Star Trek Into Darkness

Posted on 2013-05-24 by gigi

Yeah… I did it again. I went to see a movie and didn’t check if The Monster (aka Lindelof) was writing it. I know… I’m an idiot.

What I hated about the movie:

- The USS Enterprise is to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before NOT to go on manhunts;
- No coherent dialogs;
- No purpose;
- No story;
- No ideas;
- The horrible 3D – DOF in 3D, really?

What I liked about the movie but wasn’t enough:

- The brilliant actors;
- The shiny pictures when unspoiled by the horrible 3D.

What I would like to say to JJ Abrams:

- Dude…
- Just keep to original scripts – Cloverfield was okay;
- 3D sucks balls;
- Stop using The Monster;
- Really. Quit that.

I give it one star and it’s all for the actors and the director that made a visual silk purse from a writing sow’s ear.

The Book Of Mormon musical

Posted on 2013-04-10 by gigi

I’m fascinated with religions.
Of all the ones out there, the Mormons (LDS Church) is probably on my top three. I fell head over heals in awe with these guy’s beliefs since the beginning of the amazing HBO series Big Love. I knew about The Church before but I just started research on them after the show premiered in 2006.

When in 2010 I heard the guys from South Park were doing a musical about Mormons I knew I had to see it.

Finally in 2013 they opened a production in London and with a little theatre-ninja-power-voodoo by our friend CC we got tickets and got to see it at the Prince of Wales Theatre last week.

It was F.E.N.O.M.E.N.A.L.!

The writing, the music, the actors, the musicians, the stage, the theatre, the sound. So perfect. I couldn’t stop laughing but then in some parts I almost cried and then laughed again.
They are funny without being offensive (to an agnostic, at least) and I recommend the show to anyone that is able to go see it. It’s worth it!

Here is the opening song sang at the opening of the Tony Awards 2012:

And this is one of the songs of the second half of the show – performed at the Tony Awards 2011:

These are the only videos I could find. The show is a thousand times better than these videos but you get the idea.

BookOfMormonLondon.com

Black Swan [2010]

Posted on 2012-06-9 by gigi

I know I’m (very, very) late but I finally watched Black Swan and loved it.

Natalie Portman once again surpasses my expectations.
Brilliant atmosphere and interesting storyline.
Professional ballerinas are fascinating by themselves. Add to that the magnificent Tchaikovsky music, a beautiful cast of girls and a nice story about lack of mental health and this is what you get. A very entertaining and somewhat sad one hour and forty five minutes.

87% on Rotten Tomatoes and worth it.

My top iPad apps links

Posted on 2012-05-23 by gigi

Ongoing list.

Kindle – ebook reader – Free

I used to prefere the iBooks app, but I feel that Kindle serves me better. You can lend most books you buy to friends (for fourteen days) and you don’t have the skeuomorphic “wood” bookshelf. A big problem for me is still the organisation of my library. I have around sixty books in it and I get lost all the time. I’m yet to find a good alternative, though.

FlickStackr – Great app to browse Flickr
- Free trial available (limited browsing)

You can browse your photostream, edit your photos (title, groups, sets, etc..) reply, post and read comments, view recent activity, view your contacts’ photos full screen, browse through their photostream, collections, etc., explore, upload, search and more.

ShopShop – Shopping List – Free

With this free app you can sync your shopping list between the iPad and the iPhone.
I was searching for an app like this for a long time. There are lot’s of shopping list apps out there but this one is the one for me.
Every time you insert a new item it get’s stored in a database so you can browse it later and just add it again when you need to buy it again.

Reeder – RSS Reader for iPhone and iPad

This is not a free app but trust me, all others I’ve tried suck. This RSS reader syncs with your Google Reader information and it’s great to use.

imo – Instant messenger – Free

Add all the instant messenger applications you use in one single app: Skype, Facebook, MSN, Gtalk, Yahoo!, AOL/ICQ, Jabber, etc..

Ripplr – Tumbler editor – Free

Post on your Tumbler, browse your dashboard, reblog and “love” as you browse. Very convenient if you have a Tumbler.

Paper – Beautiful sketch tool – Free but you can buy more “pens”.

Games

Mahjong Towers

The best Mahjong game for iPad.

Big Fish Games

This company let’s you try a all of their games for free. That way you know if you like it or not. I’ve bought a few. My favorite are the “hidden object” ones. Kind of an adventure style game with puzzles.

Fairway Solitaire

A solitaire game of cards good to clear the mind.

–
Disclaimer – This is my opinion as a user. I’m not being payed in any way by making these reviews. I just like the damn apps.

The Hurt Locker

Posted on 2012-04-30 by gigi

I didn’t know anything about the movie apart from the fact that it was about the Iraq War and that it had 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Telmo suggested we see it yesterday and I’m so glad that he did.

It’s a nail biting, nerve recking, OMG OMG, kind of movie. Much like a japanese horror movie (or so I’m told – I don’t watch horror movies) in the sense that it’s a relentless stress.

I loved it. Perfect writing, sets, acting, story line, whatever… Perfect.

If you loved “Generation Kill“, the brilliant HBO mini series about the invasion of Iraq, you will love this movie.

Here’s the trailer:

Selling contact lenses online – This is how it’s done!

Posted on 2012-04-18 by gigi

A while back I posted a big rant in portuguese about a terrible experience I had in an online shop for contact lenses.
The skinny:

I ordered my regular lenses prescription, they fucked up, I wrote several e-mails to them and they where less than comunicative. After several months they found my package in their warehouse and decided to pay me back by paypal like I sold them something, making me loose money to paypal fees. I didn’t even pay my order though paypal. They just took my e-mail and sent the money without telling me. A horrible, horrible experience. My advice is DO NOT BUY from Optica Iberica!

Meanwhile, yesterday I ordered another set of lenses from lenstore.co.uk and they gave me the following shipping date:

Expected shipping date: Today
Expected delivery date(s): Monday, 23rd April 2012 to Tuesday, 24th April 2012

Today I received this e-mail:

Dear Ms Francisco,

Thank you for your recent order.

I am sorry to report that there has been a slight delay in us receiving your prescription from xxxxx, and we are expecting your lenses to arrive here by Friday 20th April.

Please accept this 10% discount code to use with your next order: XXXXXX (valid to 18/04/2013)

If you are in a rush to get your lenses, I will be happy to upgrade you free of charge to Special Delivery, which is guaranteed to arrive with you by 1 pm the day after dispatch.

Please do let me know if this would be helpful to you.

Kind regards,
xxxx

The verdict is still out on the shop since the order is not yet completed but just for this e-mail I’m betting I’ll be a client for life. I’ll keep you posted.

PS – The problem is not if shit happens. Shit will happen. The problem is how you handle it.

—

[Edit - 24-04-2012:] Just got the package from lenstore.co.uk. It was right on time of their first estimate. What a great service!

PS II – Nobody payed me to say any of these things. I know no one in any of these stores. I’m just a regular customer making a review.

2009 Review

Posted on 2009-12-31 by gigi

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

2009 started in Portugal and ends now in Cambridge with a promise of Paris. It was a year of change(s) and it doesn’t end here.

I wish you all a great new years eve and that 2010 brings all you hope for and some good surprises as well!

—

2009 começou em Portugal e acaba agora em Cambridge com um pézinho em Paris. Foi um ano de mudança(s) e não acaba(m) por aqui.

Desejo-vos uma óptima passagem de ano e que 2010 vos traga tudo o que desejam e para além disso boas surpresas!