Dreaming Awake

Tue, 05 May 2009 01:21:56 GMT

Dollhouse ep. 11 was pretty awesome. Seriously, this show keeps getting better and better, and Saturday's episode was something that I'm sure any Firefly fan would enjoy. If you like Whedon, Firefly or dark pseudo sci-fi thriller shows you should definitely give it a chance.

Oh, but take into account that you should begin watching the show on ep. 6. The ones before were basically... Forgettable (to say something).

Some thoughts on Heroes Vol. 4 ending

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:01:03 GMT

I've just seen the end of the volume 4. What can I say? It could have been worse. I mean, I just completely, utterly and absolutely hated the solution they came up with, but in the other hand if this means that the cancer that was devouring the series (you know who I'm talking about) is over, I'll happily accept it. Actually, the worst thing is that the next volume doesn't look particularly promising. On the whole, I think Bryan Fuller did a great work saving the show. I've found more pathos, emotion and interest in these last few episodes than in all of the second and third volumes (btw, if you're ever interested in watching the show, you can skip those completely). And what's more important the themes that the series dealt with (brilliantly introduced in the openings and endings with Suresh's voice overs) were moving and thought provoking.

Surprisingly this ending seemed to deal a lot with the meaning of personal identity and death, something that seems to be present in the Caprica pilot and last week's Dollhouse episode.

So to sum up, do I recommend this volume? Not really, unless you were already into Heroes and want to give it a chance again. Did I enjoy watching it? Definitely. It wasn't as good as the first volume, but at least it had some moments of grandeur. Keep your eyes on Fuller. So far, everything he's done is very interesting to say the least.

Currently watching: The West Wing S1, Dollhouse, Michiko to Hatchin (anime), Legend of the Seeker.

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:48:47 GMT

I'm posting this from my brand new Ipodtouch. In life, some things stay the same, some change. Well, I have to say that being able to post my thoughts directly from this little magic machine is one of the things that has changed for the better.

It's like discovering blogging again...

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

There are some days when...

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:02:30 GMT

... All you want to do is to stay at home listening to Chet Baker, dreaming of a rain that isn't falling on the street.

****

... You realize you haven't found time to write lately which isn't good. I'm way behind my current NSR asignment and it doesn't make me feel proud. Specially since it gets in the way of starting new things (both gaming and non-gaming).

Of course, the fact that the graphics card of my laptop has decided to stop working doesn't help either.

****

... You decide that ep. 2 of Dollhouse was better than the first. Lost, BSG, and Heroes are ok. Not half as good as they should, but certainly entertaining. I really do miss something deeper though.

****

... Are looking forward going to San Francisco.

We're not only what we run after, but what we run from:

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:42:02 GMT

I saw Dollhouse.

And I thought that the first 15 minutes were terrible. And by terrible I mean that it felt like I was watching some sort of bizarre show about luxury professional escorts... But oh wait! That was exactly what I was watching!

The good thing is that it sort of improved from that moment onwards. Also I find the central idea for the show is very promising and full of possibilites, and I think that there were glimpses of brilliance in it (the discussion in which they explain why they design the personas with flaws in them was very thought provoking), so I guess it's a matter of waiting and seeing what direction the next episode takes.

As for Lost, Battlestar Galactica and Heroes, the three of them are having so far very interesting seasons. I just miss the "soul" in their stories.

In the past I used to enjoy them in a different way. They used to make me think, to wonder about a lot of things, but today (and sadly) they're just entertainment.

Great entertainment but just entertainment after all. I'll have to look for inspiration and enlightment in other places I'm afraid.

Heroes is back...

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:14:23 GMT

And this first episode of the volume 4, is definitely the best I've seen since the first season. So in case someone wants to get back to watching the show, this is the time to do it.

And, oh skip the 2nd season completely. It doesn't influence the plot of the show in anyway.

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:28:49 GMT

I didn't finnish Nano this year either, but I spent so much time with it that I've completely forgotten about some of my typical procrastinating activities, like checking Lj. And well, wow, the world doesn't stop moving just because you close your eyes.

In a way it's inspiring, and yet at the same time, scary.

Choose your own way of changing the world:

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:28:01 GMT

We should really record what art pieces make us feel. The other day I was talking to my friend dzalreck, about the "Choose your own adventure" books we had read when we were kids and what recollections we had of them. It was amazing, their stories are so alive still in my head... I find really depresing that all of those images and moments will die with me. Even if someone reads one of those books, he won't experience them in the same particular way I did... And all of our stories, the real, and the fictional should live. Forever.

Now changing the subject, the Google 10th anniversary contest of changing the world is probably the best thing since... well, ever. I'm definitely sending some ideas, because even if I don't get to the final (and I'm gonna do my best to be there), I sure will hope to raise the bar, which again is a way of helping to create a better world.

Wanted

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:43:24 GMT

Wanted was unexpectedly cool. It's pretty much the bastard son of Matrix and Nightwatch (and therefore if you didn't like them you'd pretty much hate this film), and it's even directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the director of the later (Oh, and by the way, in case you're wondering why I'm suddenly commenting on a film that was released like two months ago in USA and UK, the reason is simple: distribution in Spain is crappy. Sometimes movies arrive with months of delay to our cinemas. I'm still waiting to see "In Brugges" for example...).

I didn't have any intention of seeing it (mostly because the trailer made me think it was just another superhero-crappy-action film), but luckily my friend Juanjo made me change my mind. It certainly was worth it. Probably it hasn't got anything to do with the comic in which is based, but I couldn't care less. Probably the comic isn't precisely a masterpiece, and besides I'm not Mark Millar's number one fan.

It's true that it's got a lot of action sequences, but on the bright side it also is pretty different from most superhero movies. But what I liked most was that the film isn't as dumb as it might seem. And sometimes it even manages to slap you in the face in a way that very few movies (or any other works of art) dare to do.

Definitely worth checking out if you're up for impossible gunfights and a main character closer to Fight Club than to Spiderman.

To Baltimore and back:

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:33:44 GMT

I've just seen the last episode of the Wire, and what can I say?

It was certainly worth the ride.

I've often said that The Wire is the best TV show ever filmed and I don't really think I'm exaggerating a bit: It's touching, discomforting, and yet, at the same beautiful.

Now, every time I look at the city at night, through the windows of my living room, I can see it alight, but in a deep silence, with the dark sea looming on the background. And all of that reminds me of The Wire, because watching it was looking through a window into the archetypal modern city. Except for that through that window we could see into places usually forbidden and catch a glimpse of how our Universe really worked (at least on a local level).

I wish I can someday create such a masterpiece.

For the moment this just means getting back to writing. And of course, waiting for Dexter to come back and fill that huge vacuum in my waking hours ;D.

A weekend of beginnings

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:18:00 GMT

On Friday I went to an international forum of technology based companies which might help to shape the world of the future. On Saturday it was LightArtisan's wedding: beautiful, magical, and above all true.

And today the first thing I find when I get back home is that the last number of the NSR E-zine is online, and though maybe some would see this as the sad ending of a marvellous journey, I can't help but see it as the beginning of a new and inspiring odissey.

The last two years I've been writing for it have helped me to grow as writer, gamer and person. And I'm sure that somehow it's been just the beginning. This time there's not just a lonely sun rising above, but a sky full of stars, dreams and promises.

Let's make it happen. Now.

Life after the CON:

Sun, 25 May 2008 20:21:35 GMT

I've just spent the last few days living in the marvellous world of Las Palmas' Anime CON. And what can I say? As always it's been refreshing and magical.

I wish I could spend my life in a perpetuous Anime/Gaming Convention. Cosplayers, karaoke, larps, japanese food, gothic lolitas, playstations everywhere... Ah, that's life!

We ran a few larps there (for non-gamer teens mostly) and they went rather well. I still think that roleplaying has a huge potential as both art & entertainment for the masses, but we've been selling it wrong all the time. Anyway, we had fun, we met quite a few interesting people and we helped to create that unique magic that only the good CONs have.

Thanks everyone! It was a blast! As silly as it may sound, I really feel this is the sort of thing that make life really worth living for :-).

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:59:13 GMT

There's something magical in the films they show in TVE2 at this hours of the night. Donnie Darko, Pi, Dogville... They all are full of secret meaning if you know what to look for in them, and sometimes they serve me as my particular oracle.

Tonight they serve me as a reminder. I'm still stuck in Dogville. I haven't been writing very much lately, and words don't change the world.

Dogville is a metaphor. The village is the US. The village is humanity. And right now I'm just Tom, the philosopher kid talking to himself. Dreaming of a better, bigger, brighter tomorrow.

There's more I can do.

Mon, 05 May 2008 01:01:32 GMT

Why having a Lj if you're going to hide from it? It's like having a radio just to broadcast static. I really have to find a new meaning for this place.

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:44:39 GMT

Lust, Caution
Hated it. Completely. I think I've never been a great fan of Ang Lee's work, but I found this movie utterly pointless. That is unless you measure a film's quality for the amount ot torrid sex scenes between asians it has.

While watching it I realized that I still haven't seen any good movie about undercover agents or spies. Oddly enough movies never seem to delve enough in the undercover agent's psychology. Instead they prefer to approach him/her from an external point of view, and deal with his actions more that than with his motivations. Skipping the most interesting part of all.

Dexter Season 1
Pretty much the opposite. The best serial killer story I've had the pleasure of watching ever (well, perhaps the Red Dragon comes a close second). Deep, new, refreshing and bloody. I really liked the way the show portrays the mind of a psycho.

Californication:
A brilliant Fox Mulder, I mean David Duchovny, in another unforgettable role. In the beginning it appears to be simply a story about sex, but instead it's a beautiful tale of love, growing up and loss.

I seem to be running out of shows. Fortunately the last season of the Wire has just started, and I still have a whole season of Dexter to watch. Life's good. Even if the grey rabbit-man says that the world will end in just 24 days :-D.

Time to face the past

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 03:36:23 GMT

As some of you might know, yesterday was my birthday. I didn't do anything really interesting besides splashing my face with sea water in the beach (a sort of night baptism into a new year of my life).

The main reason I didn't do anything is that I spent most of the day in the entrepreneurship program I'm taking right now. The good thing about the program is that it's opening some really new and amazing horizons in my life right now (the sky is the limit as they say). The bad thing, is that it's making me realize how much time I've lost those last few years with the state competition examinations.

I also by pure chance met in the street one of my old studies companions, one who still hasn't taken his exams. We talked a little bit about what he was going through and that helped me to see clearly how I've really moved on from that stage of my life. I guess I should be happy about that.

And I am. Somehow a new day is finally beginning.

****

I'll probably be doing something to celebrate my birthday this weekend at some point (dinner maybe). So if anyone is interested just let me know.

****

On an unrelated note, I must say that I saw REC and Hot Fuzz, and that I loved them both. Watching REC made me fail several helplessness and self checks (I reckon that the cameraman was called Pablo didn't help), but that's just what all great zombies movies should do . An american remake is on the way, but I think one should be done for every european country. Highly recommended viewing for those who want to feel really scared, specially in you live in a catholic country.

Hot Fuzz was great fun too. I think I liked Shaun of the Dead a little bit better, but HF was hilarious nonetheless (specially its climax).

Now I just have to find time to see Beowulf before it's off the cinemas. And probably the Golden Compass too (although again I'm a bit unsure of this one, I think I'll wait for some reviews before).

That time of the year again:

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:26:25 GMT

Tonight Donnie Darko was on tv. Again. I guess that it must be becoming sort of a tradition for them. A tradition I like, I might add.

It's odd, as the last time, the movie seems to precede a time of changes in my life. And also, again this time I watched it from beginning to end. It's interesting, I've seen it more than four times, I've got it in DVD but the movie still catches my attention like the first time.

I love the story, the acting (the Gyllenhall brothers are great, and so is Mary McDonnell), but what always hooks me it's the film's mood. That undefinable atmosphere of dread, melancholy and otherworldlyness that permeates everything, and that it's magnificiently created by the soundtrack.

The world definitely needs more movies like this one.

***

Which reminds me that I've got to go to the cinema to see Jaume Balaguero's REC, and possibly Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The first one even being a zombie flick seems promising, the second one seems a little bit scary (well to be more accurate its depiction of Spain seems a bit scary), but I'm still interested anyway. I'll share my thoughts if I finally manage to see them :-).

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 16:53:19 GMT

My current "sLAng" assignment keeps growing and growing. I was meant to write a mini-series for the game of no more than 12 pages long I believe. I think it might be well over the 20 pages mark right now, and it keeps growing.

The good things are that I'm both enjoying it and getting finally to understand how Los Angeles is (The Shield has been quite helpful for that).

Oh, btw I really should mention I saw an absolutely amazing production of Othello by Teatre Lliure the other day. I had never seen the play in stage (just in film), and I can assure you that it was magic from the beginning to the end.

Heroes S2 "Four Months Later"

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 23:24:42 GMT

I liked it. A promising season beginning so far. But the best thing was that one of the scenes was set in Cork, Ireland.

Really, I have to tell you, when I saw it I couldn't believe it and started laughing of joy :-D. Ah, that made my day ;-).

I'd really love to see more scenes set in Cork, but what would really rock would be an Irish "Hero" :-).

Btw, I know I'm not very good with the English accents, but didn't one of the guys had more of a Scottish accent than an Irish one?.

IF...

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:20:40 GMT

As most of you probably already know, I didn't pass the exam. But I don't feel disappointed by it. Well maybe a little bit, but more for my family than for myself. They had such a blind faith in that I was going to pass it, that failing hurts a little. But just a little.

I could start bitching and complaining about the exam, and how unfair they were with me, but to tell you the truth I can't help but feel that things have taken a turn for the best.

As Rudyard Kipling said:

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Right now the sky is the limit. I won't miss this chance, trust me ;-).

Tomorrow is the day...

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:37:19 GMT

Yeah. That's it. Tomorrow I've got that exam I've studying for so long.

At 16:30 (GMT) I'll be performing the most intense soliloquy of my acting career. Although as you might guess, Law will be involved. In fact zillions of pages of my law subjects will be pouring out of my brain through my mouth.

Ah well, whatever. It's been a long road to get here, but I'm done. I'm ready to move over to the next stage of my life :-).

Thanks for everyone that has supported me, and carried this cross with me. Soon all of it will be over, and I can assure you, that I couldn't have done it without you.

Wish me luck ;-)!!! I promise I'll be back soon (You can cout on it ;-D).

Only the end of the world again...

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:57:09 GMT

Last night I dreamed of the end of the world. In the dream I was in my house, in my room talking with the President. He told me about his lack of confidence in the future and oddly I tread to convince him he had done some good things that needed to be done during his term.

Then, suddenly I realized that it was raining, pouring outside. I opened the window and saw Las Palmas drowned, sunk by the waters. Two big, white, and hairy dogs which resembled wolves were also running around my house, chasing each other and playing like wild puppies. Then I set my eyes upon the sky and knew I was watching the end of the world. It was blurry and colored in impossible ways. It was a black sky with strains of orange fire, and terrifying violet hazes.

The otherworldly skies, and the rain are recurring elements in my dreams about the end of the world (yes, they also are recurring dreams). The white dogs/wolves are new. I wonder what they mean. Perhaps, nature's joy of being free again?

Still walking through the Penumbra:

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 02:12:13 GMT

Whew! I've been quite for way too long. In case you wonder why it's been mainly because of the studies. The first (and hopefully not last) of my exams to get a permanent job in the State's Justice Apparatus is this Saturday, so as you can guess, things have been a little bit hectic on that front (and by that I mean that all I do is pretty much study all day).

Although the studies have hardly left me time for anything else, I've done quite a few interesting things in the last weeks :-):

* I finished my last assignment for Nosolorol: Editing an "Ars Magica"-style game set in the Ancient Rome called "Arcana" and written by the talented Adrian Rodríguez Afonso. If you want my opinion is the best wizards game since the aforementioned "Ars Magica" and it's very original and unique in lots of ways, but by far its best virtue is the setting. The games takes place during the time of the so called reign of the "Three Imperators", and its full of plot ideas which make the most of the fascinating historical characters (Septimius Severus and Julia Domna are right now my favourite historical couple :-)).

* I've also been listening lately to "Guano Apes" like crazy, and I definitely can say that I love the band. It's been a late discovery for me, but Sandra Nasic has an amazing voice, and I also find her gorgeous in a "POE-esque" sort of way. The lyrics of their songs aren't that wonderful (I'm afraid, that's because they being german, suffer from the classical: "English isn't my home language syndrome"), but they work the trick.

* Somehow last month I found time to perform in an amateur theatrical production, called "El Sueño de la Vida", based in Garcia Lorca's posthumous work of the same name. I had a very short role, and I'm not that happy about my performance, but I'd love to get hold of any of the video recordings of the play to share it here.

* And finally, I can say, that because of mytholder's fault I'm starting (or trying to start) a Nobilis game. He graciously shared with me two of his Nobilis CON scenarios "In at the Deep End" & "The Primrose Monarch" which I both loved, specially "The Primrose Monarch", which as the author brilliantly says in the scenario introduction can be described as "Jane Austen meets Nobilis". What else can a man ask for ;-D?

Oh, I should also say that today one of my epiphanies, and realized that I'd love to learn medicine and be a Doctor, but I still have to give it more thought, I think...

Peanuts of the Caribbean:

Tue, 22 May 2007 22:43:37 GMT

Some years ago, my friend Juanjo told me about his vision. He dreamed of a movie. A movie made with actors who never complained, never arrived late to the filming sessions, and always did their best during the shootings.

A movie made with peanuts.

This friday his dream will come to life. For those of you who think that a horror movie made with salty snacks isn't a bad idea here's the link to the official webpage:

www.goingnutsthemovie.com

And for the rest, here you have a teaser:

¡¡Manises del Caribe!! (It's in Spanish, but it's fun to see anyway).

Death is the road to awe:

Tue, 01 May 2007 16:54:52 GMT

On Saturday I went to see Darren Aronofski's "The Fountain" ("La Fuente de la vida" here in Spain).

I went in thrilled after a long time waiting to see it, and I came out emotionally exhausted and broken. "Exhausted" as in "making love for two hours leaves you exhausted" and "broken" as in "receiving a beating leaves you broken".

I had seen Aronofski's two previous films ("Pi", "Requiem for a Dream") and had madly fallen in love with them. My friend Esteban and I even used to joke with the idea that if Aronofski had directed "V for Vendetta" the film would have probably started a revolution. Yes, in my opinion, he's such a good director.

I went with high expectations to the movie, and, at least in my case, I was right. The film was amazing.

I'm not sure I can explain you why. I can't dissect it in a technical way. The pseudo historical bits had more fantasy in them that I had expected, but on the whole they were really cool. The acting was great (Hugh Jackman was specially good on this one), and the music was heart breaking. Everything was fantastic, but I'm not sure it was just that. The film just spoke to me.

It spoke to me about death, love, and all the things that have ever worried me. And by that I mean, the things that have ever REALLY worried me in my life.

I've always thought that death was terrible. I still do (in certain way). Death comes to us all, and empties us, it transforms us from mighty, wonderful beings filled with the endless magic of possibility to pale, inert things. That's it. Through death we become just things. Lifeless, static.
Devoid of anything.

On the other side of the equation, for me there's always been love. If mortality is the force that pushes us to the lowliest state of being: inert matter, love is its opposite. Love draws us to the highest, noblest state the human being can reach. Love is the ultimate spiritual alchemy, it refines us from lead to gold, from human to more than human.

I guess that love & death have always been my two life defining obsessions. "Eros & Thanathos" like the greeks would have said.

Well, "the Fountain" was a movie made by someone who had the very same obsessions. It was like speaking to a soul-mate. As my gorgeous companion put it: the film was like a mirror, depending on what was inside of you, you could see more or less things in it.

I think she's right. It's probably a difficult movie, but one from which you can extract very meaningful things if you stop to listen. Even if it's just for a second.

I really can't help but to recommend the journey.

"Pi" left me deeply disturbed, "Requiem for a Dream" left me depressed, but "The Fountain"... It made me, think, hope, despair, love and cry.