THE SONG

Sometimes is hard to cope with all the information that gets into our heads. We have access, in my opinion, to too many information; and my questions are: is it necessary? is the information the real truth? could many people be happier without all this information? These questions are just the beginning of a long discussion! But I really do not want to talk about negative things; completely the opposite, I want to talk about these moments in life when your mind is just full of this information and suddenly that special song plays in your MP3. The song which will always make you smile and forget about all the problems in the world. My song is without doubt Here comes the Sun written by The Beatle George Harrison. Close the eyes and enjoy!

Feel free to tell which one is your song:

PAUL NEWMAN

 

There is not much to say... THE GREAT  PAUL NEWMAN!! SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE!

MR.BEAN VS TRICICLE

I know the Olympics are already out of fashion but I could not resist myself… I must mention something related to them before this year ends!

I did not follow the sports competition (mainly for lack of time) but I did not miss the opening and closing ceremony. I love to see the show of a whole country presenting themselves to the rest of the world. There is a part of the opening ceremony which come backs to my mind every now and then, the magnificent Mr Bean. It is not much to say, he is just great on his performance!

Mr. Bean’s performance clearly reminds me to the three talented artists called  Tricicle in the closing ceremony at the Olympics in Barcelona 1992. 

It is hard to choose the best. In my opinion they are all amazing actors, each of them on their own style. What I really admire about them is the fact of making us laugh without using a single word.

OSWALD THE LUCKY RABBIT

There is an exhibition about Mickey & Oswald’s Epic Tale in London at the moment. Even if I am Disney fan, I had to recall myself about: who is Oswald? I investigated in the beautiful world of internet and found out the Oswald could have substituted Mickey itself, but for ownership reasons it did not happened.

Oswald was an animated character created by Disney and Ub Iwerks. He was the leadership character in 26 episodes of an animated series between 1927 and 1928. But when Disney lost the ownership of Oswald, they created Mickey. Thankfully Oswald was recovered by Disney in 2006 and has been part of a series of videogames since then. I just hope that Disney will create a full-length film about Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, for sure he deserves it!

Well, I am really happy that Mickey have been part of my whole life; but this made me wonder how life would have been if Oswald was in it?

FREDDY MERCURY

21 years ago on a day like today Freddy Mercury died. I thought this is a good opportunity to remember him and Queen, one of the most emblematic bands from UK. The sound of Freddy Mercury’s voice and the guitar of Brian May is something unique and incomparable; it is no doubt about it!

 

I chose this picture of Freddy Mercury because I love seeing him relaxed and concentrated with his guitar and the image of George Harrison above him. This man was known as a shy and introvert person but when he was on the stage he really transformed himself into a showman full of energy.

TRUEBA & MARISCAL

I like when two artists from different backgrounds decide to collaborate in a project together. I even like it more when you can clearly  see that the two artists have connected in a special way, and the result is just marvellous. This is the case of Trueba -film director- and Mariscal – artist designer- who started to work together on Calle 54, following with Chico y Rita – an animation movie- where Mariscal creates a spectacular Cuba in the 50s.

Their last work together is the poster designed by Mariscal for The Artist and the model -Trueba’s lastest film.

I just hope these two guys will keep working together !!

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

Reading “A Thousand Splendid Suns” made me feel so lucky of being a woman who can choose and decide about a future; a woman who has options and the chance to wish for anything better in life.
While I was getting into the story I thought about how we complain and demand things all the time without thinking how lucky we are.

"A Thousand Splendid Suns" explains the life of two Afghanistan women from 1960s to 2003, which also give the reader a history lesson of Afghanistan.

This book helps me to realise one more time how hard is being a woman depending where you have been born.

I strongly recommend this book to any women out there!

HYPERREALISM

It is hard to believe that the image below is not photography. It is a pencil on paper drawing created by Paul Cadden, a hyperrealist artist from Glasgow. I am fond of realist artist like Edward Hopper or Robert Henri who found their inspiration recreating reality , but Paul Cadden goes the extra mile away giving a hyperrealism touch. I really recommend having a look to his website, some of his work is really impressive. I take my hat off to Paul Cadden.

MELODY GARDOT

I discovered Melody Gardot thanks to the amazing soundtrack of “An Education” – also a worthy movie to watch. She is this kind of artist extremely talented with an exquisite taste for music. She is influenced by artist like Nina Simone or Janis Joplin.

Her life has been quite interesting as well; she has used music to recover from almost dead, and I could say it worked for her. Enjoy this talented musician!

BECOMING WARHOL

FACEBOOK

Hey! I have created a Facebook page in order to make life easier for those who have Facebook and want to follow my blog.

Feel free to like Farandulas!!

Cheers!

ENGLISH FILMS?

I still do not understand why so many directors are using the English language to explain stories that have nothing to do with English.  Even worst, why they make their actors speak English with a strong accent from the language of the country where the film is based? When I saw The Reader I could not understand why the great actress Kate Winslet (who is just stunning on her role) speaks with a strong German accent; her character is German, lives in Germany and communicates with other Germans. Why can’t they speak their language? The production company’s answer would probably be that having the name of Kate Winslet is much appealing for the audience than hiring native or bilingual actors. Well, my answer to that would be: I think you should learn something from other directors, for example Tarantino. His movie ‘Inglorious Basterds’ is not just a great film of action, suspense, love and revenge; he shows to the world that you could make a good film in three different languages with amazing Hollywood and  native actors.

THE FACT OF CREATING

I love the fact of inventing new lives, creating fresh characters; giving them the options to experience my ideas, probably their dreams and mainly the same problems than most of the people out there. For sure, one of the benefits to be a human being is the power to be able to imagine situations and express them in different formats. We can write, drawn, paint, film, photograph, design and many others.

One of my new hobbies is drawning; in this case I drew  this couple who are probably not in love any more but they stay together because is all they have. They have been living in the countryside all their lives loving nature and despising people(this could be the begining of a great story, hehe)

It is just a pleasure to introduce them to all of you!

THE BEST ENDING

Not long ago a friend of mine sent me one of those emails that make my day:”I am trying to get the 10 best film endings of the history. They need to be ingenious (dialogue and image)”. She sent me some titles:

Some like it hot: "Nobody is perfect"

A Clockwork orange:"I was cured, all right"

Eyes Wide Shut:"Fuck"

Even if I recognize that Some like it hot could be the best film ending of the history, I thought about other ones that are also perfect:

Psycho:” She wouldn't even harm a fly"

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: "For a moment there I thought we were in trouble"

Let me know if you have more ideas!

EDINBURGHSKETCHER

For those who know Edinburgh very well I recommend you to have a look to the EdinburghSketcher blog. You will find great sketches of live in and around Edinburgh; the best part is the quiz ‘WhereArtI?’ Every Monday there is a sketch of a place in Edinburgh which you will need to guess the exact street. Enjoy!

BLOODY FIRES!!

I seriously feel like crying every time I see all these fires going on in Spain. Nature, animals, houses, lands and even people are vanishing into the blazes!  It makes me really sad seeing how everything disappears after the fire, leaving literally nothing behind. And even makes me sadder to think of the possibility that those fires have been provoked by human beings. People who need a piece of land to start building another empire of houses, business, supermarkets...well, let’s just say money! Bloody Money!

 

HILLBILLY MOON EXPLOSION

If you have a bit of rockabilly on yourself, you will love HILLBILLY MOON EXPLOSION!! It was hard to choose one of their tracks because every single one is worthy to listen. Check their website, it is quite good: http://www.hillbillymoon.com/

I still cannot believe how these guys are not in any of Tarantino’s soundtrack ... they just sound perfect for it. Please anyone can tell Mr. Tarantino to include them in the next movie? -well not next one, which will release in Christmas and I cannot wait to see it , the first Tarantino westerm- but please in the following one??!! Can anyone tell him??

PAUL AUSTER

A friend of mine just introduced me to the world of Paul Auster and I am quite pleased he did it! I read The New York Trilogy - presented as a detective fiction - in ten days and left me a feeling I have never experienced before. The book is full of complex meanings between lines, characters without identity, confusing plots, abstract stories and surrealistic situations. His metaphysical and existential way of telling the story is something unique; his writing style is simple (without ornaments-just the way I like it) but intelligent. The book left me confused but satisfied thinking I should read it again straightaway. Finally I decided to read any other book, however I cannot wait to go back to Paul Auster‘s universe.

NATURE AND PINTS

Can nature and pleasure be at the same time and place?

Yes, they can!

OPENING CREDITS

It is quite obvious the similarity between Mad Men opening credits and Vertigo movie poster designed by Saul Bass. The two black silhouettes falling down are almost the same- well not exactly,  Mad Men followers (like me) clearly recognize Don Draper in one of them.

I love the whole animation and graphic designs of the credits;  it really catches the idea of the whole series. I am quite glad they were inspired by Saul Bass designs and his unique way of creating art. I take this opportunity to show some of his work on some of the greatest movies of all times.

ONE DAY

Em and Dex have been part of my life for less than a month, and I have to say it has been a great pleasure! One day is a book full of life, friendship, actions, love, hate, decisions, words, feelings, relationships, behaviours, people and mainly about time; how the years take us by surprise and how the time show us the direction we are aiming. The author follows the life of the two characters every 15^th July   of each year, from 1988 to 2011. I found it quite interesting the way the story is told, just using one day to explain this simple but at the same time complicated tale about life.

(by the way great cover design )

Even if a day sounds a short amount of time imagine how much of yourself and your life can be told just in one day. Just imagine...

NOTTING HILL

If you are going to London, cannot miss Notting Hill and its market in Portobello road. The place just took me by surprise; I was not expecting to see such a lovely area with colourful streets, music, food and a huge market that never ends. The market is like a museum full of antiques and second hand objects which I enjoyed very much. I am fond of old objects and Notting Hill market is the place for it, you would find thousands of items with its own life and past. In some way Notting Hill reminded me of Montmartre; it gave me the same good feeling when I walked around the streets. Definitely if I was living in London, Notting hill would be my place!

THE ROLLING STONES

I have always been a Beatles fan; of course I have loved the most popular songs of The Rolling Stones but never felt anything special about their music. Until the great Martin Scorsese showed me through a camera what it means being in one of their concerts. The documentary changed my perception of the famous band, even if some experts told me that they are not at their best and Keith Richards has lost his touch. I felt in love with their songs, the energy of Mick Jagger in the stage, his dance and movements, their classics and, mainly, their rock and roll.

Congratulation for the 50 years!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I am old enough to remember when bank robbers actually wore masks"

 Billy Connolly

SOLUTIONS

Paco Leon is a Spanish actor who just directed his first movie: Carmina o revienta (a fictional documentary based on his mother). Other than it is not the movie what I want to talk about, it is his way of exhibition; Paco Leon is the first Spanish director who has had the best initiative I heard in years. He has released his movie on internet, cinemas and DVD all at the same time. The fact of giving alternatives to people in order to try to avoid piracy (I said to try because nowadays  it is impossible to stop people downloading movies) is something that many directors and people involved in cinema should learn about it. Some cinemas have rejected to screen his movie because for once a director has left the cinemas without the exclusivity of being the first ones to screen a film. How they dare! Cinemas will always have the exclusivity of the splendid experience that is going to a cinema and watch a movie in a big screen.

Well, I just can say that I admire a person who thinks for solutions not for banning facts!

The trailer is in Spanish but I encourage everyone to watch it!

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

On my way to Liverpool, I have decided to play one of the best cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Enjoy!

BRAVE

I can’t wait to see Brave, the new movie from Pixar based on Scotland (with Billy Connolly on it!) From the trailer I can see it's going to be full of stereotypes but also magic and adventures,  I won't miss it! It makes me think about: how would it be if Pixar does an animation movie based on Spain? hehehe...better don’t think about it! Anyway, every single movie from Pixar is worthy to see it.

There are other good movies that are also based on Scotland. Hallam Foe , The Illusionist  or The Angels’ Share  are some  of the most recent ones, in case anyone feels like watching them!

               

GOOD QUESTION!

If you could invite five famous people, living or dead, to a dinner party who would they be? ( fictional characters are not allow)


I saw this question on a magazine and I could not resist to answer:
JOHN LENNON, CHARLES CHAPLIN, DALI, PEPE RUBIANES (spanish comedian) and a lady...AMY WINEHOUSE.
I just realized that are all dead....ups!
If I could choose a fictional character it will be PETER PAN!! hehehehe


Please feel free to give me your 5 people below!!

Being part of Michael Palin’s life

I am reading Michael Palin diaries 1969-1979; it is great and quite funny. He explains the years when the Monthy Pythons became famous.  I love Monthy Pythons, one of the best comedians ever existed. They have an abstract and absurd sense of humour that I love.

Reading this book is like being part of Michael Palin’s life for a while. It is weird but when you read a book it feels like the characters and story are part of  your own life. What a great pleasure is reading!!! Please read, read, and read.

I cannot leave this blog without adding one sketch from them. Although it was hard to choose one, here it goes:

MICHAEL KIWANUKA

Last week I discovered a beautiful voice and an amazing song: Home again.

what does it mean FARANDULAS?

Farandulas is the Spanish word for show biz, in my case the show of life.

When I was little I used to love searching for words on those amazing books called encyclopaedia. Now that I am an adult in the XXI century I love visiting Wikipedia. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_business