Yep, The travel plans for the next few months are getting confirmed!

MARCH: 5 days in Nashville, TN (confirmed and tickets bought)

APRIL: 11 days split in Barcelona and Haro (La Rioja), Spain (confirmed and tickets and blessed by the Consulate of Spain)

MAY: 4 days in Montréal, Canada (unconfirmed.... but getting there very rapidly, needs more planning and blessing from Consulate of Canada)

JUNE: 6 days (back) in Nashville, TN (confirmed, nothing booked.... as there is no budget after having booked the March and April trips.... hee hee)

Whew! Looks likes a year of trips! Most of the trips are work related trips. But after work, I am planning to stay on at the new place and wander around in that neck of the woods, exploring, eating (hopefully exercising) and enjoying!

More than 30 days and no blog! Shame on me! Was I lazy/tired/bored/annoyed? or Was I cold? I really don't know. Perhaps it was the month to hibernate!

Every year sometime during the tail end of winter, I hibernate, away from public view. Mostly because, if I don't I can become quite crabby! But I see that winter is receding (although not today) but last week we had some warm days and the upcoming week is also going to be on the warmer side. So, the outlook is brightening.

So what have I been up to the past month?

In short, I was playing host to my father, who was visiting for couple of weeks. Unfortunately it was too cold to take him around and there was not enough snow to take him skiing somewhere. The problem was that I was at work and busy at that, and he was probably bored out and yearned to get back to warmer weather. Unlike my sister, who has two kids, that can be quite entertaining, I have two cats, who are really not entertaining as kids.

I moved desks space at work. And went from being comfortable to miserable. But my office lot is cool and they have organized to have it more comfortable. Ah... well... it remains to be seen when it will get done.

Whilst hibernating, the best thing to do is eat, watch movies and read. I highly recommend not starting anything that is critical or crucial or has long term repercussions. So, I did exactly that.

So, in the last 6 weeks, I put on 5 lbs! (Dang! Now to work on getting it down!)

Along the journey of putting on 5lbs, I read The Last Templar. If you liked Da Vinci Code, then this is a good read too. I just disagree with ending. It would have prefered if the author had left it open ended. That is everyone can make up their own mind to believe in the Templar or not. Also, mindlessly read,  If Tomorrow Comes (Sidney Sheldon) and currently reading some other random book whose title eludes me right now.  [Edit: The book currently in hand is The Jester by James Patterson]

And I watched movies such as Coma (1978) (did not think it was too frightening, book was of course better), The Family Stone (eh! ok!),  The Sentinel (mediocre at its best), Mission Impossible III (actually liked it, but I think the first one is really the better one, to think of it, I have not see Mission Impossible II), The Lavender Hill Mob (Awesome! with a capital A), Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (dark as the book, pretty good), Flightplan (2005) (Wanted to watch this, for Sean Bean, pretty decent, but nothing to write home about), Snatch (again.... I needed the laugh, and boy does this deliver!), The Queen (Helen Mirren is awesome), Prime Suspect 6 - The Last Witness, Breach (left me wanting more details), and I have no idea what possessed me to watch Tenerife, but I did.

Oh! I also did a bit of running around, getting paperwork done for Taxes (groan!) and travel itineraries for Nashville, TN and then, of course Barcelona, Spain!

I have never seen a Dutch movie, much less the one that won the Oscars (1998) for best foreign films. It is definitely not a movie, I would have picked myself. But then I usually pass on movies, only to return to them and enjoy them tremendously. Karakter (or Character) should really be called Characters, because the movie contains one too many 'characters'. Or is it meant to say 'building' character?

Summary: Based on the novel "Karakter" by Dutch novelist Ferdinand Bordewijk, the story is set in Rotterdam during the 1920s. The love-hate relationship between the father Dreverhaven (played by the Flemish actor Jan Decleir) and the son Jacob Katadreuffe (Fedja van Huet) works very well. Both have extremely strong characters and their ambitions make them blind for the possibilities of love. Right from the early childhood, Jacob feels the abandonment from his father, his mother and school friends. The estrangement, slowly deepens into hate and strong will to fight every step of the way for Jacob. At almost every step of the way, Jacob finds himself checkmated by his father. But he is not willing to throw in the towel. Against all odds, he strives and struggles to become a lawyer and succeeds in it.

It was wonderful to watch the characters develop, and in a word - 'strangle' each other emotionally, until the end.

Perhaps the best moment is when early in the movie, Jacob storms into Dreverhaven's office and address the latter:

Jacob: Today I have been made a lawyer. You no longer exist for me! You have worked against me all my life!
Dreverhaven: ...... or for you!

I loved that exchange, because the exchange completely captures the resentment and hate between the two and also the strong undercurrents of character building by fire.

It was indeed powerful. Watching this movie comes at a very interesting timing. I think, I want, a vacation and I think it is going to be Netherlands. This movie is set in Rotterdam, Netherlands. So, maybe that is why I was receptive to watching this movie in the first place. Definitely a good movie to watch, but not a Friday night flick.

Layer Cake (L4yer Cake) found its way to my viewing list after Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and I was.... who in the devil is that blond guy. As it turns out it is Daniel Craig. I put the movie on my netflix list and one movie after another kept getting put on the top of my list, so I really did not see this one till recently.

What did I think about the movie? Damn! (Can I say that on the internet?) what a script, what set of characters; so unique, so violent and so damn (so, I swore again!) criminal. The movie reminded me of Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels, and also Snatch. While both these are hilarious, Layer Cake I found to be that much darker and more serious.

Daniel Craig's (XXXX, nameless man in the movie) narrative is what opens the movie, and keeps you grounded, and ends the movie. I loved the movie, because, right from the first shot, the movie takes you from one the ordinary life to the criminal and switches back and forth. The movie holds your attention and you don't even want to blink an eye, lest you miss something important, like a look in the eye or a wave of the hand or something. The script at times is hilarious and so well delivered by all in the movie. At times I wasn't sure who I was rooting for. And! The ending..... awesome! I could not have thunk of another way to end the movie.

Well.... what are you waiting for.... go see this one and invite me if you don't want to see it alone. :)

"Viola! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta held as votive not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose. So let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Whew! Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles! I have heard any thing so verbose and so elequently delivered as the above in V for Vendetta. I watched this movie couple of days ago and quite presently surprised. I cannot believe I did not see this movie when it was in the theatres. It must be fantastic on the full screen. The story line is 'simple' yet very powerful. I have enjoyed reading Count of Monte Cristo, right from an early age, I have read the unabridged and later the full version and something about the idea of Edmond Dantes always remained alive and vibrant with me. This movie refers to Count of Monte Cristo and the Edmond Dantes multiple times and so closely resembles it (one man seeking vendetta on the wrong-doers). I love (read: absolutely love) Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, it always inspires me and brings hope for tomorrow. This is so well played in the movie with its significance of ending tyranny and bringing hope to the people. Like I have said before the soundtrack makes/breaks the movie for me, and this movie delivers and more!

Geschwister Simon Ayler Kupp Riesling Spätlese Saar 2005  (Germany, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Saar)
		A top quality classic Riesling. Aromas of honey and ripe stone fruit flow into flavors of peaches and citrus. The refreshing finish leaves flavors of fruit and honey coated nuts on the palate. I have not had a good Riesling in ages and when my sister accompanied me to the wine store. I asked her to pick something. We looked around for something that she was trying to recall, but at the end picked something that looked good. I think we did excellently. Walter (my neighbor) commented that is was a very good Riesling and that usually they have a after taste of mineral/slate, but this one was very well balanced. (He should know, he has travelled to these areas and has tried some of these wines). Buy Factor: Absolutely anytime

A little about German Wines:

What is Qualitatswein mit Prädikat (QmP)?
Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (quality wine with special attributes) must fulfill the following conditions: (a) must be produced exclusively from German produce from recognised roster of grapes grown in one Bereich (district) within one of the 13 specified wine-growing regions that has a declared label, (b) must reach a natural alcohol content as legally prescribed for the region, for the grape and level of ripeness at harvest.

Kabinett? must be made from fully ripened grapes. Usually light wines with a low alcohol content. Excellent with or without meals.

Spätlese? literally means late harvets. So the grapes a riper and hence the wine is more intense in flavor and concentration, but not necessarily sweet. Good with richer, more flavorful foods or just by themselves.

Aulese? made from very selected, very ripe grapes. They are noble wines, intense in bouquet and taste.

Beerenauslese (BA)? made from individually-selected, overripe berries that usually are infected by Botrytis cinerea (noble rot). These are rarities, harvested only when exceptional weather conditions enable the grapes to ripen to this extent. They are notable for their longevity (can be stored for decades). Remarkably rich, sweet dessert wines, or to be enjoyed by themselves.

Eiswein? made from grapes as ripe as BA, but harvested and pressed while frozen. Truly unique wines with a remarkable concentration of fruity acidity and sweetness

Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA)? made from individually-selected berries which are overripe (and usually infected by noble rot) and dried up almost to raisins. Rarities. Extraordinary longevity. Rich, sweet, luscious, honey-like wines. BA and TBA may not be harvested mechanically. The individual state governments have the authority to decide whether or not to permit Auslese and Eiswein to be harvested mechanically.

Hmmmm..... who knew... :) Now I do. :)

This is what Duke is upto when I hold him over my shoulders. He loves to clamber over and as I bend over, he take a 'short' walk on my back.