Wednesday 29 October 2014

Family of the Year- Hero

I heard this song for the first time while watching the film Boyhood. I liked the film not only because of the way it was filmed, over twelve years with the same cast , but also because in the simple story of a boy's childhood the director shows us many of the truths of life.Both Patricia Arquette (I still miss Medium)and Ethan Hawke are great in the film and of course Ellar Coltrane who plays the part of the boy who we actually see grow before our own eyes .


Saturday 25 October 2014

Contributor by Nicole Ciacchella: Review

Contributor (Contributor, #1)
Is this YA dystopia? Well, it certainly meets all the requirements to be a dystopian novel :

* A society which has undergone a terrible crisis.

* Complete corporate control.

* No freedom whatsoever.

* Constant surveillance by superiors and peers.

* Your life is valuable as long as you can contribute with endless hours of work. When you are unable to do so, you are no longer needed.


* Fear of the outside world.

However , Nicole Ciacchella has done a fine job describing a futuristic society which resembles today's business world, and it's really frightening.I had a really hard time reading this book , I enjoyed it and disliked it at the same time. I usually read to have a good time but it made me think of a toxic workplace .

Dara, the main character, reminds me of a young girl on her first day at work, unaware of backstabbing colleagues and office politics. Her supervisor behaves just like a control freak narcissistic psychopath who enjoys making people suffer.
The good thing is that there is a group of people who is against this unfair situation and wants to change things. If only a similar group existed nowadays (and I don't mean a biased trade union) and peacefully made our everyday life easier.


Wednesday 22 October 2014

Not a Christmas advertisement by K-mart

Is it me?, or does X-mas start sooner every year?To my surprise ,the local supermarket where I usually shop has already started selling chocolate advent calendars and X-mas sweets.

For those of you who dread Christmas and everything that it involves :endless family reunions with relatives you haven't seen in the last twelve months, noisy children who seem to have grown out of nowhere, and overeating to the point of considering joining a gym by the end of the holiday; here comes a non-Christmas advertisement which won't make you any happier, but it is indeed original.


Thursday 16 October 2014

Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City formerly known as Saigon used to be the capital of the French colony of Conchinchina (funny name) from 1955 until 1975.Nowadays the city boasts beautiful buildings , a war museum that I didn't have the courage to visit , heavy traffic, mostly motorcycles ,and a nice downtown area with good hotels and restaurants.

By PB.


Continental Hotel

Downtown 
The Central Post Office

The Municipal Theatre
Caravelle Hotel

Crowded streets

 Ben Thanh market is a popular destination for locals and tourists. However I must say that without the help of a nice policeman whose job is to walk with tourists and  cross the road to get to the market I would have never seen it.No matter how young and fit you are you think more than twice before risking your life in such a chaotic traffic.

Ben Thanh Market

Tue Thanh meeting house ,the Reunification Palace and  the church of Notre Dame are interesting landmarks in this city.

Tue Thanh in Chinatown


The Reunification Palace
Notre Dame





Saturday 11 October 2014

What is a DNF?



According to the Urban Dictionary (one of my favourite dictionaries) a DNF is something you didn't finish. For me not being able to finish a book is usually  quite a big disappointment, just like a relationship gone wrong.

You sometimes wait months for a novel to be published, or you read incredible comments about it and when you finally start , the book it is just NOT what you hoped for and no matter how hard you try you just cannot finish it.

Sometimes you think :What's wrong with me?Why does everybody like it and I don't? . Other times you think  :What's wrong with this book? How come was it ever published?.

There are books I have tried to read over and over again and books I discarded the moment I read the first page,because of the way they were written or the fact that I disliked the plot or the characters.

Regardless of my opinion about a book, I always think that all authors deserve respect ,since I believe ,they spent a good amount of time devoted to writing their novels and they put hope and faith in them.

Again, just like some relationships are not meant to be, some books are not meant to be read, at least by me.Life is too short to read something you don't enjoy ,when there are so many wonderful novels waiting for you to find them.

Monday 6 October 2014

Japanese Garden in Buenos Aires , Argentina



One of the most popular tourist attractions in the beautiful city of Buenos Aires is the Japanese Garden. The porteƱos (city dwellers), love to visit this park which resembles a real Asian garden .

The Japanese Garden was built  in 1967, due to the first visit of the Crown Prince Akihito and the Princess Michiko.Since then ,many members of the imperial family have visited the place.


 


 One of the things that I like most about this place , is the contrast between  the surrounding skyscrapers and the traditional design of the garden.


 The red bridge is the most popular spot in the garden, it is incredibly difficult to find it empty.


The garden is located in the centre of the city , in Palermo neighbourhood. It is a pleasure to walk all the way there but you can also get there by bus ( lines 10, 15, 37, 59, 60, 67, 93, 95, 102, 108, 118, 128, 130, 141, 160 and188) or by underground (subte) ,line D, Plaza Italia station.

It is open from 10 a.m to 6 p.m. If possible visit it on weekdays ,because it is crowded at the weekend. However , if you are interested in a guided tour, these are available only  at weekends and on public holidays at 11 a.m.The tickets cost 32 Argentinian pesos, that is around 3€ or 4 USD.You can also have some tea at the Japanese style tea house, enjoy a Sushi meal at the restaurant  and buy some souvenirs from Japan.
http://www.jardinjapones.org.ar/horarios


http://www.jardinjapones.org.ar/mapa

I have been to BA several times and I have always returned  to this lovely garden.There are even real Koi fish you can feed.


If you need more information, go to http://www.jardinjapones.org.ar/.

By Pibe

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Herbal Garden in Asia: Pandan


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