there must be other type of fields to cut down seriously. people need their weed yo'
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Pirate wear
I love this beautiful cotton skirt and the silver snake around my arm. Both are from my new favorite island style brand, Jen's pirate booty. Chic, simple, easy to wear and pretty damn stylish too. If we would have been on Ibiza this summer I know for sure what I'd be living in..
a gypsy chic delivery
Just got a very nice little package from Jen and Tim at Jen's pirate booty. Thanks guys for making me look beautiful on my birthday week! Will show you later on what was inside...
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Chinese architect Wang Shu wins Pritzker Prize, architecture's top honor
Chinese architect Wang Shu is this year's winner of the Pritzker prize, his profession's highest honor, in recognition of his efforts in designing "timeless" buildings in a nation in rapid flux, the foundation that oversees the prize announced Tuesday.
Wang, 48, whose modestly named practice Amateur Architecture Studio is based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, is only the second architect of Chinese origin to win the Pritzker, after Guangzhou-born I.M. Pei in 1983.
"Wang Shu?s oeuvre, seen in depth by the jurors during a visit to China, left no doubt that we were witnessing the work of a master," said jury chairman and British property developer Lord Peter Palumbo. He said the decision to give the Pritzker to Wang -- and in doing so catapult him into the elite of global architecture -- was unanimous among the nine jurors who included past laureates Zaha Hadid and Glenn Murcutt.
The $100,000 honor will be formally presented to Wang in Beijing on May 25. "This is really a big surprise," said Wang in a statement issued by the Hyatt Foundation of Los Angeles, which administers the prize that is sometimes known as the Nobel prize of architecture. "I am tremendously honored... I suddenly realized that I've done many things over the last decade. It proves that earnest hard work and persistence lead to positive outcomes."
Trained in architecture at the Nanjing Institute of Technology, Wang undertook his first project, a local youth center outside Hangzhou, in 1990, then spend a decade alongside craftsmen to gain hands-on building experience. His first major undertaking, a Suzhou University library in 2000 that earned him a national prize, was followed by art and history museums in Ningbo, sections of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, and an apartment complex. His fondness for marrying old and new, and his passion for sustainability, once saw him salvage more than two million tiles from demolished traditional houses to finish roofs at the Hangzhou art school.
"The question of the proper relation of present to past is particularly timely, for the recent process of urbanization in China invites debate as to whether architecture should be anchored in tradition or should look only toward the future," Palumbo said.
"As with any great architecture, Wang Shu's work is able to transcend that debate, producing an architecture that is timeless, deeply rooted in its context and yet universal." Other Pritzker laureates include Norman Foster, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. Last year the honor went to Portugal's Eduardo Soutoo de Moura.
protect yourself
just another day by the beach... feels like I'm on a girls vacation here. loving it. In the end of next week it's time for Alex and me to have another type of vacation far from the boat. One full week on another side of the world. more about that later on...
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Silent romance 'TheArtist' won five Oscars
Silent romance 'The Artist' won five Oscars on Monday including best film, and Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo' also took five of the world's top movie honours on a night where stories about movies felt the love of Hollywood.
'The Artist,' a black-and-white tale of a fading star who finds redemption through romance in the era when silent movies were overtaken by talkies, added to its best film victory with Oscars for its French star Jean Dujardin and director Michel Hazanavicius, as well for musical score and costume design.
"I am the happiest director in the world right now. Thank you for that,"Hazanavicius told the audience of stars including George Clooney, Michelle Williams, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Dujardin was equally excited, exclaiming "I love this country" before thanking the Academy, fellow filmmakers and his wife and recalling silent actor Douglas Fairbanks as an inspiration.
Meryl Streep won for her role as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who is slipping into dementia in 'The Iron Lady.' It was Streep's third Academy Award out of 17 nominations. She joked that the audience was probably tired of seeing her, then added, "whatever." But Streep couldn't hide her emotion as she choked up while thanking her husband and talking about her long career.
Director Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo, 'which tells of a boy lost in a train station and serves as an ode to early filmmaking, came into the night with a leading 11 nominations and picked up five wins for cinematography, art direction, sound editing and mixing and visual effects.
Veteran Plummer, a star of classic film 'The Sound of Music,' won his first ever Oscar for his portrayal of an elderly gay man who comes out to his family in 'Beginners,' making Oscar history becoming the oldest ever Academy Award winner at age 82.
"You're only two years older than me, darling. Where have you been all of my life," he said, looking at his golden Oscar, which was celebrating its 84th awards ceremony.
Spencer, a relative newcomer in contrast to Plummer, had to hold back tears as she accepted her trophy for her portrayal of a black, southern made in civil rights drama 'The Help.'
"Thank you Academy for putting me with the hottest guy in the room," she said holding her Oscar in her hand. She then went on to talk about her family in Alabama and could not hold back her tears as she joyously accepted her trophy.
In other major wins, the foreign language film award went to Iranian divorce drama 'A Separation.'
"I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, the people who respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment," said its director Ashgar Farhadi.
'The Artist' won five Academy Awards on Sunday including best picture, becoming the first silent film to triumph at Hollywood's highest honors since the original Oscar ceremony 83 years ago.
Among other prizes for the black-and-white comic melodrama were best actor for Jean Dujardin and director for Michel Hazanavicius.
The other top Oscars went to Meryl Streep as best actress for "The Iron Lady," Octavia Spencer as supporting actress for 'The Help' and Christopher Plummer as supporting actor for 'Beginners.'
'The Artist' is the first silent winner since the World War I saga 'Wings' was named outstanding picture at the first Oscars in 1929 had a silent film earned the top prize.
"I am the happiest director in the world," Havanavicius said, thanking the cast, crew and canine co-star Uggie. "I also want to thank the financier, the crazy person who put money in the movie."
The other wins for 'The Artist' were musical score and art direction. Martin Scorsese's Paris adventure 'Hugo' also won five Oscars, all in technical categories.
Streep's win was her first Oscar in 29 years, since she won best actress for 'Sophie's Choice.' She had lost 12 times in a row since then. Streep also has a supporting-actress Oscar for 1979's 'Kramer vs. Kramer.'
"When they called my name, I had this feeling I could hear half of America go, 'Oh, no, why her again?' But whatever," Streep said, laughing.
"I really understand I'll never be up here again. I really want to think all my colleagues, my friends. I look out here and I see my life before my eyes, my old friends, my new friends. Really, this is such a great honour but the think that counts the most with me is the friendship and the love and the sheer job we've shared making moves together," said Streep, the record-holder with 17 acting nominations. Streep is only the fifth performer to receive three Oscars. Jack Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman and Walter Brennan all earned three, while Katharine Hepburn won four.
It was a night that went as expected, with front-runners claiming key prizes. Streep's triumph provided a bit of drama, since she had been in a two-woman race with Viola Davis for "The Help."
The biggest surprise may have been the length of the show, which clocked in at about three hours and 10 minutes, brisk for a ceremony that has run well over four hours some years. The 82-year-old Plummer became the oldest acting winner ever for his role as an elderly widower who comes out as gay in 'Beginners.' The previous oldest winner was best-actress recipient Jessica Tandyfor 'Driving Miss Daisy,' at age 80.
Completing an awards-season blitz that took her from Hollywood bit player to star, Spencer won for her role in 'The Help' as a headstrong black maid whose willful ways continually land her in trouble with white employers in 1960s Mississippi.
Spencer wept throughout her breathless speech, in which she apologized between laughing and crying for running a bit long on her time limit.
"Thank you, academy, for putting me with the hottest guy in the room," Spencer said, referring to last year's supporting-actor winner Christian Bale, who presented her Oscar.
Dujardin became the first Frenchman to win an acting Oscar. French actresses have won before, including Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche.
The win is even more impressive given the type of film Hazanavicius made, a black-and-white silent movie that was a throwback to the early decades of cinema. Other than Charles Chaplin, who continued to make silent films into the 1930s, and Mel Brooks, who scored a hit with the 1976 comedy 'Silent Movie,' few people have tried it since talking pictures took over in the late 1920s.
The only other filmmaker from France to win the directing Oscar is 'The Pianist' creator Roman Polanski, who was born in France, moved to Poland as a child and has lived in France since fleeing Hollywood in the 1970s on charges he had sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Hazanavicius, known in his home country for the 'OSS 117' spy comedies but virtually unheard of in Hollywood previously, won a prize that eluded half a dozen of France's most-esteemed filmmakers, including Jean Renoir, Francois Truffaut and Louis Malle, who all were nominated for directing Oscars but never won.
The visual-effects prize had been the last chance for the 'Harry Potter' franchise to win an Oscar. The finale, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,' had been nominated for visual effects and two other Oscars but lost all three. Previous 'Harry Potter' installments had lost on all nine of their nominations.
"And yet they only paid 14 percent income tax," Oscar host Billy Crystal joked about the 'Potter' franchise. Another beloved big-screen bunch, the Muppets, finally got their due at the Oscars. 'The Muppets' earned the best-song award for "Man or Muppet," the sweet comic duet sung by Jason Segel and his Muppet brother in the film, the first big- screen adventure in 12 years for Kermit the frog and company.
Earlier Muppet flicks had been nominated for four music Oscars but lost each time, including the song prize for 'The Rainbow Connection,' Kermit's signature tune from 1979's 'The Muppet Movie.' "I grew up in New Zealand watching the Muppets on TV. I never dreamed I'd get to work with them," said "Man or Muppet" writer Bret McKenzie of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords," who joked about meeting Kermit for the first time. "Like many stars here tonight, he's a lot shorter in real life."
Filmmaker Alexander Payne picked up his second writing Oscar, sharing the adapted-screenplay prize for the Hawaiian family drama 'The Descendants' with co-writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Payne, who also directed "The Descendants," previously won the same award for "Sideways."
Woody Allen earned his first Oscar in 25 years, winning for original screenplay for the romantic fantasy 'Midnight in Paris,' his biggest hit in decades. It's the fourth Oscar for Allen, who won for directing and screenplay on his 1977 best-picture winner 'Annie Hall' and for screenplay on 1986's 'Hannah and Her Sisters.' Allen also is the record-holder for writing nominations with 15, and his three writing Oscars ties the record shared by Charles Brackett, Paddy Chayefsky, Francis Ford Coppola and Billy Wilder.
No fan of awards shows, Allen predictably skipped Sunday's ceremony, where he also was up for best director and 'Midnight in Paris' was competing in vain for best picture.
'Rango,' with Johnny Depp providing the voice of a desert lizard that becomes a hero to a parched Western town, won for best animated feature.
"Someone asked me if this film was for kids, and I don't know. But it was certainly created by a bunch of grown-ups acting like children," said "Rango" director Gore Verbinski, who made the first three of Depp's "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. Crystal got the show off to a lively start with a star-laden montage in which he hangs out with Justin Bieber and gets a nice wet kiss from George Clooney. Back as Oscar host for the first time in eight years, Crystal also did his signature introduction of the best- picture nominees with a goofy song medley.
Crystal's return as host seemed appropriate on a night that had Hollywood looking back fondly on more than a century of cinema history.
beach
Curing our hangover from last nights barbeque at the beach. I guess there are worse places to suffer a headache. Seems like my girls are enjoying their time on the island too.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Denitza
Two extremely tired but happy girls reunited last night. The great distance from each other has not given us an opportunity to meet in the last three years so it was about time for a reunion. Feels amazing to have her and her friend here for a few days. Will now go and wake them up at their hotel and I think the blue and sunny sky calls for some beach today.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
surprise
How random is that? En serio.. Having somebody calling your name, you look up from the laptop and you see a familiar face from back home that you haven't seen in 6-7 years? World is such a small place. My friend Eduardo is a navigator and he just finished the RORC 600 yesterday with the old Telefonica Negro (today called Gran Jotiti) a Volvo 70 from 2008. Their current result is eight overall in this years edition of the 600. Great news, and even greater times will be spent in the next few days. Having so many friends on this island this weekend, one week before my 30th birthday and all. I can only read that as it must be time to begin that party already.
And yes if you were wondering, Alex and me are going to get to sail with that big fast bastard one of these days this weekend. Having butterflies in my stomach already, god knows how much I love speed. Seriously, look at that video and tell me you're not tempted. Just not sure how we will fit it all into the already tight schedule but we'll just have to make it work somehow.
Now time to go greet my girlfriends who've just flied in to the island from Dubai.. cheers!
weekend's slowly approaching
Longing for some sailing, limin' on a beach and snorkeling in turquoise waters again after slaving in front of the laptop for almost three complete days. Green Island and Non Such Bay sounds like a good plan for this weekend, what do you think? And as we've planned to take our friends out on a little cruise, there's a lot of food, drinks and logistical planning involved. Where shall they all sleep? Are the extra bunks ok? Did we bring all the sheets and towels from our previous boat? What food shall I cook? What type of breakfast shall we prepare? Where's the fishing gear? How many bottles of wine shall we purchase? Do we have seasickness pills in case someone gets sick? Not too huge problems though, for now we just can't wait to get out on the water again..
Read on here to see how beautiful times we've had on Green Island in the past.
Villa Rotana - Dubai Video
Overview (Book Now ****)
Location.
This Dubai hotel is 1.4 kilometers from Burj Khalifa and 2.1 kilometers from Dubai Mall.
Hotel Features.
Villa Rotana - Dubai has a health club, an outdoor pool, a steam room, and a sauna. Business amenities include a business center, wireless Internet access, meeting rooms for small groups, and audio-visual equipment. Villa Rotana - Dubai has a restaurant, a poolside bar, and a coffee shop/café, and 24-hour room service is available.
Guestrooms.
Amenities featured in the hotel's 118 guestrooms include complimentary bottled water, coffee/tea makers, and minibars. Business-friendly amenities include multi-line phones, desks, and direct-dial phones. Bathrooms feature scales and bathrobes.
Location.
This Dubai hotel is 1.4 kilometers from Burj Khalifa and 2.1 kilometers from Dubai Mall.
Hotel Features.
Villa Rotana - Dubai has a health club, an outdoor pool, a steam room, and a sauna. Business amenities include a business center, wireless Internet access, meeting rooms for small groups, and audio-visual equipment. Villa Rotana - Dubai has a restaurant, a poolside bar, and a coffee shop/café, and 24-hour room service is available.
Guestrooms.
Amenities featured in the hotel's 118 guestrooms include complimentary bottled water, coffee/tea makers, and minibars. Business-friendly amenities include multi-line phones, desks, and direct-dial phones. Bathrooms feature scales and bathrobes.
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Villa Rotana, Dubai Photos
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Jerk chili con carne
Some of you will raise your eyebrows when you hear me calling this a chili-con-carne like Alex just did, as this isn't a juicy stew like a regular chili-con-carne "should be". But as I enjoy experimenting and doing things my own way (OK I had forgot to buy those damn tomatoes), this one turned out a bit differently. Instead of a sauce filled with tomato purée which is frequently used in the traditional chili con carne to get a sweet and smooth consistence, mine is a more rough version. And instead of having the beans mixed with the meat, I cooked em' with the rice on the side.
My meat is prepared with chili pepper, garlic, onion and cumin as the original stew but in the shape of the spicy jerk seasoning. In case you don't know what that is, jerk is a seasoning very particular to these parts of the world. I think it originates from Jamaica but has later on spread all over the Caribbean diaspora and beyond. It is mainly used to bake chicken or pork, where the meat is dry-rubbed or wet-marinated in the characteristic, and very spicy, jerk seasoning.
Jerk seasoning is normally a mix of bonnet pepper flakes (one of the hottest peppers to find), cloves, cinnamon, scallion, garlic and salt. In my chili con carne, which no matter the result of the preparation, is a chili con carne, simply meaning: chili pepper with meat, you'll also find the wonderful flavor of thyme. You all know that I love my max-15-minutes-preparations and this meal is no exception.
You'll need:
minced meat
yellow onion
garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper
jerk seasoning
fresh thyme
white rice
canned red kidney beans (or if you have your own ones prepared, that's even better)
So I panfried a generous portion of garlic, some yellow onion and lastly the minced meat in a bit of olive oil. Sprinkled some salt, pepper, finely chopped fresh thyme and jerk seasoning into the pan. Added in a cup of water and left it to simmer for a while. Before this would have been a great idea to put the rice to boil. Normally I panfry my rice in the pan in oil and salt before I pour in the water. Throw in your beans into the rice and mix well. If you'd like you could cut in some garlic into the rice too. I live under the perception that the more garlic in your life, the better.
In about ten minutes you should have your meal done and chili dishes are always best served with an ice cold beer. This food is excellent to prepare more than what you need of it as after a day in the fridge it is even tastier when it has well soaked in all the good spices.
Villa Rotana - Dubai
Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Wasl, Dubai (Book Now)
Located on the city’s famous Sheikh Zayed Road, Villa Rotana looks onto the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world. The hotel features spa facilities and a roof-top outdoor pool.
Guests can choose among open-plan studios complete with kitchenette or larger bedroom suites with flat-screen satellite TVs. They all present a contemporary décor with designer furnishings.
The hotel’s Moka Café is open throughout the day and serves a range of snacks, light meals and refreshments.
Villa Rotana apart-hotel also offers leisure facilities that include a fully-equipped gym, a steam room and a hot tub.
Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall Metro Station is 200 metres away, while Dubai Media City and Internet City are located 4km from the property. The public beach and the Mall of the Emirates are both 10 minutes away by car.
Hotel Rooms: 118, Hotel Chain: Rotana.
Hotel Facilities
General
Restaurant, 24-Hour Front Desk, Newspapers, Non-Smoking Rooms, Elevator, Safety Deposit Box, Soundproofed Rooms, Luggage Storage, Air Conditioning, Designated Smoking Area
Activities
Sauna, Fitness Centre, Golf Course (within 3 km), Hot Tub, Turkish/Steam Bath, Indoor Swimming Pool, Outdoor Swimming Pool
Services
Room Service, Meeting/Banquet Facilities, Business Centre, Babysitting/Child Services, Laundry, Dry Cleaning, Breakfast in the Room, Currency Exchange, Shoe Shine, Car Hire
Internet
Wi-fi is available in the entire hotel and costs AED 15 per 30 minutes.
Wi-fi is available in the entire hotel and costs AED 20 per hour.
Wi-fi is available in the entire hotel and costs AED 80 per 24 hours.
Parking
Free! Free private parking is possible on site (reservation is not needed).
Hotel Policies
Check-in
14:00 - 00:00 hours
Check-out
07:00 - 12:00 hours
Cancellation / Prepayment
Cancellation and prepayment policies vary by room type. Please enter the dates of your stay and check the conditions of your required room.
Children and extra beds
Free! Up to two children under 12 years stay free of charge when using existing beds.
Free! All children under 2 years stay free of charge for cots.
All older children or adults are charged AED 100 per night per person for extra beds.
Maximum capacity of extra beds/babycots in a room is 1.
Any type of extra bed or baby cot is upon request and needs to be confirmed by the hotel.
Supplements will not be calculated automatically in the total costs and have to be paid separately in the hotel.
Pets
Pets are not allowed.
Groups
When booking more than 10 rooms, different policies and additional supplements may apply.
Accepted credit cards
American Express, Visa, Euro/Mastercard, Diners Club
The hotel reserves the right to pre-authorise credit cards prior to arrival.
Important information
Some nationalities can get an entry permit stamped in their passport upon arrival at the airport. Please check your visa requirements before travelling.
Please present the credit card used to make this reservation upon check-in at the hotel. If you are booking on someone else’s behalf, please contact the hotel directly to arrange for third party billing.
We guarantee
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Sheraton Deira Hotel, Dubai - Video
Overview (Book Now ****)
Location.
This Dubai hotel is in the Deira neighborhood, 2.3 kilometers from Al-Maktoum Stadium and 2.6 kilometers from Deira City Centre.
Hotel Features.
Sheraton Deira Hotel, Dubai has a restaurant, a bar/lounge, and a poolside bar. 24-hour room service is available. This Dubai hotel includes a business center.
Guestrooms.
Air conditioned guestrooms feature desks, wireless high-speed Internet (surcharge), and 32-inch LCD televisions. Other amenities include minibars and complimentary newspapers. Bathrooms feature hair dryers.
Location.
This Dubai hotel is in the Deira neighborhood, 2.3 kilometers from Al-Maktoum Stadium and 2.6 kilometers from Deira City Centre.
Hotel Features.
Sheraton Deira Hotel, Dubai has a restaurant, a bar/lounge, and a poolside bar. 24-hour room service is available. This Dubai hotel includes a business center.
Guestrooms.
Air conditioned guestrooms feature desks, wireless high-speed Internet (surcharge), and 32-inch LCD televisions. Other amenities include minibars and complimentary newspapers. Bathrooms feature hair dryers.
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