Most Disappointing Car 2012

With all the press raving about the second coming of the sports car, I decided to take a test drive with the thing and prepared to bow down in astonishment ... and so comes the next award ...

Most Disappointing Movie 2012

So... Here are the facts...
- A geologist gets lost in a cave he just mapped and guided people through
- A biologist reacts like he just met Boo the dog when he meets the first alien life form in the history of mankind
- An explorer takes of his helmet somewhere inside an alien base on a distant planet because ... what the heck? I'm not gonna die now, am I?

So here it is, you probably guessed it ...

Worst Trip 2012

I have recently realized that I've never given this prestigious award before, and it's not fair... For where there is a winner there must surely be somone at the opposite end to call a loser. And if the excitement of this year's best trip was something to remember, then so is this...

2012 Awards

The time has come yet again to name those special moments that have marked the year. Have no fear... The 2012 Scullder awards are here!

Worst Trip 2012
Worst Most Disappointing Movie 2012
Most Disappointing Car 2012

A Hobbit

Have you ever seen 48FPS? ... in 3D? It is ... overwhelming, your eyes will have a very hard time coping with it. For me it took around two hours for my eyes to adjust and afterwards my brain was left performing the child pose for the rest of the night. Most people are saying it's a very bad thing ... but to be honest I'm not quite so sure... they were saying the same about 3D some years ago, and now  they're starting to like it...

But, back to the movie ... and it's glorious glorious 3D ... I think it has the best 3D I've ever seen, most probably even better than Avatar's. It is with very little doubt the best 3D there ever was, which doesn't really hurt ... since the story ... Yeah ... the story ... and it's many many glorious monsters and sceneries ... I think it has most probably the best special effects I've ever seen, most probably even better than Avatar's. There were quite a few moments when I thought the monsters were to grossly close to real ... Which is quite an accomplishment.

But, back to the story ... I was never really a big fan of Ring Lord, I like it more or less. It's cool with adventure magic monster stuff but the lack of light sabers turns me off a bit. So it is probably because of my mild ignorance that I really don't understand why so many people complain about the story. It has action, adventure, drama ... suspense ... For me, the story sits very well on par with the rest of the hobbit-orc-goblin-elf-dwarf stuff we've seen in the original trilogy ... very well ... and I could not have hoped for more.

So ... crazy visuals ... glorious 3D ... really great monsters ... I think this movie was quite good. Even only for the Gollum scene, which raises the bar of CGI characters and digital effects in general to a completely new level, everyone should see this movie. But go prepared ... your eyes will scream for mommy.

Superman's protruding ... Muscles

As you might already know, there'a new Superman movie coming out soon and there's a new poster for it ...

One you get past the blaring lens flare effect you might notice that this guy has some really big muscles on him ... which brings me to the real problem of things ...

Last time we saw him he was more ... exposed ... he was leaving a more long-lasting impression ... hitting you in the face unexpectedly with impressive visual styling. All this dark tone and contre-jour flares seem to be hiding away his real protruding image ...

So ... Is the magic really gone?

Is it really all gone?

Nope! ... there it is!

Weekly News strikes back

Monday
Let's face it, Monday is tough. And if you just spent your weekend in an 8hrs/day training it's even worse ... It was not a great Monday for me ... at least not until I saw that Lamborghini released this stupid madness that looks like it's ready to chop some heads off ... (because it doesn't have a roof ... get it?)


Tuesday
Tuesday is yet another day that will go down in history as one of those days we should really forget about ...

Wednesday

On Wednesday evening we watched The Avengers on Blu-Ray (actually A. fell asleep at one point, so technically I watched it more than we did). I keep forgetting to post about how we saw it in Mexico City, so since there's not much news here we go ... it was an interesting experience...
We went to see Los Vengadores in the most luxurious cinema from Mexico City. It was such a luxurious place that you were sitting in a wide leather seat that you could slide into a bed-like shape and you had a remote control to order popcorn, drinks or food. It was ... quite pathetic ... Besides the fact that there were people walking around all the time bringing food and drinks which was quite distracting, if you placed your drink on the table next to you it was very likely to block your view of the screen ... but who cares about that? luxury rullz ... Anyway, the movie kicked ass in a MAJOR way so it was great in the end ...

Thursday
I found out that this cat hates me, and probably you as well...


Friday
Construction workers are always cutting power cables, blocking roads and in general messing with our lives in ways we haven't learned to appreciate despite their best efforts ... Apparently they have decided that the world is not enough and pulled a moonraker on us (kaboom James Bond joke FTW) ...
For more details: click here.

So, that's that ... geesh ... this news thing is quite tough ...

First Weekly News

I just realized that blogs are normally a place where people put content in a regular fashion. So, in an attempt to try and turn my blog into a blog, I will try to create a weekly news summary. Here goes:

• Monday Sucks

This Monday shall never be discussed.

• Tuesday votes Obama

Obama won a second term as president, but to be honest I am much much more concerned about the fact that this guy below was voted by a LOT of people. Question of the day: Are ~half of the americans crazy?

BEHLOD THE SECOND COMING SPLITTING THE TREE IN TWO FOR LORD XENU!!

• Wednesday Sucks even More

This Wednesday shall ever be forgotten.

• Thursday kicks ass

Since some time now I have started honing my body into a lethal weapon, mostly by learning how to kick people in the nutts. There was no actual nutts-kicking this thursday, only punching in the face ... I was quite disapointed.

• Friday gives One Zillion Zombies

Do you like Zombie movies? Well ... there's this now ....



It doesn't look half bad and I must admit I am secretly a Brad Pitt fan, so I am looking forward to seeing this.

In other unrelated news it's possible that I will be doing a bit of travelling soon, so in case you are on the edge of your seats and just dying to find out what life is like in Wiesbaden stay tuned...

That's that for this week ... I'll try to find some news that are really SENSATIONAL for next week ...

A James Bond Tribute

Yes, a tribute ... I think this is the best way I can describe Skyfall ... As the 50 years anniversary of Bond movies is upon us, it finally sheds some light on the origins of this amazing character, brings together the new Bond with old gadgets and characters and creates a great pathway for the future ... 

I was a bit scared at first as the opening action sequence didn't really pull me in, but Skyfall gathers up steam pretty quickly, and in the end delivers what I would say is most probably the best Bond movie of all time. I'm not sure that it's a better movie than Casino Royale, but it's definitely a better Bond movie, and that's what really sets them apart. 

Casino Royale countered the Pierce Brosnan disasters with a complete lack of gadgets, betting everything on the human side of the Bond character, and in the process of doing so left many people wondering if we'll ever get to see a car with machine guns again ... Skyfall should be commended even only for showing that you can in fact teach the new dog old tricks, and brings the franchise in a much more balanced position, where we have the strong character of Bond, but also  ... well ... minor spoiler ahead ... a car with machine guns on it. And the best part is that it doesn't even look stupid ...

Oh, and finally but definitely not least ... we have, as many expected probably, the best Bond villain ever ... Javier Bardem brings his monster actor skills to the party and burns the house down ... he doesn't make all the movie, but he lies on top of the Skyfall cake like the incredible cherry he is ...  I might go for a second viewing even just to see him creep the hell out of me again ...

So, yeah, there you go ... I was indeed impressed ...

Hot Stuff ends up in Bed

You know what this blog has been missing? You know you do ... it's Hot Stuff.

So, here, BEHOLD !!! ... the hottest video on Youtube. I DARE you to watch it all the way to the end. (Spoliers:He ends up in bed alone...)




Did I mention there's a lot of screaming involved?

Advanced Engineering

While some may be wondering why I am not posting about the amazing photos we took recently on the Island, I have decided to kick off my blogging parade by showing off my amazing skills in the field of engineering ... and a love story of seeming incompatibility.


There were one day ...

one Sony Vaio

... and one HP USB-Wireless Mouse (and a lovely mousepad)

Which were not getting along so well ... the mouse kept plugging his naughty USB gizmo in the Vaio's USB plug, but the laptop kept crying that something's wrong with it ... not even knowing what.

At this point, an almighty powerful stranger which we can call the Engineer entered the situation. He huffed and puffed and pressed all buttons and changed batteries ... repeatedly ... and added drivers and reinstalled them ... but the Vaio was found to be ... inconsolable ... the mouse was no friend of his ... despite our almighty hero's efforts ...

Almost ready to fall into despair, our Engineer tried to get a new perspective on thigs ... so ....

this ... should fit into ...

this ....

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ...... 

Eureka!!

Kaboom, ENGINEERING!!

A match made in heaven, works like a charm ... I studied 5(6) years for this ...

A Sink ... A Lamp

A lamp or a sink? An almost Shakespearean question... what would you expect above your nightstand and would it really make a difference? Ask yourself this for the answer may prove to be more elusive than you might think. Or at least so it was for a hotel manager that was very confused when we complained that we found one instead of the other above our nightstand and asked us what is the difference as you are usually asleep in the hotel room ... At this point I got really pissed and started shouting... Thinking back on it now, I am ashamed.... she did have a very good point ... what does it matter while you are sleeping, your eyes are closed, right?

We ended up not paying for the room so I guess I should recommend this hotel (but shame on me, I'm not going to). In our case it was a sink instead of a lamp, but I guess you can complain either way and not pay in the end ... after all, a sink ... a lamp ... what's the difference?

8 in Madrid

Last week, a very special anniversary took place. We celebrated our 8th year of marriage and we decided a proper party is in order ... so we went to Madrid.

We started on Friday evening with tapas, an incredible amount of sangria and what I can only qualify as the best live show I've ever seen in my life. This is the place: http://www.lastablasmadrid.com/ . We were lucky enough to have an incredible singer and an incredibly amazing dancer that don't come all the time. It was really jaw-dropping, the guy was tapping his feet faster than I could follow. It is really something that must be experienced live and which I recommend to absolutely everyone.

Back to the party outside ... it was midnight and 27 degrees outside ... coming from 15 it was quite a change for the better.

The next day there was delicious food, more sangria and more delicious food ....

We went for dinner to this really incredible place. I'm not really sure if the chef was a cook ... or a freaking magician!?! This is the place: http://lieu.es/ I highly recommend it.

The next day started with a breakfast that was as tasty as it was most probably not very healthy for my cholesterol .. more sangria followed ... and even more delicious food ...

... oh ... and some desert ....

... shopping was inevitable ... and quite successful...

... and SUN SUN SUN all day looong ... and perfect weather in the evening.

Did you notice that 8 is the closest number to infinity? 8 has just passed.... infinity follows ...

The End of Batman

Yes, my friends, the Batman of Nolan has ended, but boy oh boy ... what an ending. I'll try to keep it ZERO spoilers so here goes...

The movie is quite epic, there are fist fights and gunfights and spectacular stuff going on. Batman goes like whoosh and bam and hrmph and wheee, Bane goes like wheee bam kabooom and Catwoman goes like meow meow bam bum. Myyeah ... I think that's spoiler free enough.

Now back to the movie itself, there are two problems that I had with the previous Batman film (TDK). First is that he was whining most of the time, and second is that it felt more like Joker Begins than Batman anything. I was afraid TDKR would be something like Bane Begins or Catwoman Begins, but fortunately bats gets about as much screentime as the two and for once doesn't come through as a complete and utter woosy.

Even though I will not spoil the ending, I do want to take this moment to thank Nolan for not pulling another Inception on us and providing an actual proper (and really good) ending. It was the ending I was hoping for (really). So, many thanks to mr Nolan...

I just wish he would make a couple more of these ...

Crap Age

Slow day at the office? ... myea, kinda ... but enough about me and more about ... crap kiddy movies!! BEHOLD!!!

We've seen Ice Age Thirteen or however much it was (5? 6?) and I can hardly think of any better way of COMPLETELY WASTING  94 MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE...

Yeah ... there's the misunderstood teenager thing, the hate/love thing, the squirrel going nuts YET AGAIN and a bunch of freaking EWOKS from Return of the Jedi!! Ewoks for Christ sake!!

... enough said ... I wonder what happened to the people who made Nemo, Wall-E, Cars (1 not the craptastic 2), Monsters Inc., Bamby .... gone ... the magic of cartoons is gone ... Thanks a lot, Hollywood, really ... NOT.

P.S.:If you do end up (by mistake) at this movie, you can however enjoy the 5 minutes Maggie Simpson featurette in the opening, it was by far more entertaining than what followed ...

Amazing Spider, Man!

When I first heard they're rebooting Spider Man, I thought it's the most stupid idea to hit Hollywood in a long long time. It's been less than 10 years since the first SM movie, and 5 years since the messy disaster that was Spider crap Man 3.

Only after seeing the movie I came to realize that it was about god damn time somebody wiped that crying baby and idiotic street dancing spider man from my memory. In the new movie, there is ZERO dancing in the streets involved, and even the occasional whining is done with much more ... manliness ... There's a kind of mix of Batman Begins and Twilight in there, and the results is ... quite good actually.

Sure, there's the occasional plot holes and the corny moments, it's not going for any Oscars, and it's no match for the mighty Avengers, but it is for sure the best Spider Man movie ever, and it deserves to be congratulated for that.


Oh, and of course, the best scene in the movie is the one with Stan Lee ... lol, that guy is so cool ...

Missing Bangkok

I don't know why ... I suddenly feel an urge to go back to Bangkok ... probably because it's the middle of July, and 12 *twelve* freaking degrees outside ... celsius ... I mean, bangkok was so SO amazingly cool. The food, the people, the places ... really amazing.

From fancy restaurants to street food and eating on the side of the canal from a lady who looks like she really knows her soup.

The crazy tuk-tuks, the PINK taxis, the energy in the air, the crazy party pink street next to our hotel ... and the sky bar sitting on top of everything ...

I even miss shopping ... shopping!! I hate shopping, but I would do it right now ... only not here.

I don't know why, but today I miss Bangkok ... so here's to you, my friend, may we meet again ...

Ferrari Drive

I finally managed to edit the drive I did in the 458 Italia, here it is:

Petrolhead Mayhem

I just realised I didn't even manage to post anything new after the Prometheus incident ... And quite a lot of things have happened. For example, I FINALLY managed to make one of my very old dreams come true when I made a short visit to the Green Chaos Monster Hell ...

the Nürburgring

yep ... raing is no fun on the 'Ring

car rental ... myeah...

anyone called for a cab?

pure madness...

The track is pure crazy and I would like all the mega-drivers who are under the impression that they know what fast driving is to do a lap and think again. On the 'Ring they will find some real drivers, who know what it means to go FAST. I don't want to say it is the perfect way to separate men from muppets, but I will say only really fast drivers can get to enjoy the experience. To be perfectly honest, I'd only qualify for a manly muppet or a muppet of a man at best ... it was at the limit, both very frightening and quite exciting at the same time. 80% of the corners are blind, meaning you have absolutely no idea what the heck comes next... unless you have someone with over 1200 laps sitting shotgun with you .... which I did (lucky me). As the man was telling me "Don't break! Turn in!" I was wondering "for real? are you freaking nuts?" ... but I was doing exactly what he was saying when he was saying ... I had a very very quick internal debate and we decided it's for the best... With all four tires squealing I would reach the end of the turn safely ... and gasp for some air quickly before the next turn came.

Unfortunately I only managed to do one lap, but it will be forever remembered as the greatest feat I achieved by car ... until I'll go there again.

Later Edit: I finally managed to find a photo of me after searching through mountains and mountains of images. So, there I am ... track attack mode