Dexter s06e12. "This is the Way the World Ends". And everybody's jaws dropped at the end...again!

The season finale arrived and left us all with our chins cleaning the floor! Obviously, all fans will be wondering what now? I'm pretty sure the writers will come up with something as challenging and exciting as what we have seen during the last 6 seasons.  I'm thinking that since Showtime has renewed the show for two more seasons, most likely, the next two seasons will be heavily interconnected, but this is just pure speculation... . All the excitement of having two more seasons to enjoy, it is diminished by the fact that season 8 will be Dexter's final season.
In any case, Dexter is over. We have probably one whole year to think about Dexter and Deb,  how they are going to deal with the situation, and what level of weirdness will the relation between the step-siblings achieve after what Deb saw in the old church.
This season had its highs and lows, but I think they could have improve it would they had continued exploring the religious feelings of a serial killer. However, I understand this is business. To keep digging in the wound would have created some problems from people who think religion is something nobody can talk about, unless you agree with them.
Oh, one more thing to think about for the following months: what are they going to do with the psycho-intern Louis, and the ice-truck hand that by the way is still at Dexter's apartment?

Dexter s06e11. "Talk to the hand." Perfect preparation for a gripping end.

Contrary to what many 12-episodes-a-season series do, season 6 from Dexter has met all the expectations in terms of episodes' quality.  I especially detest when the weaker episode is the one before the end. Thankfully, "Talk to the hand" wasn't anything close to that. The episode had tension between the characters, as in the Batista-Quinn incident; life-risking action, as Dexter saves the entire Miami Metro from the suicide attack from Travis' crazy recruit; weird sexual content, as Deb's incestuous psychologist-induced dream takes shape; and of course, a cliffhanger that was pure madness with Dexter becoming the hunted hunter. All that among many other things, that keeps everyone in a state of nail-biting frenzy. I'm writing this a couple of hours before the season finale, and I can't wait to sit down in front of the TV...

Dexter 0610. "Ricochet Rabbit". Son, I'm coming home.

Is Dexter insisting on being a bad father? Is he just following Harry's footsteps? I see this episode as an example of what not to do as a father. Even thought, the season started as Dexter worrying about little Harry's education and Dexter's concern about his lack of religious formation, it has developed in a way in which his criminal instincts are taking over his life again. It may be Dexter's fate, but it is also definitely something about our favorite serial killer has been fighting relentlessly against since he became a father. The "code" is so imbedded in Dexter, that he must overcome any imposition to accomplish his goal of bringing justice to those for whom justice is not an option, those vicariously affected by the crimes of a serial killer such as Travis Marshall.
Dexter's father figure fails to Harry, who only receives a kiss after a whole day of work thinking about going to take care of Travis. Then, he fails to the nerd (who won't be that for too long) intern, sinking him into his own perturbed world by scolding the idea for his video game. Finally, Dexter fails to Debra too. He is not only her brother, but also a father figure for her, and maybe something else...?

Dexter 0609. "Get Gellar". The ultimate turning point until the climax?

What better turning points than Gellar and Travis becoming the former the victimized product of the latter's imagination --up to a certain extend predictable even though I admit it caught me by surprise--, and even better, Batista's sister ending up going to bed with the nerdy intern who may turn to be a paranoid serial killer! Only three episodes left, and even if they don't persue this second story further, plenty of excitement is waiting for us.
One of the crazy things about this show is how the actors or directors don't know the whole story, therefore the producers have to struggle to make things coherent with what they have in mind for the end of the season. If you haven't seen the short program that they played right after this week's episode, I encourage you to watch it at the Showtime website here.

Dexter s06e08. "Sin of Omission".

Sorry, Dexter's fans. This week I'm committing "sin of omission". Tomorrow double posting for this week's and next week's episode.

Mariano Rajoy is the new Spanish President.

That's what I'm talking when I said, they are going to need a miracle!

Elections in Spain

The conservative party has won the elections in Spain. In fact, it has not given a chance to the other "right wing" party in the country, paradoxically called Socialist Party. I want to give PP ( the winning Popular Party) a chance to prove they can change something, but to be honest, they are going to need a miracle.

Dexter s06e07. "Nebraska". A reminder of Dexter's insanity.

This series is so good that keeps the audience in a constant suspension of disbelief about Dexter's insanity. Dexter, if we think for a second, is a complete lunatic psychopath who believes he can take justice into his own hands by doing exactly the same his victims are doing... and that is precisely why we love him! We love Dexter because he makes gruesome gory killings look cool! Anything that he does is forgiven since he follows his code, Harry's code, to the extreme. The code gives him a sensation of sanity that disappears the moment that code is broken.
Trinity has come back to haunt him. Harry's code is broken, and therefore Dexter is taking a joyride with a new copilot, his brother Brian!
Dexter must restore the code to recover his stability.

Mario Vargas Llosa in St. Louis II

I have to say that the more I think about the talk by Mario Vargas Llosa with professor Olga Arbeláez, the better job I think she did. When I was there I kept complaining in my head about the lack of profundity in her questions. My colleague and fellow blogger Clarissa explains in her blog  what the "interview" consisted on. In fact, we chatted for a while after the talk, and we both agreed that professor Arbeláez could have done a better job. Every scholar there probably had the same opinion.
However, I was incredibly lucky to be invited to the cocktail that followed the talk, and there my opinion changed. As Clarissa said, "Vargas Llosa is an easy person to interview because he is a great story-teller and a skilled public speaker. In response to every question, he launches into a fascinating, detailed discussion that the audience follows with bated breath." This is the reason,many of us that were there came out of the interview a little disappointed for the simple questions, but at the same time happy to have heard the eloquence of one of the best writers alive in a language that is not his, but that he managed pretty well to deliver a highly entertaining  monologue (after each questions he gave lengthy answers full of anecdotes).
Realizing that this was a time for Mario Vargas Llosa to enjoy the prize was the biggest achievement of Dr. Arbeláez. Deeper, more complex questions (as much as I would have like them)  would have deprived the Nobel prize of delivering a joyful speech such as the one he gave us. Also, in the cocktail party I realized that basically nobody of the attendants were literature experts, and some of them hadn't read more than one book by Vargas Llosa (if they were saying the truth), so nobody complained about the questions.
Would have I enjoyed better a different set of questions? Absolutely. Did professor Olga Arbeláez fail as an interviewer? Not exactly, she just didn't do the job that we as academic nerds would have loved her to do.

Mario Vargas Llosa in St. Louis

The controversial and magnificent writer Mario Vargas Llosa visits St.Louis tomorrow to received the 2011 St.Louis Literary Award from the St.Louis University Library Associates. I will have the chance to see the 2010 Nobel Prize of Literature, and I'm planning on telling you how it went! But that will be tomorrow, or rather in a few hours!

Dexter s06e06. "Just Let Go". Impossible by nature.

Somehow, Showtime and HBO specialize in shows that take off around the middle of the twelve episode season into a downfall spiral of frenzy enjoyment. Dexter couldn't be less, and brings us in this chapter the beginning of what it appears to become the darkest Dexter ever.
Brother Sam's death, and Dexter's struggle to come to terms with the former's last desire of forgiving his killer vanishes all of the sudden when Nick (the killer) laughs when he realizes that nobody will be able to link him to Brother Sam's murder. At that time, Dexter, who is delivering the message of forgiveness, lets loose his dark passenger. Dexter (at his best) has no other option than strangle him right in the spot.
Immediately after, the voices inside Dexter's head transforms from the protective father figure to the encouraging brother one. Let's see how far he can push a Dexter in despair.

Yes, the ice truck killer is back, and now, the stealing of the hand by  Masuka's  intern starts making sense.
Masuka fired his female intern after the incident, and substituted her by the computer nerd male intern, who, nevertheless, had the honor of participating in the best delivery of the episode.
Intern (after seeing Dexter explaining Brother Sam's shooting by just looking at the blood): Wow, Dexter is fucking awesome.
Masuka: Of course, we are fucking Miami metro.

Mmm, now this sentence doesn't sound that good, I may not be remembering it exactly, but if you have seen the episode you know what I'm talking about.

Dexter s06e05. "The Angel of Death".

After a week off my Dexter's reviews, I'm back right after the episode to avoid procrastination. Last week's episode, A Horse of a Different Color, pictured a clear image of a killer dichotomy that this season wants to set. On the one hand, we have the killer who is absolutely  a-religious, whose morals are questionable, but with whom, nevertheless, everyone of us will sympathize. i.e. Dexter. On the other hand, we have Professor James Gellar, an extremely religious man, who believes is following God's directions. He will end up losing all our support, which he still may have since he is Edward James Olmos. Obviously, this dichotomy is going to develop to a more sympathetic image of the religious kind with the help of Brother Sam.
In tonight's episode, this mechanism of redemption has been set in motion at full speed right at the end of the episode, when Brother Sam is shot three times in cold blood.
This show is so amazingly crafted that we were given the chance of expecting Brother Sam's death for a while, without being an imposition on us (because you were also expecting it, weren't you?).
Going on with another thread, I'm not sure if I like too much how the sexual tension between Deb and Quinn is developing with Detective Anderson in a teaser role. However, Quinn's screw up with the ex-vampire professor is going to be fun to follow.
For the closure tonight, I have to appeal to my sadistic side, since I can avoid thinking on how much fun is going to be when Dexter put his hands on Brother Sam's shooter.  The sad thing is that we are not going to be able to enjoy Mos Def's acting (or I should say Yasiin Bey) any longer, but that's life!

St.Louis Cardinals: World Champions!

They did it, and today I'm not even questioning why they call it the World Series or why the Cardinals are the World Champions. They just are. If the Rangers would have won, this post will be longer and will try to find a reason for this bunk. Today it just makes sense. Go Cards!

Cardinals: one game away from the World Series

If all baseball games had half the intensity and quality of tonight's game, baseball wouldn't have another sport that could claim being the number one sport in the world. That, to be completely honest, if far away from happening, but if you watched last night's game I'm sure you feel like the excitement of the game makes you think baseball is the game. What the St.Louis Cardinals have done this season, independently of the final outcome, has no comparison in baseball history. After clinching the Wild Card in the last game of the season to the expense of the Atlanta Braves, the Cardianals have disposed of the Phillies and the Brewers to get to the finals against W's team the Texas Rangers. We are only a few hours away from the last game of the season, and tomorrow a huge part of the country will have its eyes focus in this great city of St.Louis, whose son David Freese gave the country the chance of enjoying the national past time for a few more hours.

Dexter s06e03. "Smokey and The Bandit"

I saw Smokey and the Bandit a life ago, so I don't remember details about it. My question is why they named the episode like that? I think it must be the writer's obsesion with the car that Batista ends up driving. Suggestions are welcome.
In this episode, Dexter identifies the Tooth Fairy serial killer, who eventually becomes his victim. This serial killer is now an old man retired in Florida, who still manage to commit his horrendous crimes, or at least try to. When Dexter finally catch him, and is about to finish him, the old guy makes Dexter think deeply about his future. Is he really going to end up as the Tooth Fairy, whom by the way used to be one of Dexter's obsessions when he was a kid. Would Dexter be a lonely old craby man unknown and ignore by everyone?
Well, if Michael C. Hall doesn't sign up for a next season we may not even discover a tiny part of Dexter's future. So far, 4 million per season is what separates the actor and Showtime which offers 20 million instead of the 24 required by Hall.
I really hope they reach an agreement soon!

Dexter s06e02. "Once upon a time..." Debra and an interesting shepherd"

Dexter is, slowly but sturdily, moving forward! After six seasons of overflowing accumulation of stunningly well-calculated plots, I am content with the way the series unveils. I would complain with any other show, but Dexter has my unconditional support to move at it's own pace. Little by little different subplots start developing toguether with the main one. Debra, Dexter's sister (and recent Michael C. Hall's ex), is experiencing a turmoil in her life. Her boyfriend, and Dexter's most dreaded officer Miami metro, Quinn proposed to her, and at the same time she is promoted, over Batista, to everybody in the department's surprise. While she refuse one, she accepts the other... guess which one!
Another exciting trend is the one about Brother Sam, a redeemed criminal, on whom Dexter is keeping an eye. Mos Def, who always deliver in whatever the role he is representing, may be reserving a surprise for us, and maybe not be as redeemed as he seems to be.

O'Hare International Airport. Only English please!

I have flown numerous times from and to O'Hare airport in Chicago. I have never had a problem, in fact, it has always been a smooth transitional airport. However, while I'm waiting for my parents to arrive from Spain, I couldn't avoid noticing something extremely surprising. There are no signs whatsoever in any other language than English. I would expect at least Spanish, and wouldn't be surprised to find more languages, as in any other decent international airport. On the other hand, I have to say that everybody that I have spoken to today have been very helpful (and I have made an effort to ask around for the simplest things to find, just to see if it worked). Also, some of the workers that I have talked to were most likely bilingual. So, if you are flying to or from O'Hare be ready to deal with some issues if you don't speak any English. However, don't be afraid to ask around, workers are nice and helpful.

Tomas Tranströmer, Nobel Prize for Literature 2012

...and obviously, the prize didn't go to Bob Dylan! The winner, Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, was totally unknown to me. For some reason, there's not many contemporary poets that I read, and that's unfortunate. I always find myself re-reading poetry rather than discovering new one. Maybe, this will be an opportunity for me to change that trend. According to the Accademy, he's been awarded the prize because "through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality." His poetry books are supposed to be short, which I like in poetry. I find out that the only large poem that I go back to, is Paradise Lost, otherwise it is always a pocket book.

Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for literature 2012!

I know, I also like Dylan, but I believe that's not going to happen. However, according to The Guardian he leads the bets over Adonis, Murakami, or Pynchon. Well, if it happens people are just not going to make as much money as they would have betting for him the day before. The odds went from 100/1 to 5/1 almost overnight. In any case, don't you have anything better to do than wasting your money in this kind of betting?

Dexter. The new season is on!

My favorite series of all time, head to head with The Sopranos and maybe The Wire, is back on with a promising new season. Our serial killer comes back with what looks to be a take on religion. Not only because the criminal that the Miami police department is after (Edward James Olmos) uses cryptic religious messages, but also because Dexter finds himself wondering about his non-existent religious beliefs. Can a person who needs to tie all loose ends for his own existence's sake have faith? Sergeant Batista's explanation of what believing in God means comes down to faith, which does not seem to be good enough for Dexter.
Now, I wish I knew more about religious mythology to anticipate, or at least try to anticipate, some of the events waiting for us in the next eleven episodes.

On a different page, following Dexter, Showtime is showing a new series called Homeland, which I doubt it will get to the level of Dexter, but it seems entertaining enough for me to follow it. It tells the story of an American marine (Damian Lewis) that returns home as a hero after eight years MIA in Iraq. The twist is that he secretly seems to have been turned into the Taliban side... I may blog about it too, it depends on how the series develops.

Bob Cassilly, founder of the City Museum in St. Louis, died on Monday

I found out about this tragic loss yesterday. It was a piece of shocking news for a lot of people. I didn't know Bob Cassilly personally, but anybody that has put a foot in St.Louis has, or should have, heard of him or his work. Mr. Cassilly, who was 61 when he died, was a prodigy of nature as a social entrepreneur, scene creator, and artist. The City Museum may be his most internationally acclaimed work, but in St. Louis he was known by his constant ambition to built his vision of a greater St.Louis through his art. His latest project Cementland intended to be one-of-a-kind amusement park. The old cement factory along the Mississippi river was being transformed by Mr. Cassilly using tons of construction debris dumped in the premises by St.Louis companies. Here is an article from the New York Times where you can learn more about it.
Sadly enough, Mr. Cassilly died in this site in an accident while driving a bulldozer. The Mississippi will received his ashes. Hopefully, someday Cementland will open, and we will remember Mr. Cassilly looking at St.Louis downtown from where he said that "in the afternoon, when the sun shines on the city", you can get its best view.

Salsa, my lucky day!

It had to be my lucky day, even though I want to believe it was just karma for my volunteering for the sake of my department in something I don't really like. Whatever it was, it turn out that heavy rain was announced, and the event was cancelled. Dozens of activities with no real utility suspended until tomorrow.
I was talking today to two colleagues from different departments (History and Construction) who participate in this event. Neither of them were taking part on the event, or didn't seem to have a good idea of what was going on in their departments... I guess that explains the inutility of such an useless event.

Do you like salsa?

I'm sure some of you got here because you like salsa and a random Google search directed you here. If that's the case, I'm sorry to say that this post may not be what you were looking for. I don't like any other salsa that you cannot eat with tortilla chips, and I wonder why everybody assumes that I like salsa. I do know the answer, it is because I speak Spanish! It is as simple as that. I like other Caribean rhythms, and I wish I would like salsa, because when I see people dancing it seems as if they are really enjoying themselves, not to mention the sensuality attached to it.
Well, as I am a Spanish professor, I've been asked to collaborate into this hands-on event where the chair of my department is going to teach salsa to students. I told him that I have no clue of how to dance salsa, but he seemed so engaged and enthusiastic that I wasn't able to tell him no.
I am taking one for the cause, because after 3 hours of hearing salsa I don't even know what I'm able to transform into. Imagine to stand by a boom box for three hours with a music that you really cannot stand... anything, death metal, polka, eurotrash, that kind of lame soul-pop from the divas and their equal male counterparts that I'm ashamed to call soul. However, I will stand stoically with a smile and do my best!
Now, the question arises, am I perpetuating the stereotype and selling out? or, am I acting professionally?
The event is Thursday, I will tell you if it was worthwhile.

The habit of writing daily

I have not written in a while, not even for my research. I can give you the excuse that I have been sick as a dog, which is true, but that would only be nothing else than an excuse. Even if it is a good one. While I was sick, I have watched a few movies, and as many soccer games. I have read from two different and interesting books. I have skimmed over dozens of newspapers, and a few blogs... so why haven't I written about them? No excuses...but I was sick as dog!)

True Blood s04e12. "And When I Die". The finale definitely saved the season.

I complained throughout the season about the lack of consistency in the show in terms of characters acting and personalities in comparison to other seasons, and blamed the different directors most of the time.  Last night, for the first time in season four, I saw the kind of acting, directing, action, reaction, crescendo, and final cliffhanger(s)  that got me hook to True Blood years ago.Therefore, I must open with my most outstanding recognition to Scott Winant, the helmer that has shown why he is the second person that has directed more episodes (9) since the series began in 2008. Nevertheless, this has been so far the weakest and lamest season in my modest opinion, and it deserved, at least, a decent ending, as the one we had.
This season has left the door ajar for most of the fronts that were open. Only the case of Tommy, Sam's brother was completely closed with his lonely and minuscule funeral (check out Tommy's tombstone) topped with the presence of Hoyt's mom looking for a manly proximity to substitute his son and probably fulfill her imagination with something extra.

When I say the door was left ajar, I mean it in a positive sense,as the opposite to wide open, which sometimes annoys me, since it gets you lost instead of letting your imagination at work with only so much to speculate from.

Let's start with the witches since it has been the central focus of this season. Jesus lets go his evil spirit to save Lafayette, but I guess there is no good without evil, so poor Jesus had to die and become a mean dead man. Did you notice that the kindness of dead people in this episode was inversely proportional to theirs in life? Sooki's grandma is a cold old lady that barely pays attention to her granddaughter, and just-diseased Jesus doesn't give a damn about desperate guilty Lafayette. He only tells him cold and dry that they are going to be together since he is a medium. It sounded to me as if that's all Jesus wanted from Lafayette. Antonia Gavilan de Logroño is the nicest one, since she was kind of mean during the season. In any case, Marnie is gone to a better place(?), although I thought that if you were a spirit or ghost, you weren't really in any better place but lost in limbo, but I'm not going to be that picky. So, Eric and Bill are free of their biggest menace so far for Sooki to enjoy... oh, sorry, I was too fast in my logic. She dumps them both after giving them some of her precious blood. Now, they are not going to be just dumped miserable vampires, but horny-dumped miserable vampires. I bet these two are going to end up together by lack of anything better. Really, that blood must be something very special, because they don't even pay attention to Pam or Jessica, who are way more interesting characters in my opinion. Ok, in the case of Jessica it may be just the looks, I admit it, but I'm just giving my honest opinion.

In another front, Terry's veteran friend is the most disquieting new thread that the show is presenting for the new season. Russell Edgington's escape was just a matter of time, as well as Alcide's infatuation with Sooki entering the reign of stupidity. However, bringing back Rene to warn Arlene against a new Terry is a promise of good stuff coming up.
It seems obvious that the creators have realized that this season has not worked. The proof is that they are recurring to characters from more successful seasons to keep us all on tenterhooks until next season: Rene, Russell, and reverend Steve Newlin (as a vampire??). By the way, who dug up Russell? Was it rev. Newlin? Was it Nan before she encountered true death by the hands of king Bill together with his gay stormtroopers (as Eric called them)? We will find out soon next season I'm sure.

I have delayed too much this review, so I'm not going to make it any longer by touching every single part of the episode as much as I would like it. In order to put an end to the True Blood season in What? I thought that I should highlight the three best lines of the episode.
In third place I have selected one that it may not deserve the podium, but it caps off the scene where Nan and her "stormtroopers" die in a bath of blood provoked by the decapitation of the latter, and the heart stabbing of the former, which I thought it was a pretty good anticipation to Debbie's head blowing off as the end of it all for the season. Therefore, the bronze medal goes to... What a bitch! by Eric.

In second place, Jason's answer to Hoyt after telling that he had sex with Jessica. Hoyt asked him how? That's a weird question to ask man replies Jason but if you really wanna know...missionary, and then doggy, and her on top, I mean it's nothing too kinky!

I cannot skip a picture from the obvious consequence:

And the winner is... Pam's allusion to Sooki. Pam is too good of a character to be under Eric's command. I hope she gets back to him for how he treated her. In any case, the gold medal goes to... I'm so over Sooki and her precious fairy vagina, and her unbelievable stupid name... fuck Sooki!  (fuck Eric could have been as good or better, but Sooki is pretty good there too!)

Well, that's all for the fourth season. Have a good winter fang bang...lovers!

What a season finale!

I'm too tired to write my review now, but it will come very soon!

True Blood s04e11. "Soul of Fire". Heart smoothy, an old Viking recipe.

No doubt in my mind, the highlight of the episode is Eric drinking out of Roy's still-throbbing heart (a few more dollars in special effects would have make it like that) as Marnie looks half in shock, half jealous how her once enslaved Eric shows the whole of his vampire's coolness by sucking the poor sucker's heart. I call Roy a sucker because I want to believe that all of us wanted him to die anyways. I have to admit that the sight was really disgusting too, which impeded such an  scene to become one of the all-time best of the series.

If this was the highlight of the show, I have to continue with the funniest parts, which have to be a hard competition among the ridiculous poses of the vampires trying to avoid get zapped in Marnie's protection spell, Andy and the fairy E.T.-like finger protection contract, or the potential outcomes of Sam after Marcus' death. I warn you, this last one may be fun just for me and my particular sense of humor. Also, you have to put words on Sam's mouth, otherwise it won't make any sense!
Ok, first one! Sam and Alcide have caught Debbie in her panties with Marcus, in Alcide's bedroom. Rarely enough, nothing has happened between the two of them despite the sexual tension. Sam avenges his brother beating the crap out of Marcus while Debbie tries to explain the situation and stop the fight. Not only she does not stop the fight, but Alcide kills Marcus avoiding that the latter shoot Sam. Then, Alcide, in werewolf terms (no more hunting together, no more sharing flesh, blah, blah...), breaks up with her. Definitely, it was not poor Debbie's night! Alcide leaves the house while Debbie cries in disbelieve. Sam slowly pick up the gun he brought from the floor, and gives this look to Debbie before leaving trying to say, "Well it's your fault! Now clean the mess!". When the show comes back to the werewolf's story, Luna's daughter asks Sam where is her father. Sam remains silent, but I imagine him thinking, should I become a bunny rabbit again!
The second one is Andy's lucky day (obviously it is only for the day, because who knows what is waiting for Andy after this). After the fastest detox program ever seen, Andy is left stranded in the middle of the woods by his cousin. On his way back a fairy (oh God, how do I hate fairy staff in this show!) appears, knocks Andy down, and then schtump him!  Good for Andy, but fairies must prove me right about the absurdity of their existence in the show, and before boinging him, she makes him promise her to protect her by joining light bulb-like fingers. What is this a tribute to E.T.?

Finally, and likely to be the winner, the most pathetic piece of acting I have seen in a long time (even though, I attribute it again to what I want to believe is producer's stinginess, and not bad artistic direction). Marnie's spell makes Jessica, Pam, Eric, and Bill rush towards the vampire racquet zapper that surrounds the building where Sooki and the others are trapped. The contortions, scowls, grins that these actors have to put up with and perform to convey such a pathetic result makes the whole thing as laughable as sad.

Now it is up to you to decide which one is the funniest/sad moment of the episode.
In a more objective view, the funniest lines of the episode are Lafayette's "Marnie just puked the bitch out" and Pam's "I'll take good care of this" referring to the piece of jewelery that she takes from the vampire who minutes later will explode in Marnie's vampire zapper.


The episode has prepared us for the grand finale! Bill killed Marnie, just for her to return and possess Lafayette. What kind of Brujo shit is Jesus going to be able to put this time? What do the fantastic four Vampires have in their sleeves? Are Jessica and Jason going to continue their torrid romance, and is Hoyt going to accept it? What is Sooki doing in this season? Next Sunday, all these questions and more will have an answer! Or... so we hope!

True Blood s04e10. "Burning Down the House". Fighting fire with fire.

Did you know that every episode of True Blood is entitled after a song? I do remember the closing tune for being a good version of a song that being a classic, never said too much to me. The Used's version of Talking Heads' Burning Down the House was, I have to admit, interesting. The Used gave the song that intensity that the original lacks in my opinion. On the other hand, The Used are not Talking Heads, not even close, but enough with the music. The episode opens with the Tolerance Fair's battle whose only remarkable outcome is Eric's coming back to normalcy thanks to Sooki's display of fairy powers (I insist, once again, in boycotting this part of the story, anything to do with fairies makes me return to reality and think about the absurdity of willingly letting yourself get upset by this kind of stuff, which is nonetheless the point of any fiction).
Soon enough, we face what's for me the highlight of this episode. Jessica and Jason's after-humping conversation. Jason feels extremely guilty for going to bed (meaning the back of his pick up truck) with his best friend's ex, so he "innocently" asks her to glamour him so he will be able to face Hoyt in a normal way. Jessica rants and raves! Her feelings are hurt! Poor baby... but, wait a second, didn't she glamour her boyfriend after cheating on him only a few days ago? Interesting... I forgive her, though, she is too hot to blame, don't you think?
In the meanwhile, Hoyt is living the hell of breaking up with his sweet heart, and he has become an over-flatulent drunk according to Jason, who obviously is being corroded by guilt.
We can say that everything worth mentioning is above this line, now I have to complete the review with a few other things that fall below this category.

Tommy, Sam's brother, dies because Alcide decides that neither Sam nor he have the right to save Tommy's life giving him V, go figure! On top of that, they keep articulating ridiculous statements trying to console Tommy. Oh, well, au revoir to the last of Sam's relatives!
Terry and Andy made, out of a shooting competition, a therapy session to get Andy off his V addiction. I guess Bon Temps does not have an equivalent to AA for V addicts yet.
Antonia Gavilan de Logroño is not the witch, pun intended, that we thought. Marnie is an even bigger witch, pun intended again, but at the end of the scene both become equal witches.
Obviously, the cliffhanger is the disappearance of Sooki, Lafayette, Tara, and Holly under Marnie's spell, but who was expecting the Matrix-leather vampire showdown at the end? I don't want to believe my own eyes when I see the shiny quartet armed to the teeth ready to go war!

In any case, we had to know that an episode like this was coming. I hate when it is the one before the last, so I hope I don't have to complain about the next one, and everything until the end is a roller coaster of excitement.

More posts are coming today!

I have not written a post in the last four days, and I feel like I owe the blog a few. I'm writting this as a reminder to myself that one new post, at least, must appear today. Promised!

Happier day!

Today, La Liga, which is considered to be the best soccer league in the world, started. Curiously, it was the second game day. Last week, the players were on strike. It worked, they are back, and the world is happy!
On top of that, Sevilla FC defeated Malaga, a team that many saw as a possible alternative to the two giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, with two goals of Alvaro Negredo. The former plays tomorrow against Villareal, the latter beat Zaragoza 6-0 playing away, showing off its power. As I said a happier day!

Sad, sad day!

Today, Sevilla FC was eliminated from the Europa League by Hannover 96. I cannot comment on the game because I was at work, and therefore could not watch it. I have read the articles about the game in both newspapers and the blogsphere. Everyone coincides that Sevilla deserved more but that is not enough in soccer. I’m almost glad that I did not watch the game, I know I would be even more devastated right now. The only thing that all Sevilla supporters can do right now is keeping their spirits up and think about the next game in La Liga. If we want to think positively,  after 7 consecutive years playing 3 competitions a year, Sevilla will play only two. It will be easier on our players’ legs. However, there is no excuse to either win the cup or at least qualify for the Champions League. In any case, a very sad day…

Police brutality! In the name of religion?

The following video shows a disgusting abuse of authority by Spanish police. They brutally attacked a 17 year-old girl protesting against JMJ, known in English as the World Youth Day, and a journalist without apparent reason.The video is very graphic and, unfortunately pollutes the name of police that, as long as it lets people like these enroll in their forces, will never free themselves of the fascist and francoist connotations that still accompany all security forces in Spain. The State department has taken actions against the agent who slap the girl and his superiors in control of the squad.

Cell 211, a prison movie.

This film was together with Alejandro Amenabar's Agora the star in the 2009 edition of the Goyas (Spanish Oscars), where it collected eight, including best picture and best actor (Luis Tosar).
I hadn't had the chance to watch it yet, despite the good recommendations from friends and critics. Celda 211 is, for me, the confirmation, if we still needed one, that the Spanish film industry is ready to produce any kind of genre without making a fool of itself anymore. Many genres have proved to have a space in the, until the late 80s, very limited selection of genres that could deliver a solid Spanish film. The last twenty-five years have shown the world that Spain can make excellent films in genres so disarranged to the Spanish audiences as science fiction, adventures, horror, or now, prison film thriller. The only exportable films before was reduced to a small number of comedies and artsy dramas, with a few rare exception here and there. (I'm not counting B movies, since during the 70s and 80s Spain exported a ton of these movies).

Celda 211 is a fairly sound film. It has its defects, but they don't affect the overall result. The script is not very solid for once. There are a few weaknesses in it, as for example how does the protagonist, a regular young person, get so easily accepted by the horrific leader of the prison riots, Malamadre? What is his six months plus pregnant girlfriend doing in an out of control multitude protesting against riot police? Why does Utrilla (Antonio Resines), the most hatred guard in prison accept to go inside to negotiate knowing that the prisoners have witnessed what happened outside the prison? (He beats up the girlfriend in front of the cameras)
I could mention a few more, but the point is that, as bad as they sound, they do not affect the main goal of the film, which can both entertain and criticize the penitentiary system in Spain without making one or the other its focus point.
In any case, Celda 211 is an engaging film that deserves to sit down in from of the television to see, as my wife ironically says, “one of those uplifting endings of Spanish cinema.”

True Blood s04e09. "Run". Definitely, we are not going to see a threesome.

With Eric jumping over Bill to kill him, a few hours after the latter pardoned the Viking vampire's life, I seriously doubt that Sooki is going to see her dreams come true. Since we are talking about dreams, I have to let out again something that is bothering me this season: the diversity on the director's visions on characters and other recurrent themes in the series. This time the characters kept their personalities, however the dream scene this time was too much of a dream. Normally, these scenes were not shot with the typical blurry diffusing corners as in tonight's episode. I know I am being meticulous, but I can't avoid it. They have to be consistent! The other thing about the dream that I couldn’t avoid thinking is the difficulty of shooting that scene for the three of them. Remember that Bill and Sooki are married in real life, so imagine the awkwardness of the situation. The constant change of directors put me off with the importance of Mavis, the spirit that possesses Lafayette. Last episode, as I wrote last week, made me think she was going to be a pivotal character in the witch vs. vampires plot, but now Mavis’ subplot seems to be closed. I guess with only three more episodes to go, things must start tying all loose ends, and in this season there are many. In any case, a good episode with a huge cliffhanger for the fans.

Finally, I couldn't leave without making a reference to Jason, he is my favorite character as you have probably already noticed, and he finally succumbed to Jessica's irresistible charm on the back of his pick-up truck in this episode! Oh, man, I don't blame him, but what a mess is waiting for poor Jason here!

Religion Extremism in the Media

The JMJ 2011 (Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud) started yesterday in Madrid, and will last until Sunday. This is a religious Christian celebration where young people from all over the world have the chance to experience the universality of the Church and meet the Pope. It is know in English as World Youth Day, WYD.

Everything up to here is fine, even nice if you have religious inclinations. This event is held in a different country every three years. The problem with the celebration in Spain is that public funds finance the Pope visit in a country that is on the verge of bankruptcy, not to mention that the Spain government offers tax breaks to those companies that help the maintenance of the Catholic Church in Spain!

In any case, I am digressing here. It turned out that today there was also in Madrid a secular demonstration to protest against the Pope visit, and especially the money allocated by the government to support the JMJ. Over 5000 people attended the demonstration that was completely peaceful until the finish point in Puerta del Sol, where a number of pilgrims where waiting for them. This situation provoked confrontations among the two groups, and outbursts of violence that ended up with eight people detained and eleven injured. This piece of news had more buzz than the case of what we could call an extreme Christian terrorist detained yesterday. Well, police authorities arrested a 24 years old student from Mexico who planned to attack the demonstration with chemical gases similar to those who killed dozens of people in the Tokio metro system years ago. This man tried to recruit people on ultra Christian and proto fascists internet forums in which he encouraged people to use sarin gas to kill from 200 to 400 people.

My question is what if he would have been a Moslem from any Arab country? How much more repercussion would have had this arrest?

True Blood s04e08. "Spellbound". I got stuck!

I got deep into this episode, in every one of its stories. Then I realized I was trapped, I barely could move my legs, and my arms were struggling to disentangle. My mouth was pasty, I could hardly say something to my wife sitting right by me, also trying to free herself from the tons of cheese that Daniel Minahan (last night TB’s director) had poured on us. Then I checked Minahan’s previous work and, except for Grey’s Anatomy, (which in my opinion sucks as much as any other doctor’s drama) he has a lot of experience on good shows as Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, Life on Mars, Deadwood, or Six Feet Under. Who is to blame here for the cheesiness! (By the way, the writer is no other that Alan Ball, the series creator) The episode had two draining story lines, the one with Alcide joining the new werewolf pack with his girlfriend Debbie (who says that she finds herself at home because she met a couple of very nice bitches!), and especially the insufferable  Eric and Sooki gag-inducing one, where they show everybody how lamely in love they are. I really hate this fairy stuff in the series. In short, we could describe these two as cliché-bounding in the backwoods biker bar the former, and teenager flick-exploitation the latter. (I have never seen the (in)famous Twilight saga, but I imagine that there is a lot of that in them. Could anyone back this up?)

The episode has two lifesavers performances at least, Jason’s and the shocking Lafayette’s dream telling the background story of a character that promises to have much more to say in this season, a ghost/spirit that ends up possessing him.

I cannot forget to mention Hoyt’s (Jim Parrack) performance in his dream and real break-ups with Jessica, both of them show this actor’s talent.

These three parts saved the episode that was a serious candidate to be the absolute worst of the four seasons.

The season’s main story keeps developing; witches vs. vampires. They have their first clash that ends up with Sooki in a delicate situation. I don’t feel sorry for her after last night performance!

The next episode’s title is “Run”. I hope we do not have to do that after another unsupportable fairy-related story.

 We need the fairy absurdity to stop! Please!

Getting back to playing guitar

I used to play guitar often. It has been more than three years since the last time I played regularly (if you can call playing every now and then regularly). I have been looking forward to play again (did it yesterday for my daughter), but musical instruments are the worse of friends. They really let you know that you have not been paying enough attention to them. They let you know right away, and they don't stop reminding you out loud. You can hear it in every note!)

¡Bemsha SWING!: Indignados

¡Bemsha SWING!: Indignados:Here is a post from a fellow blogger about the indignados in Spain. The post contains a collection of slogans that the blogger in question translated into English. Totally worthy!
Also, thanks to clarissasblog.com  where I found the link!

Sleepless in St. Louis

I'm about to start a day of work after 3 hours of sleep. Last night my daughter decided it was time to party and, as people dancing to the Beastie Boys' hit (You gotta) Fight for you Right (to Party)!, she got into the the mosh pit and started demanding her right to stay awake.
I was wondering in the middle of the night why she hasn't learned yet that the song per se is not an apology to party, but a parody of party songs! Didn't she get the irony? Oh well, what can I do, she is only two and a half!

True Blood s04e07 "Cold Grey Light of Dawn". A reflexion on memory and women's power

Tonight, I would like to make a couple of reflections about memory and the power of women in the show.
Let's start by the shorter one, the recovery of a lost memory. Eric Northman, lying in his new love nest by Sooki, tells her that he does not want to remember his past. This baby face vampire was, just a few days before, a ravaging, murderous, one thousand years old bastard. He knows he is guilty of his crimes, therefore he does not want a memory of the past. He does not want to live with a guilty conscience. He does not want to remember. However, we have two characters emotionally attached to Eric who want him to remember, Pam and Sooki. The reasons why they want Eric to remember are opposite. On the one hand, Pam is that little demon that materializes in your shoulder. She represents Eric’s evil conscience, she is fully aware of their misdeeds, since she was an active part in them. Pam, free of guilty feelings, claims the return of Eric’s memory as a badge of courage to celebrate their power. It is a reassurance of their position in society, which paradoxically is both the elite class and the discriminated-against one.  On the other hand, Sooki is not aware of the evil crimes Eric has committed throughout his life, she only sees the tip of the iceberg, and this is seen through rose color glasses since the Viking vampire has been trying to get in Sooki’s pants for as long as he knows her. Sooki wants Eric to recover his memory because she does not know about his past. The audience feels sorry for her, we are aware of what’s waiting for her in case his memory is back. Memory is definitely a hard case to handle.

Sooki’s situation connects with her portrayal as a powerful woman in the show. For the first time, if I remember well, she shows a weakness. Sooki, even though many people may think she is a lame character, has consistently been an extremely independent and powerful character. True Blood has been a show with very powerful women (Tara, Pam, and now Jessica, the young vampire who is starting to feel her power and to live like an independent woman). On the other hand, the male characters are all extremely vulnerable and weak. Bill, Eric, Jason, Sam, Hoyt, Lafayette, all of them have shown their weaknesses, and revealed not to be a strong characters at some point or another. If we think about how is that these characters have shown their weaknesses, we come to the same conclusion: love makes you weaker. Isn’t that a wrong message to send to the audience? I know that love also makes characters in the show stronger, but don’t you think that’s a given?

Soccer

As you probably have already noticed, I am a huge soccer fan. Now, being originally from Spain, most of you are probably thinking that I am either a Real Madrid or Barcelona fan. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! In my opinion, you should only support these two teams if you are NOT a Spaniard, if you are from Madrid or Barcelona, or if, for some reason, you are intimately related to any of these cities.
For me, there is nothing more shameful and ridiculous than being from a city that has a team in La Liga, or even in the Spanish Second division, and still support any of these teams.
Now, that does not mean, I can enjoy watching a game where these teams are present. That, also, would be ridiculous.

I do support, Sevilla FC, and by the way, today we beat SSC Napoli, 1- 2. It was the presentation game for the Italians.

Did you know... that one of the best players of all times, Diego Armando Maradona, played for these two teams?

Political bipartidism and soccer

This is an example of how human stupidity works. Spain is a country where people are experts on ruining excellent opportunities to excel (Before nationalistic heat starts blooming among readers from Spain, I have to say that I'm originally from Spain). In 1977, the newly pro-democracy government allowed for a system that allowed a multitude of parties to be contenders in the political race (about the the Spanish electoral system and the application of the D’Hondt method I may talk in the future). Now, any legal political party can run, but in reality, only two parties PSOE and PP have any chance of winning the elections. Spain has ruined in a little over 30 years the opportunity of having a country with a wide representation of political ideas. In exchange, we are stuck with two sides of the same coin, where a few corporations and "Lords" control the country, represented by half-wit politicians.

The analogy with soccer lays in the boring Spanish La Liga, the strongest league in the world according to FIFA. In the last few years, the difference between the two soccer giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, and the rest of the teams has grown so large that world-class teams as Valencia, Sevilla, or Villareal, or historic teams as Athletic de Bilbao or Atletico de Madrid, talk only about the possibility of finishing third in the so called“other Liga”. (I reserve another post to talk about the share of television revenues among the Spanish teams)

As in politics, people who stop for a second to think about the situation, do not want to have bipartisan systems like these. However, if you do not care too much about politics or soccer, you will try to establish an alliance with one of the powerful sides, no matter how little they have in common with your own conception of politics or soccer. I am not implying that only people that do not have the capacity for deeply analyzing different situations support these two parties or these two teams but, definitely, they make for a high percentage of their mass support.

The Four Great Hypocresies of the Debt Deal

Let me start by saying that I do not always agree with Keith Olbermann's way of express himself in front of the camera, probably because sometimes, paradoxically, it reminds me of some specimens from Fox News. In this occasion, I must say, he has delivered as anyone should have after the agreement on the debt ceiling was announced.

Olbermann addresses, among many others, two very important points in his speech (that you can watch here). One is about the Republican demand of a constitutional amendment to avoid deficit, the other is directly related and, obviously, has to do with the decision to not adding any revenues. With such an amendment in effect, it is scary to think, Olbermann says, what may happen if, God forbid, we are struck by a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster (I don’t have to remind anybody about Iraq, Afghanistan, or Libya). If adding revenue is out the game for the government, who is going to pay for the future boo-boos in the economy? The answer, unfortunately, comes straight to your face, YOU!

True Blood s04e06 "I Wish I Was the Moon"

Coming up! The last episode of the first half of the fourth season of our favorite vampire's show (well, in fact every other one sucks, because even though Buffy had something, part of that something was to suck big time!) has, for the first time this season, got me very excited and anxious to see the next episode and, of course, the denouement of this spellbinding season.

The first great thing that a lot of fans would appreciate is that the characters have returned to their real Bon Temps familiarity. No more over exaggerated southern accents, no more drastic changes of personality, and no more lame jokes! True Blood is back with the old same awesomeness of previous seasons. Even Eric Northman stopped acting like a semi-retarded nerd (emphasized by the continuos shots showing his lazyright arm -anybody noticed this?) to play an overdramatic repented Viking adolescent who gets, as a prize for his sacrifice at rendering such degradating roles, what it looks by his side a hot dwarf-size Sookie!
Sorry for the spoiler, but anyone following the series could not consider as a spoiler such an episode, especially in a post that, believe me, could be full of them. Everything happens in this chapter and there is no way back. The rollercoaster has reached the peak! Enjoy the ride!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World... Continue?

First of all, this is not a review! This movie has been out even in DVD format since the end of last year. This is just a reflection on the movie, and on its critique.
Tonight, I saw Scott Pilgrim vs. the World for the second time, and I had to think for a while why do I like this movie, why when the credits start rolling I find myself with a silly smile in my face.
Let's see, in order to like this film you must a) have played old video games in arcades. Not just any video game, but those involving martial arts, especially the multilevel ones from the beginning of the 80s. b) You must like comics, you don't have to be a savvy comic reader, in fact, the first time I saw Scott Pilgrim, I had never heard about the graphic novel before. c) As a follow up to this last point, not knowing the Scott Pilgrim comic will help to not having a preconceived idea that interfered with the director's vision.d) Most likely you should be familiar with the work of Michael Cera, who I think is a great actor in the roles he plays, which are very much alike his own persona I believe. Cera is definitely an actor who has embraced "typecasting". Despite how the "real" Scott may be and behave in the graphic novel, Cera delivers a character that may have been perfect if he wouldn't have had those fighting superpowers. Cera in fighting scenes was very hard to believe even within Pilgrim's fantasy  world. However, isn't that a feature of many video games? A rather unlikely superhero kicking ass everywhere and every way. d) Finally, one must be ready to agree that a movie concept well delivered can make up for a simple and far-from-profound script.
If you have or agree with at least two of these premises, you are a serious candidate to like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

The absolutely best thing about this film, in my modest opinion,  is Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) direction. The British helmer offers us, once again, a new concept for a combination of traditional genres. In this case, comedy and action, before comedy and horror (Shaun of the Dead), or comedy and police action (Hot Fuzz). The comic and video game forms fusion with film to create a never-seen before cinematic experience. It is, no doubt, a film for a young audience. There is no way a person over 50, who has ever read a comic, or played a video game, can give a explanation to the abrupt breaking of time and space sequences, or the coins spurting out of defeated "evil exes". Nevertheless, this film should be understand for what it is, not for what one wants it to be.

This film has its own audience, people who will love it, people who would appreciate the novelty, people who would not understand a thing about it, and people who would hate it. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. What I don't understand is a bad review of a film critic. I understand a review of a bad critic, who will put his or her own personal opinion into words without understanding the universe surrounding the product.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World... Continue?

I would say yes, please, insert coin!