Cinema Rental

This past week was a week filled with movies. From start to end I have been catching up on some old ones and enjoying brand new releases, both in the cinema with a box of popcorn by my side and in my couch with my blankie and the soothing sound of gentle rain in the background. Some of those I watched:

Chance. So, if you'll remember my last entry I denounced the cultural level in which Panama is located. I'm not going to retract that, however, I am going to say that this movie gave me hope that maybe we aren't a lost case; maybe, Panama is going places art wise. This movie, ironically enough, is a social critique to the stereotype of high class families in Panama. It follows a wealthy family through their experience of getting kidnapped by their maids. As a result of this kidnapping, the family's secret about being completely broke let's loose and they face with harder and deeper issues within the family that had been being ignored for a long time. The way it portrays the panamanian culture and mocks the social stereotype is hardly offensive, instead it adds a histerical bite to it. It has a mix of different genres: sometimes drama and sometimes comedy. It's raw, it's funny and it makes me feel proud of being a panamanian thanks to the quality and cohesive story this film has. Kudos to Abner Benaím for taking the risk!

Alice in Wonderland. Let me start off by saying that Alice in Wonderland is my favorite Disney movie because it is such a mercurial story that you can't help but wonder what will happen next. The new one? It gave me a mixed feelings after taste. I don't know if it was the 3D quality that didn't help me in capturing all the details or the high expectations I had before the film, but for me it was just OK. Nothing espectacular, but nothing horrid either. The performances by Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter), Anne Hathaway (White Queen) and Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen) were amazing, though. The way they captured the essence of each of these characters but putting their own touch to it was remarkable. Dislikes? It had so much going on that made you loose what makes it so wonderful to begin with: the story. It was hard keeping up with the connections between scenes (and the color change they made on the Cheshire Cat didn't help either). As hard as it is for me to criticize the making of the master of bizzareness Tim Burton, I have to admit it wasn't my favorite. I liked it, but I didn't love it and sometimes, liking it just isn't enough.

Now that I've been over the new releases, let me give you a quick opinion about the old ones.

Coco Avant Chanel. I still question how was it that I didn't see this movie when it hit theaters? However, this movie captured exactly what I expected: fashion, story and romance. The way Gabrielle ¨Coco¨ Chanel faced the adversities of introducing a whole different style scheme to the time and place in which she happened to live in, just made me admire Mademoiselle Chanel even more. She had a point of view and wasn't afraid to demonstrate it, no matter what anyone said.


My Sister's Keeper. What an amazing movie! It has family, it has problems and it has love. It is such a beautiful story following the ups and downs of what a devastating disease may bring upon a family. It has laughter, hopes, dreams, sadness, but more importanly, a message: value what you have. If you haven't seen this movie, please, go to the nearest video rental store and rent it (while you're at it buy some tissues and chocolate).

Culturally Biased

It has been a week of ups and downs.
Pros:
Getting over the two intense weeks of exams.
Catching up on Sex and The City reruns.
Succesful results in my tutoring classes.
Cons:
Lack of sleep.
Not being able to find Jane Austen books in Panama.
And, shocking but true: Lack of sleep.

Today, while coming back from my tutoring classes, I decided to stop at an undisclosed bookstore to ask if they had a book I need to read for my Industrial and Organizational Psychology class. Not only was I very excited when they told me that they did sell it, but also when I spotted a Literature section in the bookstore. Unfortunately, that excitement soon vanished when they told me they were out of stock and when I came across the fact that the only authors they had under the section previously mentioned, were limitted to Ernest Hemingway, Isabel Allende and Gabriel García Marquez. Don't get me wrong, all of those are wonderful writers but their books are all over Panama. My point is that that section had no Charles Dickens, no Virginia Woolf, no Oscar Wilde and DEFINITELY no Jane Austen. I was furious. I have been looking for Jane Austen books since I can remember, not only because I'm obsessed with Pride and Prejudice (movie) and The Jane Austen Book Club (movie), but because she seems like such a fine writer and books online just aren't enough.
How is it that in this huge, well renowned bookstore were no Jane Austen books?
How is it that they seem to get boxes and boxes about Kate Gosselin's autobiography and only one miserable copy of Sense and Sensibility?
Even more bizzare is, how is it that insead of having stocks of these historical authors they have stocks of he's-just-not-that-into-you type of books?
Though they are amusing, they just don't have that literate use of words that you could only find in magical novels that take you back to other centuries.
Quite frankly, I'm frightened. I'm scared about the kind of example we are trying to portray as a country. More importantly, as a society. Is it, then, that we have lost ourselves into ¨pop culture¨ or that the culture has been lost?

I remembered being in high school and reading about John Keats and also J.K Rowling (who is one of my favorite authors, by the way). What I'm trying to convey here is that there can be a balance between classical authors and new writers, but I feel that in Panama we always go to extremes. Another thing left to be thought of, will there come a time where Jane Austen readers and Lauren Conrad fans will be able to sit together as a big family in the great dinner table of literature in Panama? I sure hope so because if not, I'll be making Amazon very, very rich.

Stress Relief

I have been under a very busy schedule this week: waking up early to go to the gym, going to classes, studying until very late (under the influence of some highly caffeine spiked coffee) and helping a 9-year old with his homework. Consequently, my sleeping hours have been extremely limited. So, the day of the exam came and I thought to myself: FINALLY some rest. Only to discover how wrong I was. I don't need rest, I need to relax. The question is how?

Here are some ideas that come to mind:
-Maybe watching re-runs of Sex and The City (thanks to a good pal from which I borrowed the DVD box set!)
-Reading a good novel (Jane Austen sure sounds whimsical...)
-Get all cozied up with my blanket and watch an old film (a little Hepburn might be just what I need).
-Drinking some tea (NO more coffee please!)
-Browsing apparel online (I know I won't order but its always fun to imagine how I'd accessorize that dress).
-Bake something (maybe cookies or a pie. Yumm-o!)
-Watching a national baseball game. In case you don't know, I'm a big baseball fan. Mainly Yankees fan, so maybe I'll start to watch national games, too. Just for the fun of it!
And then MAYBE I'll get some sleep afterwards!

What kind of things do YOU do when you need to relax?

April in Panama

Over the past few weeks I have been asking around if I could find peonies in Panama, given that the spring is coming soon and I've encountered myself with several fellow bloggers expressing how much they wish for peonies to be in season soon.
Unfortunately, the small detail that Panama just has two seasons, either very hot or very rainy, seemed to have slipped by. Feeling let down and very under the weather seemed to rapidly change into feeling upbeat and ecstatic when I found this tree. Yes, in Panama! Whether they are peonies or cherry blossoms I do not know. However, what I can tell you is that my encounter with this beautiful pink tree, might just be the spring I was hoping for!
Have a happy weekend everyone!

Greenhouse Apparel

Flowers and plants have never been my thing in the sense of actually getting my hands dirty to plant them in gardens or vases. However, in the past few weeks, I have had the chance to appreciate the botanical display that holds my terrace thanks to a very heavy paper I have been working on, partly because it is a very comfortable and fresh place to be in this hot summer and also because, for some reason, is the place in the house where the Internet signal is at its prime. Anywhoosle, this appreciation for all botanical has made me want to incorporate it in my wardrobe as well. I visualize this botanical theme in the cohesive mixes of green, beige, brown, camel, taupe and subtle pops of color here and there. However, I have been very careful that the outfits I've picked out to portray mi vision don't get mixed up with the military theme because if you're anything like me, and I'm hoping you are because if you weren't I'd be very embarrassed, military theme should reserve itself to soldiers.





Greens and browns, how more botanical could you go? Product information: Top/Forever 21, Shorts/Urban Outfitters, Sandals/J.Crew and Bag/Urban Outfitters

I know I didn't mention anything of denim in my description before, but the rose accent on this dress was just too pretty to let it pass by, paired up with some jade toned sandals and a brown messenger bag it does get a little bit more garden oriented. Product Information: Dress/Forever 21, Cardigan/Forever 21, Sandals/Urban Outfitters & Bag/Urban Outfitters.



That pop of color found in this gorgeous coral tote (WITH CHAINS!!!!) is exactly what I envisioned when expressing my concerns of the rest of the colors being too monotone without the pop of color. Product Information: Top/Forever 21, Shorts/J.Crew, Sandals/J.Crew and Bag/J.Crew.





Again, just by emracing a pop of color in the outfit, a whole lot of difference is made. Product Information: Top/Forever 21, Trousers/J.Crew, Sandals/J.Crew and Bag/J.Crew.

Book Review

I always get this odd feeling when I finish a book, whether I'm left off having mixed feelings about the ending or confused about what will be the next book I decide to dive into. Being that as it may, I just finished ¨El Misterio del Solitario¨ written by Jostein Gaarder and truth be told, it met my expectations to the fullest. If you're into philosophy and the great existential questions that the subject evokes, but also into whimsical stories that can only be found in magical books, then this my friend, is the book for you.
¨El Misterio del Solitario¨ follows a very intuitive 10-year old and his dad through a journey to find his mom in Greece. As he deepens into the adventure of embarking on a road trip with his father, he suddenly ends up in a world of cards and their meaning, just to find out that the most important piece is the Joker, who sees too much and knows too much. I'd consider it an ¨Alice in Wonderland¨ meets ¨Sofia's World¨, another one of Gaarder's masterpieces. It makes you question yourself and decide what kind of card do you want to be in the hand life has dealt you. I know which one I want to be!

P.A.C Snack

While keeping up with my daily agenda of TV shows, I encountered myself with several Food Network episodes focusing on healthy snacks. So, after a session of an hour and a half at the gym, I took a shower and went to the kitchen to fix me something to eat (15 minutes after a long session at the gym, who doesn't get a little hungry?). At that point, I remembered the shows I watched in Food Network about keeping it healthy so I made this ¨P.A.C SNACK¨ that stands for: pecans, apples and cranberries, which are the three ingredients I used for this snack.

- 1 APPLE
- HANDFUL OF CRANBERRIES
- HANDFUL OF PECANS
- 2 1/2 TABLESPOONS OF HONEY


Just cut the apple into bite size pieces, mix the cranberries and pecans, place them on a plate and drizzle the honey on top. This snack is sweet and its tangy and it's super easy to make, which comes in great after an hour and a half at the gym!