? (Yes, again!)

2011-12-14T10:07:00.001Z

PT's PM has (thought he has) opted for the 'survival of the fittest' reasoning in devising the 2012 national budget. Sadly, the budget's likely outcomes - as many politicians, economists, and any instructed portuguese for that matter, point out - will entail inter alia the (literal) death of thousands of families and small and medium firms that depend (directly, via income, and indirectly, via consumption) upon the limited public resources that the State ought to spend - to some extent - effectively and efficiently on Education, Justice, Health, and many other welfare-enhancing activities. Unfortunately, the ones that are able to survive this unprecedented wave of brutality - austerity is surely needed but it does not include PT's economic and fiscal measures (and a handful of good yet innocuous intents) for 2012, for the inefficient and profit-averse corporate public sector (e.g., BdP, CGD, TAP, RTP, CTT, PT, CP, ML, STCP, and so forth) with the thousands of well-paid jobs in the top and middle management layers - constitute per se the primary cause of PT's current state of affairs, namely the politicians and political-oriented technicians (e.g., lawyers, economists, managers) that on account of their money-making (and other, less recommended) abilities, have been able to develop a (financial) shield against the rising winds of illegal and unconstitutional (i.e., inegalitarian and disproportional) taxes that the 'common' PT's people need to pay (which lead one to daunting difficulties in order to respect their financial commitments, mostly house mortgage, and thus failing to contribute to PT's economical growth (e.g., by reducing private consumption of goods and services in tourism or education industries). And, consequently, the brutality's by-product is the emigration (or death) of the competent and valuable, young technocrats that have invested heavily in their instruction and have built a wealthy base of know-how in the beginning of their professional life and who are suddenly left 'out of the picture' on account of their below-average salaries and savings and therefore cannot survive in this (biased) struggle, facing almost unsurmountable (internal and external) contingential forces.
So, one should clearly dismiss with the alleged PM's dictum that 'this is the only way out of PT's crisis', for this path's only exit is another (bigger, let alone irreversible) crisis. In a nutshell, PT's brutality in 2012 is not austerity (as many have said repeatedly); if something, it is political autism with severe deleterious consequences for the majority of PT's people. And, for sure, this is not an acceptable Darwinian rationale!

Lingerie Football League and PETA: what a combination! (And, for sure, "Bench Fur"!)

2011-12-14T10:02:00.000Z

It's just history repeating itself! (Or the luck theory in JM's perspective ... Vamos, Barça!)

2011-12-11T12:40:00.001Z

'Anonymous', a 2011 movie of Roland Emmerich (On the Oxfordian Theory of Shakespeare authorship!)

2011-12-10T00:46:00.001Z

'Win Win', a 2011 movie of Thomas McCarthy

2011-12-10T00:41:00.001Z

'Drive', a 2011 movie of Nicolas Refn

2011-12-08T11:18:00.001Z

'Medicine', Tindersticks (2012) (via Sis)

2011-12-07T16:26:00.001Z

'Pieces from Aveiro', by João Filipe Silva (via Sis)

2011-12-05T13:37:00.001Z

'Momentâneo', by The One Line Design (Unfortunately, the music sucks! And no people should enter such a video!) (via Sis)

2011-12-05T13:34:00.001Z

All I want for Xmas is ... you! :-)

2011-12-02T10:06:00.001Z

'A dangerous method', a 2011 movie of David Cronenberg (With one of my favourite actresses, KK ...)

2011-11-24T10:31:00.001Z

'Immortals', a 2011 movie of Tarsem Singh

2011-11-23T10:03:00.001Z

From the producers of my beloved '300', this 3D fantasy movie is a very poor depiction of the eternal Good vs. Evil battle, only to be rescued with four or five sequences of HD slow-motion bloody one-on-one and one-on-many fights but yet too below one's first expectations.

(Own review)

'Another night in', Curtains (1997) by Tindersticks

2011-11-23T09:58:00.001Z

'French Roast', a 2009 movie of Fabrice Joubert (A superb Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Short Film!)

2011-11-21T09:49:00.001Z

'Peanuts', 'Falling down a mountain', Tindersticks (2010)

2011-11-21T09:44:00.001Z

Bullying sucks! And bullies are losers, for sure! (via Sis)

2011-11-18T11:31:00.001Z

Heuristics and emotions at work in human decision-making and problem-solving (via NS)

2011-11-15T09:08:00.001Z

Please, read this.

'Comando', a 2011 short movie of Patrício Faísca (I would say that Patrício is a promising PT's director showing some of the amazing skills of the well-known Brazilian José Padilha ... and only with a 27€ budget!)

2011-11-11T10:10:00.001Z

Please, read this.

'Immortals', a 2011 movie of Tarsem Singh (From the producers of my dearest '300'...)

2011-11-10T13:45:00.001Z

'The Ides of March', a 2011 movie of George Clooney (This I had to see! But when?)

2011-11-10T09:52:00.002Z

'The Rum Dairy', a 2011 movie of Bruce Robinson (Sis, please send my regards to Johnny!)

2011-11-05T13:06:00.002Z

A (new) Norwegian scientific theory on 9/11 WTC Towers' collapse (via Sis)

2011-10-28T13:13:00.002+01:00

Please, read this.

'The Adventures of Tintin: the secret of the Unicorn', a 2011 movie of Steven Spielberg (II)

2011-10-27T16:21:00.000+01:00

This 102' movie - I preferred to see the 2D version - is truly a SP's movie. Lots of action and suspense and sufficient brushes of humor make this (very realistic) animated movie a 'must see' not only for those who are fond of Tintin's (and friends') great adventures but also for anyone who likes to see good, graphical movies.

(Own review)

'This must be the place', a 2011 movie of Paolo Sorrentino (OMG, wanna see it!)

2011-10-26T10:43:00.001+01:00

Dear PT's PM, one has two words for you: shameful brutality! (Or the death of the PT's lower and middle societal classes, as others have said it before...)

2011-10-17T16:23:00.000+01:00

Please, read this (and this, this nonsense, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this waste of public resources, this absurd, the personal 'sorrow' of PT's president, a more egalitarian fiscal measure, an instance of the inadmissible status quo, the unsoundness of PT's national 2012 budget, the natural outcome of current governmental policies, likely measures to enhance corporate survival, and this). This set of slides summarizes why PT has come to be what it presently is - and what needs truly to change in the near future (and what explains the increase of taxes and the disgraceful option of public wage cuts of the PT's middle classes).

'50/50', a 2011 movie of Jonathan Levine

2011-10-11T14:28:00.002+01:00

'Bruna surfistinha', a 2011 movie of Marcus Baldini

2011-10-11T14:26:00.000+01:00

'The good heart', a 2009 movie of Dagur Kári

2011-10-11T14:24:00.001+01:00

'The Adventures of Tintin', a 2011 movie of Steven Spielberg

2011-10-11T14:23:00.001+01:00

'The Help', a 2011 movie of Tate Taylor

2011-10-07T15:04:00.002+01:00

'No meu lugar', a 2009 movie of Eduardo Valente

2011-10-07T15:02:00.003+01:00

'Submarine', a 2010 movie of Richard Ayoade (Genial!)

2011-10-07T15:01:00.001+01:00

'Capitães da Areia', a 2011 movie of Cecília Amado (Wish I could see it ...)

2011-10-07T14:44:00.000+01:00

'Underneath the stars', The Cure (2008) (Love the Robert Smith's intimate intro on 'the walk to stage');

2011-10-07T10:06:00.000+01:00

Steve Jobs' 'Think different' maxim (Thanks to SJ's vision and entrepreneurial and managerial competences, the iWorld is now a reality!)

2011-10-07T09:44:00.000+01:00

Please, read this and this.

'A mystery: why can't we walk straight?' (This may help to understand one's erratic decisions and actions in daily life ...)

2011-10-07T09:27:00.000+01:00

'Midnight in Paris', a 2011 movie of Woody Allen

2011-10-07T09:22:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately, this comedy-drama focused on the endless human preference for the one's (near) past is unable to materialize WA's genial directing skills, probably because of the decision to cast OW for the main role character. Faint brushes of humour are insufficient to add to the movie's desirable quality.

(Own review)

'Crazy, stupid, love', a 2011 movie of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

2011-09-25T20:19:00.001+01:00

An unpretentious, joyful comedy-drama movie that is rooted in the 'love takes it all' dictum and travels through the fuzzy and intricate paths underlying all human love-based relationships (especially marital ones). Good soundtrack in the background of 'normal' performances by SC, JM, and RG. A must-see that remember one of the truly relevant things in life, i.e., family and love.

(Own review)

'Hard Sun', Eddie Vedder (2007)

2011-09-19T11:17:00.003+01:00

My baby girl, August 2011: packing stuff and playing with her inseparable friends!

2011-09-13T10:54:00.000+01:00

'Kamasutra', Erasmo Carlos (2011) (The absence of prejudice on the forthcoming 'Sexo' album of this 70-year-old renowned brazilian songwriter...)

2011-09-12T19:39:00.000+01:00

'Nature boy', Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2004)

2011-09-11T11:51:00.002+01:00

'Breathless', Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2004)

2011-09-11T11:50:00.000+01:00

'Get ready for love', Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2004)

2011-09-11T11:48:00.002+01:00

'Aprender a confiar', Gombby (2010) (To my baby girl, one of her favourite songs ...)

2011-09-11T11:42:00.000+01:00

'Olé', PJ's debut of a new song of the forthcoming 'Pearl Jam Twenty' album (live @ 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon', 8th September 2011) (via Sis)

2011-09-09T16:06:00.000+01:00

'Love letter', Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2001)

2011-09-08T17:41:00.001+01:00

'As I sat sadly by her side', Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2001)

2011-09-08T17:38:00.002+01:00

'Fifteen feet of pure white snow', Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2001)

2011-09-08T17:35:00.002+01:00

'Baby, I'm on fire', Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2003)

2011-09-08T17:32:00.003+01:00

Peyo's 1958 greatest creation, 'The Smurfs' (My 2-year-old baby girl is now fond of these lovely blue creatures that try to live happily in the forest and escape to the evil plots of the wizard Gargamel and his cat Azrael - and I'm revisiting my dear friends of the 1980s...)

2011-09-03T10:56:00.001+01:00

Listening to ...

2011-08-27T15:45:00.000+01:00

'The bends’, a 1995 album of Radiohead

Math and Economics: the perfect symbiosis (Or why one needs to have a substantially different PT's governance, while suffering enormous opportunity costs given the past and present governmental decisions !)

2011-08-16T12:18:00.001+01:00

Please, read this and this (and this and this).

Official: I'm tired of this 'new' PT's government! (Sadly, cuts in the disproportionate public expenses are absent!)

2011-08-12T14:24:00.000+01:00

Please, read e.g., this, this, this, and this.

'Pearl Jam Twenty', a 2011 documentary film of Cameron Crowe (I am one of PJ's legion of faithful fans.)

2011-07-28T16:20:00.000+01:00

'400 contra 1 - uma historia do crime organizado', a 2010 movie of Caco Souza

2011-07-27T09:56:00.000+01:00

'Dragon Hunters', a 2008 movie of Arthur Qwak and Gillaume Ivernel (and the TV series intro, which my baby girl likes - and I love the Cure song thereof!)

2011-07-27T09:48:00.000+01:00

'The girl with the dragon tattoo', the upcoming movie of David Fincher (Wanna see it.)

2011-07-26T08:42:00.000+01:00

'No cars go', Arcade Fire (2007) (live @BBC Radio 2)

2011-07-25T14:55:00.000+01:00

Listening to ...

2011-07-22T12:41:00.002+01:00

'Neon Bible’, a 2007 album of Arcade Fire

'Grind', Alice in Chains (1995)

2011-07-12T13:06:00.003+01:00

'Heaven beside you', Alice in Chains (1995)

2011-07-12T13:04:00.002+01:00

'Again', Alice in Chains (1995)

2011-07-12T13:02:00.002+01:00

Listening to ...

2011-07-12T13:00:00.000+01:00

'Alice in Chains’, a 1995 album of Alice in Chains

Downgrade of PT's debt rating to junk and its negative outlook: no more time to lose for huge cuts in the PT's public expenses are immediately demanded!

2011-07-06T09:56:00.000+01:00

Please, read this and this.

Path-dependence and domino chain effects at Wimbledon 2011 (If Tsonga hadn't beat Federer in the quarter finals, Nadal would have played Federer in the final - Federer would have battled past Djokovic in the semis - and would have been the champion again!)

2011-07-06T09:49:00.001+01:00

Please, read this.

'Santa Clara', The National (live, pre-concert at Coliseu do Porto, Portugal, 2011) (via Sis)

2011-06-30T12:11:00.001+01:00

Not to remember (or what cannot be known) in PT: the Socrates' paradigm

2011-06-30T12:09:00.000+01:00

Please, read this and this.

Artur Correia: some of his great cartoon (and history) works! (I've already bought 4 of his books, including the first book above)

2011-06-29T17:28:00.002+01:00

'The Tree of Life', a 2011 movie of Terrence Malick

2011-06-27T17:18:00.001+01:00

A heartful, multi-sensorial experimental movie that drawing upon Darwin's metaphor - 'the tree of life', i.e., the interrelatedness of natural (and social) evolution - is focused on the inner workings of life, the unique feelings of human beings, the domestication role of religion, and the realist conviction that nature predates humankind and will endure irrespective of the humans' existence or disappearance. An astonishing photography and a magnificent performance of the young HM in a movie that also features the great actors SP and BP.

(Own review)

Listening to ...

2011-06-23T18:48:00.000+01:00

'Funeral’, a 2004 album of Arcade Fire

André Villas-Boas: the Mini-Mourinho's move to Chelsea FC! (Now, he has his dreamy - 5M€/year - manager position!)

2011-06-22T18:49:00.000+01:00

Please, read this and this and this (and this and especially this happy end only four months later).

'Rococo', Arcade Fire (2010)

2011-06-22T10:12:00.005+01:00

'Empty room', Arcade Fire (2010)

2011-06-22T10:12:00.004+01:00

'The suburbs', Arcade Fire (2010)

2011-06-22T10:12:00.003+01:00

'We used to wait', Arcade Fire (2010)

2011-06-22T10:12:00.002+01:00

'Ready to start', Arcade Fire (2010)

2011-06-22T10:12:00.001+01:00

'Keep the car running', Arcade Fire (2007)

2011-06-22T10:12:00.000+01:00

'Black mirror', Arcade Fire (2007)

2011-06-22T10:11:00.002+01:00

'Rebellion', Arcade Fire (2004)

2011-06-22T10:11:00.001+01:00

'Neighborhood #3', Arcade Fire (2004)

2011-06-22T10:11:00.000+01:00

'Neighborhood #2', Arcade Fire (2004)

2011-06-22T10:10:00.000+01:00

On the ethical (and criminal) consequences of political decisions: will this be truly a first instance of rigour in PT's justice?

2011-06-20T19:07:00.000+01:00

Please, read this and this.

'José e Pilar', a 2010 movie of Miguel Mendes

2011-06-20T13:38:00.000+01:00

An emotional documentary movie focused on the 2-year writing process (and life) of the 2008 novel 'A Viagem do Elefante', written by the Portuguese, 1998 Literature Nobel-laureate Jose Saramago and his beloved wife Pilar del Rio. A touching and simple movie with a beautiful photography and depicting JS's robust reasoning (i.e., a 'weltanschauung') that deserve worldwide recognition and ought to be widely shared - at least if one wants to be a part of a 'better' humankind.

(Own review)

Lead by example in PT? Surely, not in the law field!

2011-06-17T19:43:00.003+01:00

Please, read this (and this and the 'forced' solution).

PT's new ministers (and hope of change)

2011-06-17T19:35:00.002+01:00

Please, read this and this (and this and this).

'De braços abertos', Mariza, Roberta Sá & Paulo Flores (PT's national air carrier TAP's new motto)

2011-06-16T13:39:00.000+01:00

Overrated sympathy for underrated CR7?

2011-06-14T18:48:00.000+01:00

Please, read this.