"Dogtooth": a must-see movie

This weekend is the event that everyone all over the world who loves cinema anticipates!!!!The Oscars!!!!
every year with my friends we hold a special Oscar night where we watch the ceremony without knowing the results, and we say who should win and why. Every year there are a lot of discussions and argues about the results in almost all the categories.....

Not this year....this year in one category I am sure that we all will be of the same opinion. In the category of the foreign language film, we all wish and hope that the Greek nomination will get the Oscar.

After almost 35 years since a Greek film  had been nominated for an Oscar, I think that this film  "Dogtooth" has really good chances to bring an Oscar back here.

Although I watched it last year, it did such an impression to me that I still remember everything so well.

It is a story about a family, mother- father & three children, who live in a suburb of Athens. The house is in a remote place and it is surrounded by a tall fence that prohibits its inhabitants to see what there is outside of it. The parents are the only ones that the children can get in contact with, their only influence.

For me it is really a simple story, like the story of Tarzan or the story of Mowgli in The Jungle Book. At first we are what our environment wants us to be, but the human instinct  will eventually drive us to see what is "behind the fence".

"Dogtooth" is a complete work of art, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, that gives us some unexpected and different  point of view on the family dynamics. The actors are hurtfully good in their roles with a simple and plain way of acting. The scenery has a '70s sense and it is really artistic and stylish. This is a dark movie, however has many funny and comic scenes, which give a nice balance to it.

I think that if you see this movie either you will love it (as me) or you will hate it....there is no middle, and it is not possible to be indifferent about it, and this is the fact that makes this movie great: either way you will remember it, and for sure when you leave the theatre you will have a topic to discuss it.

So... please write in the comment section, what do you think about this movie. I am really intersted to read your thoughts. Especially if you do not live in Greece, even if you havent' seen the movie, just from the trailer, tell me what impression it made to you.

How much of "nothing" is enough???

Well.... this weekend the weather forecast was heavy rains, so I decided to stay home and do absolutely "nothing"....
that means, that I decided that I would not work at all, I wouldn't even pass the door of my workshop, that I would not go for the usual weekly shopping, that I would not make any plans to go out on Saturday night or that I would miss the usual Sunday  lunch with my brother's family....
The plan was to do "nothing".................
but "nothing" has a different meaning for each one of us....
so my "nothing" includes:
not one, not two but four long walks with my dog
at least one hour each day of hugging and cuddling with my cat
watching some episodes of my favorite TV series, like:



 

"Detroit 1-8-7", "Law & Order SVU", "Parenthood", "Grey's Anatomy", "The Good Wife", "Southland"

reading a blog that my friend Maslinda suggested, which tells you how to "Blog Like A Pro With 100 Tips" ( very intersting I suggest that you read it too)

speaking, planning and gossiping, for at least one hour on the phone with one of my best friends di Depux,

Christy

chatting several times during the 2 days through facebook, phone, or sms with my niece Christy who lives in Patra,

creating a playlist for my i-pod, and listening to it while washing the dishes and cleaning the food cabinet,

voting for my favorite movies for the Oscars at the "New York Times"  site (Do Not forget to vote for "Dogtooth" in the foreign movie category and soon I ll explain why)

making microwave pop-corn and eating them while watching the movie "True Grit"

and last but not least writing this post!!!!!!

Sunday is still on for the next 11 hours here in Athens, which means that  I 'll still have the luxury to do my kind of nothing

what is your kind of nothing????

kisses & wishes

mdq





art is just a google away!!!!

  Good morning people of the world!!!!!!
anyone who knows me a little knows that my belief is that inspiration can be found everywhere, in everything, in the most strange places, in the most unexpected forms.....

the same belief I have about art also.... art is not only a painting or a sculpture, art can be a wall graffiti, a window in a shop, a magazine cover....

so on Monday when I was using Google, I noticed that due to St. Valentine's day the famous Google logo had been changed to this :

 then I realized that in several cases Google changes its logo, and I remembered that two weeks before I met this really amazing google logo:

which I didn't know what it was about but it was a motive to try to find out ..... it was for Jules Verne 183rd birthday!!!!!

several times it is like a game with my friends to guess what each logo stands for, sometimes like St. Valentines or Christmas it is of course obvious

but other times not so much....

for example although I am a Jane Austin' s fun I would never though that this logo was about the writer's 235th birthday on December 16th

in my opinion, one thing is for sure....that all these logos are a form of art!!!!

Google names all these special logos Doodles, and the first Doodle was created when the  Google founders aiming to show that they would attend the Burning Man festival in the Nevada, inserted in   the original  logo a stick figure drawing  behind the 2nd "o" in the word Google.

Today there is a special team in the Google offices that has created over 300 doodles for Google.com in the United States and over 700 have been designed internationally.

so I ll share with you some of my favorites but you can find the complete series of Doodles over the years here: http://www.google.com/logos/logos10-4.html

 



Mar 07, Piet Mondrian's Birthday



Oct 25, Happy Birthday Picasso



Mar 14, Albert Einstein's Birthday




Jun 16, MC Escher's Birthday



                                   

 

 

2004 Athens Olympic Games

 you can see all the amazing 2004 Athens Olympic Doodles here
http://www.google.com/logos/logos04-3.html

Mar 30, Vincent Van Gogh's Birthday

Jun 08, Frank Lloyd Wright's Birthday


 



Apr 15, Leonardo Da Vinci's



Aug 13, Alfred Hitchcock's Birthday

 

Jan 27, Mozart's Birthday




  

Jun 06, Diego Velázquez's Birthday

Sep 01, Filopimin Finos - (Greece)



Jun 07, 2008 Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Birthday


  

Sep 29, Miguel de Cervantes' Birthday





Oct 31, Birthday of Katsushika Hokusai



Mar 02, Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!



Nov 10, 2009 Sesame Street: Ensemble

 


Dec 19, 95th Birthday of Edith Piaf


 

May 21, 2010 PAC-MAN's 30th Anniversary Doodle



Sep 15, Agatha Christie's 120th Birthday



Nov 21,  René Magritte's 110th Birthday

 And last but certenly not least, as for this one I am very proud, as I think that the Acropolis Museum is one of the best musuems in the world, but also because this date happens to be my birthday!!!!!!


Jun 20, 2009 Opening of the Acropolis Museum



Valentine's day facts

Soooo today is the 14th of February.....although I am not such a believer of St. Valentine's day, I think that   any chance to celebrate love is welcomed!!!


Mom & Dad 0n their wedding day



For me this day has a different meaning, as if my father was alive today he and my mother would celebrate 51 years of happy marriage...

When they got married back in 1960 in Greece they had absolutely no idea about who St Valentine was, as in my country it was about the mid 80's that this holiday started to be popular, however for my family this was always a significant date that was celebrated.....

for this day I thought that it would be intersting to know some funny facts......

• It was Pope Gelasius who declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D.
• The British artist Kate Greenaway became famous for her valentines in the late 1800's. Many of her cards featured charming pictures of happy children and lovely gardens.
• According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, after Christmas.
• Commercial Valentine cards were first made in the early 1800's. Many of them were blank inside, with space for the sender to write a message.
• The first Valentine gift was sent by Duke of Orleans to his wife, after he was captured in 1415.
• The first Valentine's Day box of chocolates was introduced by Richard Cadbury in 1868.
• Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent to the telephone on Valentine’s Day, 1876.(imagine today how many sms or mms will be delivered all over the world due to St. Valentine's day)
• The Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine's Day.
• The most fantastic gift of love is the Taj Mahal in India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife.
• In oden times, some people believed that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire (I am running to the pet-shop.....maybe I ll see a goldfinch there.....).

Valentine kisses & love wishes

mdq

St. Valentine's love note

So, in 4 days people who are in love (or not) will celebrate St. Valentine's day!!!!!

So, for all of you that you are in love or  want to be in love, or love to be in love , I ll share with you, all that you need in order to give to your special one, or to your potential special one, a heartfelt note for St. Valentine's day!!!!!

First of all this is a note made in origami method (by folding it)

so... these are the papers that you should use:

Choose which ever version you like, or both, click on the photo,

print them and just follow these simple instructions:

 

 

So what do you think???? I think it is quite easy, especially with the directions given.....However if you wish for more patterns and designs you should buy this book (from which I had this design).

It is called Girligami it is written by Cindy NG and it has several fresh and fashionable origami projects, with patterns and step-by-step instructions,

Wishes & Kisses

mdq