Alicia’s eclectic elixir

I’m really enjoying Alicia Key’s latest album “The Element of Freedom”. Always been a big fan of this beautiful and talented girl who to me had the best of all worlds, in terms of style and substance. Both physically and musically. That girl has now grown to be a lady, her music is perfected by experience and the signs of maturity can be heard all over “The Element of Freedom”.

In this album Keys goes back to the eclectic retro style that she touched upon in her previous album, departing from that she blends a soulful elixir, a fusion of the 60’s musicality and 80’s instrumentation in the late 90’s style of presentation! You’ll recognize pieces and bits borrowed from many POP and SOUL songs from those decades. Alicia’s eclectic elixir sounds settled and soothing, becoming its beautiful artist gracefully.

Parkour animation

First time I’m seeing the flip-flap technique being used like this! This is super cool!

No mane for this man!

As much as I am crazy about scarfs I just can’t wear the new over-sized ones! Those are made for tiny thin men, compensating lack of neck and shoulder while when I try them on I look more like a savage warlord with a lion mane around his neck and shoulder, just about to lead his army into the bed of battle!lol

By the way, this post doesn’t qualify to get filed under “Things that I would NEVER wear” series, because unlike those I love these and would have worn them If I only could!

“It only ends once!”

” … Anything that happens before that is just progress!” says a pivotal character in LOST season 5 finale and its pretty much what I hope to become reality as the show is going towards its very end. As you know I’ve been an avid fanatic fan and devote of LOST ever since the show started, but lately I’ve been a bit disappointed in the writers/producers of the show due to the fact that they have done exactly what they had promised not to do and basically lied to the fans in order to keep their loyalty! Now they are delivering on whatever prophecies the cynical critics had predicted from day one instead of their own promises. Something I had come to fear along the path of its labyrinthine seasons. Anyway, I wont go in to details at this stage since I don’t want to spoil it for you and also because I still have a shred of hope left that they will somehow come through this very final season and don’t make me feel completely fooled and betrayed by the end of the show. The following clip is NOT recommended to those who haven’t watched season 5!

In case you are a fan and in need to discuss the show we have had a fun and engaging discussion in the official LOST thread (warning for spoilers!) of our forum. By the way, this show has become such worldwide phenomenon that IRIB (Iran’s state media) is to make its own series officially inspired by LOST! No its not a joke, unfortunately, although it doesn’t take Nostradamus to predict that the result will be!lol ‘Til the day you get to enjoy the Iranian low budget version probably starring Reza Shafie Jam as Jack and Javad Razavian as Sawyer lost on the island of Kish you just have to settle for the original which kicks off again, for the last time tomorrow! If you have missed season 5 and intend to catch up for the final round do hurry and pick up the cleverly deigned and limited edition DVD or Blu-ray set of the season from amazon.

By the way, a fan of the show has designed some really cool posters which I happen to love. They have managed to catch the spirit of the show and represent it with a retro charm. I wouldn’t mind a few of these prints on T-shirts!

For the rest visit his website.

To declare before the turn in …

Friday is long gone on this side of the globe and as I am to retire I had to post this jam before I called it a day! Heard it for the first time tonight and just can’t get the groove out of my head!

On that note goodnight and good morning ...

Wash away your sins in the sanua!

Can the Finns make horror movies? Well last year we saw that the Swedes can make great vampire movies, so anything is possible. I’ve just watched “Sauna“. You might know that the people of the Nordic countries, Finland in particular, love their wildlife saunas. Especially during the winter time when they step out of it just to take a dip in a frozen lakes, before they get back in for a sip of vodka! Its a cultural thing and when a movie from Finland is titled “Sauna” you can’t really take it seriously, let alone as a horror movie!

This movie however surprisingly works! Very well as a matter of fact. It is not the American type of horror movie, with a lot of noise and gore, but rather in the European less-is-more style. Much like “Let The Right One In” and “Antichrist”, which means less action and more suggestion. By suggestively creating a creepy atmosphere and ambiance it crawls under the skin of the viewer and evokes subliminal associations while creating a sense of discomfort and fear! With a lot of help from the great acting, a good story and gorgeous photography, of course. Give “Sauna” a try if you are into this kind of horror. For some strange reason is the entire movie on youtube and has not been removed!?! Unfortunately it doesn’t feature English subtitles, but watch the opening minutes and you get a feeling. Warning for graphic content!

Caught on cam

You’ve been reading (and hearing me a few times) while seeing my pictures here on the blog, but you’ve never seen me in motion. Well, no more sleepless nights for you!lol This clip is a test shot me and my colleagues did for the presentation of a project we are working on about “youth on youtube”. Thought it would be fun showing you guys what the review-master does when he is not here sharing wisdom with the world!lol By the way, if you hear me saying something that sounds like “group sex” then don’t be shocked (even though by now I hardly think anyone who has been a reader of mine would!lol), you are not hearing wrong! Obviously I am saying exactly that! However in Swedish it simply means group six! Yes, sex stands for both sex and six in Sweden. I know, very confusing and one of the reasons why I love Sweden!lol Oh, another thing! The footage is a mirror image! Don’t ask me how this happened but we noticed the technical mistake first after that we had recorded the whole program and someone spotted that my birthmark is on my wrong cheek! D’OH!!lol

Digitally vintage

Who wants to shoot short clips that look and sound like old analogue 8mm footages? I do! I do! I want a Superheadz Digital Harinezumi! Its cheap and ugly-chic! I want one!!

Mos Def doc

I really like Mos Def. The guy has a very likable personality. Very sympathetic and intelligent (though not always equally articulate!). Being both musician and actor he is the definition of omnipotence, to me he is the epitome of the entire American urban culture! Omnivorous and eclectic, even when it comes to his sense for fashion.

His latest album “The Ecstatic” was of a high caliber, lyrically as well as musically. This interesting documentary follows the man on his recent tour to Japan. If you happen to be into cultural fusion I highly recommend you to watch it. I let you to it by quoting something Mos expresses well in this documentary, a point of departure which I personally happen to share:

“I’m into cultures that are fixated on beautiful things!”

Click to watch

Things that I would NEVER wear! (#2)

I like to think that I’m an open-minded guy, relatively in touch with my feminine side and wouldn’t mind unisex clothing, as long as it remains anchored in my masculinity one way or another. Not because masculinity is superior in any way, but simply because I am a masculine looking man! If I had more feminine features I could have pulled this combination off, but imagine a (off course a handsome one but nonetheless) gorilla with a ribbon!lol Now how cute would that be? Well, very cute but not a bit handsome!lol On that note I gotta say these latest lady’s handbag inspired men’s bags that are meant to be carried around hanging on the wrist are just too much! Look at those big round loop handles, someone told me that even my laptop case is supposed to be carried like that! My only answer was that I rather hold it with my teeth ’til my last tooth falls out, before I wear it like that!lol Reminds me of a Friends episode with Joey and his unisex handbag:

Up where we belong

I had been waiting a long time to see this one and am glad to say that it both surprised and satisfied me. Surprised that it didn’t go exactly the way I thought it would and satisfied because I really enjoyed the way it took! I was worried that the Hollywood face of the movie would take over sooner or later, but fortunately the indie heart shone all the way through. Though soaring above the clouds it had its feet on solid ground.

One of the reasons why I enjoyed this movie was because I found Clooney’s character very familiar, its someone I can relate to particularly at this age and phase in life. By now you know my love for realistic takes on life and love and this one took it even one step further! There is a certain pre-wedding scene which delivers perhaps the best existentialistic contemplation and comparison of a life lived alone and one in companionship of another person, for your consideration.

It goes without saying the movie owes much of its credibility to the matching performance and perfect chemistry of Clooney and Farmiga (and her marvelous behind which she proudly displayed in “Running Scared” and now does a follow up to in a barely-embedded *pun intended* nude scene), but in “Up in the Air” we can also witness the blooming of the cute and petite Anna Kendrick into a credible actress!

Something to go gaga for!

If you are a Gaga fan or a collector of limited editions then this is one set to go gaga for! Lady Gaga recently re-released her successful debut “The Fame”, injected with a chunk of remakes along with new material under the title “The Fame Monster”. The revamped (the monster version of “The Fame”) album was initially released as a single-disc jewel-case and a double-disc deluxe digipak, both with different covers (below)! The third edition released last week however is a super set limited to 10.000 copies, all numbered and including a lock of her (wig?) hair! This is one over-priced set at the moment, but the production quality is top notch and needless to say on my to-get list as soon as the price drops a bit.

Who says angels don’t exist?!

If you have ever doubted the existence of angels then let me assure you that they do exist! Oh, very much so! And they come both with and without wings!

I just watched the annual Victoria’s Secret show, this time in HD (I’m praying to the Goddess Victoria, to release these shows on Blu-ray. One day she will, I have faith!) and boy they do exist! In all their skimpy outfits and undersized wings! Voluptuous and glorious!

What I am particularly glad about is that this year, unlike previous years, we were able to see more shapes and sizes among the angels. Not just the fashion industry standard skinny type, an unlikely and unhealthy ideal that had started taking over even this show.

The Dutch beauty Doutzen Kroes (above) is a perfect example, she graced that angelwalk with her ample curves and proved that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes! …and in Victoria’s Secret lingeries, of course!

By the way, in case you have missed the spot directed by Transformers director Michael Bay here it is. It is basically like a Transformers movie, but with babes instead of bots! “Angels! …Transform”!lol

Men in blue

I was already a fan of Scott Schuman, even more now that we apparently share the same taste! hehe

Big is beautiful!

If there is anything that both creationists and evolutionists agree on is that man would have not been complete without woman! I don’t think that by now its a secret that I love women. Their minds and bodies alike! In all states, shapes, colors and sizes! And as an artist who gets inspired by the variety in nature and life I have always advocated diversity in the society against any standardization promotion by the elite of the industry. Therefor it glads me to see that the brand new issue (#63) of V magazine is dedicated to full-figure women. Big, bold and beautiful!

The first psychological portrait?

Gustave Courbet’s self-portrait “The Desperate Man” is one of my most favorite artist self-portraits. This kind of self-portrait is today known as psychological portrait. However back in 1844-45 when Courbet painted it there was no tradition of such kind preceding it! Portraits and self-portraits were formally composed and contrived to capture the appearance of the individual and not the essence. Basically the way that is today considered standard and conventional. “The Desperate Man” however defied all rules and conventions by going beyond the face and surface of its creator and thereby showing us a side of his existence that we would have never seen otherwise!

He returned to the scene of crime!

Well you know what they say about criminals! hehe, so I returned! This time getting myself two pieces from ZARA’s spring collection. A leather jacket and an Andalusian scarf. I really love their trademark scarfs with “termeh” pattern!

Serial Crashes

The sun doesn’t always shine on TV! As a matter of fact, as far as TV-series goes this season has been a huge disappointment. In particular when it comes to some of my favourite shows which have all fallen flat on their faces! First is “Californication” which you by now know how much I’ve loved and praised. When the third season kicked off it had all the necessary ingredients for a great season but unfortunately wasted every bit of it! In an unjustifiable manner. So much they could have capitalized on with the relations and intrigues yet nothing of the kind happened. The plot became banal and all the characters became parodies of their original selves. The show became a lame joke and lost that philosophical depth which put the comic side of it into balance. It was truly frustrating to watch it going on empty in an entire 12 episodes!

Next is “Crash” which’s second season basically went against everything that the first season had established. They miscalculatedly stripped it off all kinds of sexual tension that sharpened the edges of the intrigues compared to other series and lost many of the viewers. Halfway through the season they realized their culpa and attempted a damage-control by basically over-dosing it all with sex! But the sudden decontextualized sex just felt like fish-out-of-water and had the opposite effect on the viewers (even sex-addicts like me!lol). As the story was heading a thousand ways they ended it all with a premature wrap-up and forced closure which gave the title a whole new meaning and will most likely put the entire Crash franchise to eternal rest!

The third disappointment was the second season of the vampire-themed “True Blood“. It departed from the quality of the first season which managed to mix humor and horror in a balanced blend. The show lost nuance and its sex, just like Crash got entangled in a line that went slowly but surely to nowhere! It all ended with one of the wackiest and weakest cliff-hangers ever!

And finally was the brand new “Flashforward” which tried to tap on the whole “Lost” formula and even borrowed its title form the lost terminology. However lacking the solid structure that Lost benefits from the show got lost in its Lost imitation! Which means entangled in the mess of lose ends, much like the ill-fated “4400″. This show is also an example of the “orientalistic” ignorance which tragically still plagues Hollywood, the scene below is from the season finale which ironically revolved around a character played by Shohreh Aghdashloo, yet when Persian script was to be displayed and read it ended up in literally pure nonsense! Look at the background, don’t you recognize Persian …according to Hollywood?lol

Resolutions are recommended!

So did you make any new year’s resolution this year? I started 2009 with several resolutions, with serious intend to (for once) commit to them all no matter what! One of them was to change life-style to a healthier one. That meant eating healthy and getting back in shape. I had been bulking up while training in past but the downside with such diet is that once the related training is not attended to according to the program you just gain the weight or better said puff up! So I have been on a strict heigh protein-low fat/carb diet these past 12 months plus an intense program made of daily power-walking and power-training at home, work and the gym in order to trim down and get back in original shape. Not to mention drinking a lot of water to keep the body hydrated. As a result I’ve lost 47 kilograms (104 pounds) of extra weight! Below you can see before-and-after pictures of me, with 12 months in between. As you can see the physical change is most apparent (its not only relocation of hair form my chin to the top of my head!lol) and the most important of all; I “feel” healthier! So there you go, resolutions do work! With serious commitment, that is. No need for extreme measures, just start thinking and living healthier. Needless to say this is an achievement I’m very proud of so I thought sharing it with you guys, in case you are considering changing life-style to a healthier one don’t wait another day!

Smart and space-saving station

If you have a lack of space in your room and need to set up a workstation then MisoSoupDesign offers you their very smart and space-saving solution called “K Workstation”! I love the futuristically linear and minimalistic look of it, yet with that 70’s touch of retro.