chrisfree

A video of his life

www.joost.com/33l9183/t/A-Life-of-My-Choice

and some of the pictures he took

www.prm.ox.ac.uk/ThesigerWeb/index.htm

We got to see quite a few movies recently so here's a little rundown on them:

Mongol : An absolutely stunning masterpiece which had one minor fault; that being a short sex-scene. There wasn't much to see and it gave absolutely nothing to the movie. Amazing panoramas and soem very deep thoughts thread through the movie.

The Indy movie: The fan-side of our group loved it, I can't stand Harrison Ford. Saying that it was somewhat enjoyable and it's worth at least one watching if you have the time and money even if you're not even a fan.

The Forbidden Kingdom: A bit below-standard action-comedy featuring the two badest asses from kungfu cinema. Faultless rhythm but try to watch it with subtitles as some characters have a bit of an accent. Sparrow is quite hard to catch most of the time. Humour, bangbang, immortals... Recommended for fans but enjoyable for others too.

The Dark Knight: Total crap. Alright, almost total. The not total bit belonged to ex-druggie Ledger's Joker which was so awesome it was disturbing. This actually stand for almost every scene in it and I join the whiners wondering how this movie got away with a 12A rating. Ok, no blood but with the disturbing bits it shouldn't have gone below 15. Anyway, crap storyline, crap acting, crap Batman. I know I'm going against a flood of popular opinion, but...

The Mummy 3: ... we actually very much liked this movie. Maria's portrayal of Evie was quite satisfactory for me and even my huge-mummy-fan friend was alright, even if not in love with her. He liked the childishness of the other movies, I had no problem with the more of a grown-up style. We laughed a lot, the plot was good, the yetis a bit questionable, Michele Yeoh still fantastic and Jet Li... well. Perhaps not the best cast in this role but we love him still. Of course, the picture was excellent, considering that both my friend and I love mountains.

The X-files movie: Well, they wanted to believe, and we couldn't our eyes. It's nothing but a feature-length episode. I thought it a bit shallow, but then I've never been an x-files fan. I hardly saw any of the tv-series episodes. It's an ok movie, but mainly for fans. Not much worth the bother, even though the main actors are great. They were also greatly wasted here.

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I think I won't be able to catch Gone Baby Gone but going to see Mamma Mia on Wednesday. ABBA songs and Pierce Brosnan - with Meryl Streep and Mr Firth can only be another dose of harmless fun. And I still want to see The Other Boleyn Girl. My favourite of all palaces in Britain, Hampton Court, has some of the dresses from the movie on display and this year they are concentrating on Henry VIII. Which reminds me that I took a considerable amount of unauthorised photographs inside the palace, got even caught once. :) They'll be up in the album sooner or later.

Quality reporting from the BBC...

I'm on holiday from tomorrow for two weeks.

Found a funny article in Rolling Stone.

A Star Wars mother's plight.

After more than 18 months of inconvenient injuries - pinched muscle in neck, deep cut of hand, spraining of toe and low iron/haemoglobin in blood - I seem to be finally back on track physically and it gives me immense pleasure. There are a few bumps on the way however. :-D

Friday I went jogging in the park, which is just a minute's walk behind the house because the weather finally has been wonderful, and managed to jog about 30 mins. Uphill included.

Feeling happy about myself, I decided to go for a 30-km walk on Saturday in the countryside, which has also been neglected a lot in the past year. My masochist tendencies decided on a route with lot of hills and when encountering sandy paths I'd dig my feet just to make those leg muscles work. Result: loads of foreign material in boots. By noon I started to get dehydrated and tired and from then on things weren't so great. I managed to kick every sticking-out stone and tree root with my injured toe and now it's swollen again.

On Sunday I could hardly get out of bed and I was limping all the way there and back again to the farmer's market. Not to mention the blisters. Just 3 on my left foot, 2 at the heels, one on the sole. So I swapped my Sunday training for Wednesday. So today and Thursday will be exercise and Wednesday and Sunday too. Tuesday I'll get my hands painted with mehndi and Thursday is also the study day for the healthcare assistant course. Saturday I think I'll be studying.

That's for now. The sun will be shining for at least another week and I'll be enjoying my new-found active life. Yippie.

154 words

Speed test

Ok, not really. :-D

After all these years my boss somehow managed to persuade me to start a healthcare course. Of all the not-so-interesting things we're going to learn one thing really captured my imagination: the heart and the process of ecg. There are some amazing pictures and articles out there but have a look at how National Geographic has run with it. Lots of interactive stuff for the interested layman.

Almost a month ago when I was turned away from my 30th blood donor session due to low haemoglobin and iron I was but a shadow of my usual self. Tired, exhausted and knackered by 10 o'clock in the morning I was thinking of depression. Two bloodtests and a week later I decided on one-month course of iron tablets. Well, I lasted until Thursday. Regular abdominal pain in the morning didn't help me stick with ferrous sulphate. My Polish colleague said that she can't take any supplements made in Britain because she gets the same cramps.

On the good side however, after a week of taking the tablets my energy levels went back to my normal enthusiastic, not-enough-hours-in-a-day attitude. Just to reassure myself I'll retake my bloodtests and will beg myself back to give blood. After the failed session I received a letter from them informing me that I can't go back for a year. Right.

On the better side I have not missed my trainings in the last two weeks and have enjoyed taking part thoroughly once again. That is going to change for tomorrow and Monday however, because...

... of the snooker finals. If you're a snooker fan and have missed yesterday's session between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry you have missed something you'll regret for the rest of your life. Hendry had been on wonderful form all throughout the pre-semifinals and got my hopes high because he was really focused and you could have written zen books about his face and attitude.

On the other line we were also enthusiastically watching O'Sullivan whose greatest disadvantage against his opponents and generally himself was intemperate perfectionism. Even during this championship he'd bang his cue or hand against the table when he missed. A big disappointment for myself was that Hendry and O'Sullivan were pitted against each other in the semi-finals instead of the finals but man, we got what we wanted!

The first session was really tight, both of them winning 4 frames on Thursday. Friday morning Hendy had not managed to win a single frame. When he made a mistake Ronnie was there and took everything to his advantage making breaks so effortlessly you were wondering if Hendry was there just to give another famous name to the session. They finished 12-4 to O'Sullivan. The evening session was not much of an improvement for Hendry unfortunately. I felt really badly for him because he was on great form and you couldn't fault him on anything. But when a focused Ronnie O'Sullivan is there to show the perfection he always aimed for even Hendry couldn't do anything about that.

In the 22nd frame Ronnie had TWO outragous flukes even he raised his eyebrows and when on the 23rd frame Hendry had a chance to nick the frame by the last black and missed it we saw the most wonderful thing about sport: sportmanship. Instead of letting O'Sullivan pot the black he walked up to him and congratulated him warmly on an extraordinary performance.

Today I feel a bit sad for Hendry, wonderful for Ronnie and privileged to have witnessed such an effortless game from the latter. I was sitting all through the games yesterday thinking, THIS is how it should be played and was constantly asking myself during the haze of magice, why can't all the pros be this perfect. Of course the answer is that because it's not that easy a game at all. And also today I started the day waking up feeling rested for the third time in a row and heard Dhoom Tanna on the street. Somebody must be annoying their neighbours early. :-D

So to end this post watch the silliest item song 'Dhoom Tanna'* from the Hindi blockbuster 'Om Shanti Om' which is a beautifully crafted spoof of some of Bollywood most ridiculous story lines and stars of the past. You can't feel bad after laughing at it.



* by the way as much as I hate pink my favourite part from the song is the tennis one. It's so deliciously silly I'm having a hard time remembering anything to top that.

Of course The Crucible is still on and S. Hendry's not producing much form against Chinese Ding but for inbetween breaks let's just have a look at the footage of 50-years-ago when 3 women decided to go and take a walk in The Himalayas.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1358314062/bclid1364243001/bctid1514307392

Of course, we mustn't forget that the snooker world championships are being held in Sheffield at The Crucible.

Taken from Leo, because I don't have time anyway. :-D

1. The phone rings, who do you want it to be?

I don’t want the phone to ring. Bother me not.

2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart?

Yep.

3. If you had to kiss the last person you kissed, would you?

Yep.

4. Do you take compliments well?

Not really. Depends on who, when, where and why says it.

5. Do you play Sudoku?

Sudoku was a puzzle played in Hungary for long and long before it became an international hit and I always loved it. I’m not interested in ‘cracking it’ because it’s one of those fun, mindless games that you can play when you don’t want to do anything else. Alas, I don’t have much time to play nowadays.

6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness would you survive?

Depends where and when? I’d never survive in snow but I would be alright in some parts of Scotland.

7. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you would save?

My laptop. Apart from that everything I own is precious so I’d probably be heartbroken if a fire did happen.

8. Who do you text the most?

No favourite person. Just when really needed.

9. Favorite children's book?

’Mindennapra egy mese.’ Title translated as ‘One tale for every day’. A collection of 365 tales in one book. Another favourite of mine was also the Hungarian translation of ‘Arabian Nights’. In Hungary it was called ‘The most beautiful tales of a 1001 nights’. Simply magic.

10. Eye colour?

Brown

11. How tall are you?

160 cm, 5’3”.

12. If you could do it over again, start from scratch, would you?

Not again... and again... and again...

13. Any secret admirers?

Not known. And I hope they stay unknown, if any.

14. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden?

The what?

15. Favorite ex?

History has no emotion.

16. Where was the furthest place you traveled?

Japan from London.

17. Do you like mustard?

English mustard. Nice and strong. Dijon mustard is an acceptable condiment. Mustard is good.

18. Do you prefer to sleep or eat?

Eat.

19. Do you miss anyone?

I am not a sociable person but I miss the most wonderful person I ever met on this Earth, my great grandmother. No second chance though. :(

20. Can you do splits?

Yep.

21. What movie do you want to see right now?

Wanted

22. What did you do for New Year's Eve?

Living my social life. Khm. ;-)

23. Do you think The Grudge was crappy?

The what?

24. Do you own a camera phone?

I own a camera and a camera phone. Latter is good quality for the occasional snap.

25. Was your mom a cheerleader?

She’s dead. Can’t really say anything not nice about her now.

26. What's the last letter of your middle name?

A

27. Are you Hispanic?

No

29. Do you like Care Bears?

What?

30. What do you buy at the movies?

Salt popcorn and drinks. Dunno why, they cost more than the ticket. But then fortunately I hardly ever get to the cinema.

31. Do you know how to play poker?

No.

32. Do you wear your seatbelt?

Always.

33. Anything big ever happen in your city?

Where I was born is a historical place of some sort, the next town had a garrison, the town where I grew up was visited by Gagarin, the Hungarian capital Budapest had an uprising in 1956 and one of my ancestors was the city captain apparently. He married a prostitute. Now I live in London, UK. I think nothing of importance ever happens here. :D :D :D :D :D

34. Is your hair straight or curly?

As a general rule it’s straight but when I was 14 the hairdresser – wretched – left in the perm for a 1.5 hours and my hair was curly for about 6 years after that. I never lived it down.

35. Are your ears pierced?

Since age 2.

36. Do you like liver and onions?

Liver: puke, onion: garlic rulez

37. Do you like funny or serious people better?

Like Leo, I like smart people.

38. Ever been to L.A.?

What? Me? On American soil?!

39. Who is on your mind right now?

Me, myself and I. I need to study.

40. Any plans for tonight?

Study, laundry, dinner, ironing, filling out warden report, cooking for tomorrow.

41. What’s your favorite song at the moment?

Not been listening to music for a while. Shame.

42. Do you hate chocolate?

Negative emotions towards chocolate and I do not live in the same universe.

43. What do you and your parents fight about the most?

Since both being dead, nothing anymore. While they were alive I suppose it was about my dad not paying my mom childcare.

44. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy?

Not at all.

45. How do you feel about your most current ex?

Until about 1,5 year ago I would have put a knife in him without a second thought. Now his existence does not even register in my mind.

46. Easy to get along with?

Not at all.

47. What is your favorite time of day?

Mornings. I mean really early mornings. 6 a.m. to start climbing a mountains is a start to a perfect day.

48. Are you generally a happy person?

Content, more like.

49. What’s your favorite card game?

I don’t even remember if I can play card games any more. Snooker.

50. What book are you reading right now?

Level 3 NVQ in Health, Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett, The Buddha and his teachings, Dhammapadda, Ki in Daily Life by Koichi Tohei. It may not count as books by I’m also reading several laws and regulations relating to my daily work, at present them being health and safety, and confidentiality.

... because by the look of it if I'm not with the right in Hungary defending our territories taken away by Trianon and don't oppose with all my heart the Socialist Party, by all that reasoning I must be a bloody Communist. Let it be then. This is for the memory of the Soviets. They lived, believed and died just like anybody else on this earth. Their policies were crap but we are just serving a different evil.

Many of the Soviet songs sounded beautiful and fun in choir. I hope one day, just like Hungarians got over the "dreadful" Turkish invasion for all those 150 years, they'll get over the Soviets too. Peace comes from our hearts.

I read a passing mention of Paul Potts in the newspaper today and following it up it turned out he was a big winner of a British talent show - excuse the ignorance, I don't watch TV. Found his audition for the show on YouTube and the video is wonderful in many ways.

1. For an untrained singer he can sing.
2. He has humble background and he seems a real humble man.
3. He's a totally ordinary guy.
4. Who managed to wow Simon Cowell.
5. Watch the expression of the judges when he says he came to sing opera. Total dismay. The Paul opens his mouth to sing and everyone is awed.

Just for the last reason it's enough to see the video. You can find him winning the semi finals and finals videos on YouTube as well with some comments pitting him against the 'adorable' 6-year-old Connie. Personally, even though not being qualified to judge people on their singing talents, just because someone is adorable it doesn't make them capable of singing. Only watch Connie's videos of 'Over the Rainbow' if you suffer from cute-withdrawal.



p.s. I love when he says to the judges, 'To sing opera' on questioned why he came. So unassuming, set to be publicly humiliated, even the judges thought, 'Gosh, I'm gonna die here'. This story is a common man's dream come true. Truly fair-tale material.

p.p.s. I am happy to have found this story because apparently in the new show a young boy will appear who's a choir boy and has been bullied by his peers for that. Blast, newspapers should be full of such brave people like them.

ABC News must be having a slow-news day to report on this morally useless research by nothing-else-to-do so-called scientists whose leader, Ms Puhl, believes that the non- She takes herself so seriously she spent 9 years researching her study.

Btw, Ms Puhl, nobody told you to accept that one-way-ticket to obesity, called Girl Scout cookie. I thought Yale was a respectable institution with respectably respectable scientists graduating from there.

Please, can we have more studies like this? With all the freedom of speech my ancestors gained for me I'm finding it difficult to be able to publish an opinion of mine. Oh, just remembered. There is no law for discriminating against stupid people. Ms Puhl, you're an... Bugger. There are libel laws. Nevermind. My thoughts are mine still.

Pity I don't drink. What I love about the British however is their awesomely wicked sense of humour. Here is readers' comments section to the lates global warming scare mongering article that regards a huge chunk of ice falling off somewhere north... or south? Didn't quite pay attention.

As you all know my love for Scotland I hope you'll appreciate me sharing with you one of my favourite comments from that page:

"What's the problem ? At the end of the last ice age the polar ice cap came down as far as London. Had environmental campaigners been around then I can imagine the hand-wringing cries of "If we go on like this, soon the ice caps could retreat as far north as Birmingham....". In fact, as far as I can see the retreat of the ice caps has been wholly beneficial, apart of course from the obvious drawback of uncovering Scotland.
Posted by Roberto on March 26, 2008 4:10 PM"

By the look of it the jury is still out on the whole global warming and 'green' question and I admit even I'm starting to get faintly sick by all this stuff. On the other hand, it's still nice to recycle rubbish, if not for anti-global warming but at least for those animals that die because of them. The tortoise who suffocated when chocking on a plastic bag, the birds covered in dumped oil by waterways, the fish who can't live because of the dirt in the rivers. It would be very nice to see them around for a long time.

So if you feel you are too small to make your mind up on the global warming thing, do a small thing and look after your environment. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to go out to the countryside and breath some fresh air or climb a mountain and enjoy the views and the wildlife. Thanks.

It is your solemn duty all of you to sign the petition to LucasArts to relase Force Unleashed on PC, whether you own and/or love a console. PC lovers should not be left out. Help us Gamers, you're our only hope!

http://www.petitiononline.com/g5d4iu5f/petition.html

Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor's amazing talk about explaining the process of a stroke through her personal experience. You can see how the brain works. Literally.

I have started gathering information for my journal for the Japan trip I did in September last year. Here is a literal taster, the link to the restaurant where I had the bestest of the bestest meal of my life so far. Rokusei is the name but I doubt you'll have much luck reading this website if you don't read Japanese. So to help you find it here is an English link to the place. It IS an exclusive restaurant but as long as you don't look like a homeless person you shouldn't have a problem getting a table. I did. Service was extremely helpful even though they didn't speak much English. More in the journal but until then, if you're in Kyoto make the trip to the Budo Center, Rokusei is a minute's walk from there. They have seasonal menu so you won't have what I had, but just point at the most expensive set menu and you won't be disappointed. It was cca 10,500 yen, about 55 British pounds. In experience, it was priceless.

I've been thinking of putting together a series on the (un)funny side of our dealings with the PCT/NHS (that's the British National Health Service and it's local authority the Primary Care Trust for you). Just haven't decided the format yet.

Hopefully I've kept our correspondence sometime around January about the meaning of the word cumulative. It surely is one of the best. Best as in saddest, iq-less-est, stupidest, "is-this-what-i'm-paying-my-tax-for"-est.

Speaking of the latter, there SHOULD be a way to make all parliamentary members accountable with their public incomes, be it our own parliaments or that useless, good-only-for-giving-me-grey-hair bunch, the European Parliamentary members. I wish there was a real chance of making the European Parliament never-to-have-happened and impossible-to-happen.

I read some reports on how school teachers are forced to take over in loci parenting for mainly single-parent families and the strain it causes. That article also mentioned the ideal school size in terms of pupils: 500. I'm wondering where our bright Brent Councillors lost their minds when they decided to give building permission for a 1500-pupil school (the present govt likes to call them academies. don't ask) in the middle of Wembley at the biggest and most important and most clogged up junction?

As if John Kelly's (Neasden school with the most infamous kids in town only second probably to Peckham) wasn't enough every day on public transport.

Somewhat connecting to this was another article I read about another bright member of our realm planning a mile-high tower in the middle of London - oh, the pain - to be the centre hub for schools, hospitals, hotels, etc, etc, etc. With the expected human turnover of I think 50 or 500 thousand people a day. Geniuses. Now just imagine on top of that the destruction it would cause on collapsing.

Speaking of which reminds me that London and most of England is in the grip of some gale force winds as part of some current coming over from the Atlantic. We have witnessed some pretty "extreme" weather.

Our new place is still very much beautiful. I love it.