Monday, December 29, 2014

The De'il Among the Tailors



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZwR9Zs4DF0

Actually, this is the same video twice. When you get tired of the strange moving of the frame,
you can click the link for a more peaceful video.

Mountain climbers called Warren.


Mountain in Switzerland





I did this in another blogg as I found out that many mountain climbers were called Warren, it was either the first or second name.

Warren and climbing

Posted on September 11, 2006 at 2:00 PM
 
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It is interesting, how many there are, with Warren either for the first or the last name, who are either climbing or otherwise connected with climbing. There is the amazing Warren MacDonald climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with no legs, but there are many more/
Look for part two of Warren Clements'

Marlin Integrated Capital Holdings Sponsors Kilimanjaro climb to aid Tibetan charity
Warren Dedrick, Chairman Marlin Holdings, today announced the Marlin Group will sponsor a high profile climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro aimed to raise funds to support sustainable development in the Kham region of Western China. Kham Aid is the designated charity
Warren MacDonald,  amputee to reach the summit of Africa's tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro. ...
chiropractor Timothy Warren    Mount Everest    so far he has climbed three of the world's seven summits - Mount McKinley in Alaska, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and Mount Aconcagua in Argentina.
Warren Wolstencroft  Warren lost part of his arm to cancer but doesn't wear a prosthetic limb. Warren is trekking up Kilimanjaro for charity in July 2006.
At the same time a filming team from Warren Miller Films under the direction of Chris Patterson was on the mountain with EWP making a documentary on a ski and snowboard descent of Elbrus
The second large event in the Kilimanjaro record began as an abrupt 18O depletion at ~6.5 ka ... AT Grove and A. Warren, Geogr. J. 134, 194 (1968) [ISI]. ...

Climb Kala Pattar and/or Ascend to Mt. Everest Base Camp Sep 30 - Oct 21 (Sat-Sat); Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb with optional safari Jan 3-22

Christopher T. Warren - Filmography, Awards, Biography, Agent, Discussions, ... Summits (Mount Kosciuscko in Australia and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania

Adventurer Warren Jansen of Jekyll Island returns from his ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro August 29 - September 6.
Outside of his practice, Mr. Warren was a soccer coach for several years and remains an avid cyclist and runner, having competed successfully in several duathalons and marathons, including three Calgary Marathons, the 1998 World Endurance Duathalon and six Boston Marathons, the latest one in 2003. In 2004, he and his family huffed and puffed their way to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Kenneth J. Warren
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  , daughter and man standing. with Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background. ... Kilimanjaro. Mary Warren and daughter

CPA runners find faith, hope in Africa
JESSICA HOPP
Tennessean Staff Writer
Standing atop Mt. Kilimanjaro, it is easy to forget what lies below.
Fifteen thousand feet above the arid plains of Tanzania, what little breath the lungs hold can get swept away by splendor and accomplishment.
Paul and Eddy Warren have been there.
The Christ Presbyterian athletes have traveled through the equatorial jungle and along glacier-eroded mountainsides. With the stamina and determination of life-long runners, they scaled Africa's highest peak. They understand what it means to be on top of the world.
But they have also been below the clouds where breathtaking beauty is replaced by a war-torn and poverty-stricken landscape.
For the Warrens, Africa is not just a place to vacation
Some people come out on top, no matter what they do. Like our Chief Magistrate JudgeWarren P. Davis, who, among other honors, has received the William McMahon Award from the American Bar Association and the "Man of the Year" award from La Vision, a bilingual newspaper. 
And even when it comes to giving excuses, he tops anything I've ever heard. Last February, when I was recruiting readers for Dr. Seuss' birthday, I called Judge Davis, expecting him to read as usual. (I volunteer to do this so when I write my poem, I know I'll have names that rhyme with something.) 
Anyway, Judge Davis declined because he?d be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro that day. And it wasn't something he'd come up with at the last minute. He'd worked long and hard on this one. 
"Selecting a training regime was difficult," Judge Davis said. "The first Web sites I reviewed contended that Kilimanjaro climbers must be able be to run at least six miles in 48 minutes. With that information, I did the only thing that a prudent AARP member could do. I looked for other Web sites with less rigorous requirements." 
He and his wife, Elizabeth Belden, began training in October for their March climb up the world's highest free-standing mountain, which at 19,340 feet, would be like a dozen Stone Mountains piled on top of each other. 
Warren Ferguson and friends will fly to Africa to climb Mr. Kilimanjaro, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world.
Hey, you're only as old as you think and feel. I hike and climb sometimes with folks in their 70s and 80s. One fellow, Warren, organizes hikes up Kilimanjaro, in Nepal, lots of other places, and as tour leader, is right up there at the front of the group, and that's at 83 or 84.
Welcome to the Adventures of
Dr. Tim Warren
CLIMBING TO THE TOP
MOUNT EVEREST
SUMMIT OF ASIA
8,848 METERS (29,028 FEET)*

Aconcagua, normal route, mid-January 1991: All 11 members of our Mountain Travel team summitted. Head guide was Ricardo Torres-Nava; other members were Beth Baker, Sid Bronstein, Dan Bronstein, James Chandler, Tommy Cary, Lowell Hill, Paul Morrow, Wayne Oldenburg, Dan Warren, and yours truly
Toby Warren - Africa & Australia Expert 
Toby was brought up in Kenya and at a young age gained a passion for travelling. After climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro when he was sixteen he went on to help manage a fishing lodge on the shores of Lake Victoria, hitch hike barefoot through sub-Saharan Africa and spent a year working and guiding in Kenya as part of his university degree.
.
That's been a passion for the Desais since the mid-1980s, when they decided to walk every day for a year, in order to ascend 19,340-foot Mount Kilimanjaro on the Kenya-Tanzania border. Apparently, this fitness regimen had been avidly pursued by all present -- including Warren Stockman of Palo Alto, who at 74 was the oldest strider present. The group nailed the 2,800 foot summit of Black Mountain in just two hours and 25 minutes. Then they dropped down the back side, so they could hike back up and add another 500 feet of vertical to the day's total.

Editors note: Yosemite climbing legend Warren Harding passed away Feb 27, 2002. He will be sorely missed




Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Some reviews of "The Tourist"

mirror

The Tourist Poster.jpg

 The first photo has nothing to do with the film except there is water like Venice has water.
I just happened to have the TV on showing the film ”The Tourist” from 2012. It did not get good reviews from the critics, even Ebert, who I usually trust, did not think much of it. Yet quite a lot of people seemed to have seen it and had enough interest  in it to want to write a review. There were 360 of them on 37 pages, I was one of them, it is my first on IMb?? Even The Ghost with Patrick Swayze had only 243 (25 pages)
Here is one of the positive ones, I love it:
Ignore the trailers... and the critics. This isn't a thriller, and it never tries to be. It is, wholeheartedly, a comedy. Anyone who missed that must have been watching a different film, because it's funny - in fact, it's hysterical. But not because it's "so bad it's good". No, it's totally intentional. The lines are funny, the pauses are funny, the actors are funny... it's like a younger, slightly subtler, Venetian version of Red. What's not to like? 

We're all used to seeing Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in dramatic roles - Finding Neverland, Public Enemies, The Changeling, A Mighty Heart... and it's so easy to forget that they can be funny. But they are, both of them. Johnny shines, as he always does. Angelina Jolie looks glorious, and when she smiles, the screen lights up. They don't have chemistry, critics say. Oh yes, they do, I say. More importantly, they seem to be enjoying themselves.
Johnny's Frank is delightful, touching and slightly mysterious. He has endless room to play around, and makes Frank memorable, and lovely, as only Johnny can. Angelina's role is more limiting, but she still makes it fresh and - yes - deeply amusing, parodying both herself and the genre in general. Watching her saunter around on her high heels, one can't help but recall what James Bond used to be like. This isn't Wanted or Salt: she has far more to do here than look cryptic and shoot people, and she does it very well.

Add to that the utterly magnificent Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton, a few stereotypically dim Russian gangsters (they speak actual Russian, for once, and their funniest lines aren't subtitled) and Rufus Sewell, and there's no way you can go wrong.
Yes, there's a twist at the end - a twist that seemed to annoy most people. But does that take away from the film? No! It adds to it, because it's just so obvious, and natural, that it's all the funnier for it. 
This isn't an intellectual film. Nor does it try to be. It's a romp, a fun romp with two beautiful, endlessly talented actors, set in a beautiful city (which is shot so beautifully that it becomes like a separate character). So who cares how intellectual it is? This is a film that's genuinely entertaining, from start to finish. And if it's snowing where you are, you'll certainly appreciate the sunshine. Give it a chance!
I think the person had the right idea of the film. I must say I injoyed it so I did not even wish to look for faults.
Here is one reason people disliked it. Maybe I should be happy I have not seen this:
”This movie is an almost word for word copy of the original french movie Anthony Zimmer. Even the characters names are similar:Alexander Pierce/Anthony Zimmer.”
Similar? Because both first names start with A?
”  I wasn't disappointed with the ending. I thought they could have cleaned up Depp's mustache and beard a little, and the whole time I wanted to take little scissors and snip the little hairs that were oddly hanging over his upper lip, only about two under each nostril. Needless to say, this bothered me and took away from the movie. I thought it was funny how in the beginning Jolie sauntered toward the café in her prim and proper dress, the way she shook her hips because she knew the police were watching her.”
Heh heh, I noticed that too but it did not bother me too much. Maybe it was the reason that for a few minutes I was not sure it was Depp, something was missing or in this case, there was something too much.
Now for the negative ones:
”This is one of the worst films I have ever seen. Simple as that! However, submitting a review dictates that I have to contribute a minimum of 10 lines of text so I shall expand a little. The plot is utter nonsense from start to finish. The writing is akin to something I used to produce in school when I was 9 .The acting is atrocious and that is by EVERYBODY in the cast. The direction is a cross between bad Bond and a Carry On film. Apparently this film was nominated for 3 golden globes - I guess it's not what you know...... Avoid this film like the plague - its 103 minutes of your life that you'll never get back!”
Never get back? You never get anything of it back whether it is good or bad. Also, he must have been quite a precocious child.
”A complete turkey. Trying to be Hitchcock - the innocent charmer gets tangled in an international gangster vendetta - but for goodness' sake, the action sequences are like slow-motion sports replays, and the romantic scenes are like adverts for discount furniture stores. Johnny Depp is supposed to be smitten by Angelina Jolie but looks more like he's smitten by diazepam, and Angelina Jolie looks like a Thunderbird puppet, only less animated and more wooden. Steven Berkoff gives us a new rhyming slang word, and the whole thing comes across as a 50 million dollar Ferreo Rocher advert. An atrocious waste of talent, money and most of all, time. Don't add yours to the pile of detritus.”
I really pity this person for not getting anything out of  it though he is right that  some of it imitates Hitchcock.

And this is the right way to view it:

This is an entertaining, light-hearted film with brilliant visuals and great character acting: Angelina a mysterious nymph and Johnny as a bumbling tourist. Don't take it too seriously. It's a laugh. Enjoy :)”

I agree with the following though it goes a little to the other extreme.

”Oh my... This movie is so beautiful and charming! Put Deep and Angelinain one film, and Paris and Venice, can't be wrong. "The Tourist" is funny, sexy and very intriguing. You really want know what happened with Alexander Pierce and why Elise get involved with he. Johnny is brilliant, but Angelina Jolie is very hot! It time she return in a part sexy and provocative. And "Elise" is a different character for Angie, she is a lady, very elegant, quiet. Very different of Lara Croft, Jane Smith, Fox, Evelyn... Also, the movie's landscapes are lush! I confess: i don't expecting a great movie, or great history, but this movie surprised me. Really this movie don't is "movie for Oscar®", but he fulfill its duty: Guaranteed fun!”
The following three , again I am sorry for them. But Leslie Nielsen? That is going too far! But at least we go from a 9 years old to a college student.
”How bad is it? It "reads" like a Leslie Nielsen thriller parody. Wait... and even as a parody it wouldn't work.

”If I knew better I would think the script was written as an exercise by a 1st year student in some community college in Oklahoma.”

”I'm devastated. This has ruined "The Lives of Others" for me, which up until two hours ago was one of my favorite movies. Everybody involved with this movie shouldn't be making films.”
The Lives of Others had the same director. Difficult to follow the logic, the other film has not changed, if he liked it before why should this change it?  
The fans can go too far sometimes. It is not a bad film but not one of the best ones either.
”This movie is more a work of art than a theatric presentation. Everything is absolute perfection, from scenery, to the color of Venice's waters (idealized), to casting, to every hair in place, to superlative acting, to timing, to a perfect train ride through a impossibly lovely countryside, to scrumptious scenery throughout, to perfect accents, melodically modulated voices and soundtrack.
Angelina (Elise) has not ever looked more flawless, acted more flawlessly, while Johnny Depp (Frank quintessentially summoned his unseemly man one can't help but fall in love with. Is there a human who doesn't love Johnny Depp? I don't think so.

They are never a step out of place. Smooth as glass, crystalline as diamonds, they dance through this movie together. The direction is... flawless.
I am quite fond of Depp, but love him? Well… I loved Patrick Swayze. But  even ”The Ghost” had this review:
Horrible
Without a doubt, the worst Oscar-winning performance ever. Whoopie Goldberg is terrible in this not-very-good-movie. Watch the scene in the bank with un-sexy Patrick Swayze. If you were put in that situation would you act that way? No. You would do your best to remain calm--listening to him while paying attention to the banker. She is totally hamming it up and it doesn't work. Bad acting by a bad actress in a bad movie.




Kaisa Mäkäräinen wins again!


Photo: Iltasanomat

Kaisa Mäkäräinen took the third victory in the World Cup. She was overwhelming in Hochfilzen in Austria .On Friday,  she  had only one penalty lap and did not give opponents a chance. She defeated the second, Russian Ekaterina Glazyrinan by as much as 34.4 seconds. The third was a French Anais Bescond. Finns have been so bad in wintersports for a few years now that I am afraid to watch competitions, but I trust Mäkäräinen so I watched EuroSport today. She has just been recovering from flu, so she said she only skied as much as was necessary. Yet  I watched her arriving in the finish with a smile and a victory wave, while the next four fell down after crossing the finish line.

After five individual competitions, the balance is staggering: 3 wins and a second and third place. 31-year-old Mäkäräinen has  now won 12 World Cup competitions.

 Mäkäräinen leads the overall competitions in the World Cup,  77 points ahead of Belarus Daria Domratsheva, who failed badly in pursuit (13th).

I had to get the photo from Iltasanomat again.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Christmas House

Such talented people! There was a competition in Iltasanomat, you had to make a Ginger bread house, This is just one of the gorgeous and interesting designs.



Taru

Monday, December 08, 2014

Happy Independence Day!

Yesterday was Finland's Day of Independence. In 2018 the nation will have been independent for 200 years.
In Norway the Constitution Day is in the summer, so they celebrate  dressing up in their beautifully embroidered national  costumes and school children parade past the Royal Palace while the royals stand  in the balcony for a couple of hours.
In Finland the day fall on a cold winter. Therefore there are no parades, the custom for decades has been that the nation's president gives a big party in the "President's Palace".The diplomatic corps is there of course and people who have accomplished something special, the youngest this year was only 18 and she had collected lots of money for some charity. There are politicians, artists, writers, musicians, former living presidents, all kinds of well-known people. The party is shown on the TV, it ,especially how people are dressed, is discussed in the newspapers.
There have always lately been protests, tiny demonstrations but this time it was more publicized, more people collected, some called them anarchists, lots of them wore masks. The police met them in force, they were searched coming from the metro,  even for knives.  Just in case, there were other police in whole riot gear, and it was needed, there were people who broke shop and other windows, vandalised cars,  messed up a whole metro carriage, scribbled on walls,  doors and windows. In the end  they closed them in from both sides on a street. and kept them there, letting people slowly go after searching them. The first estimation of damages was 100 000 euros.
On Saturday evening also a group (how many?) of youths attacked police in Stockholm, Sweden. At first they threw stones, then Molotov's coctails and burned at least six cars.
Finnish Iltasanomat mentions the Swedish  occasion but in the Norwegian VG I did not find any mention of the Finnish incident, maybe it was hidden somewhere.
Below you can see some people  in action. Even people taking part in the demonstration, which was to make people take heed of the plight of the poor and jobless,  did not see any point in the vandalism.

Photo: Iltasanomat
Poliisin arvion mukaan mellakat aiheuttivat 100 000 euron vahingot.

Friday, December 05, 2014

Eyelash extensions

Along Akerselva river

The photo has nothing to do with the text, except there are two windows just like there are two eyes. Many people in Norway earn good money but I still had to laugh at something I saw today. The local shopping centre  has a club that sends me information of offers. I have not money to use for non-essentials .

Today I received this: "Get gorgeous eyelashes for Christmas. Eyelash extensions for 899 (125 USD) kroner (earlier 1890 kroner - 263 USD)). Oslo skin and laser clinic".

It does not look  that they are very popular, considering the huge reduction in price.