Karim’s posterous

- K

It seems like every day more and more celebrities are getting on twitter, from Ashon, to Britney to Xzibit to Russel Brand. I don't know about you, but I find the twittering of these mordern day demi-gods absolutely fascinating. It's awesome to see just how ordinary some of these celebrities are, and in some cases, have our theories about their aid-headedness confirmed.

This got me thinking about the appeal of twitter to these kind of people. Sure there's the marketing perspective, great too to manage your fanbase and get the word out there. But it also much be very relieving for these people to be able to quickly, easily and succinctly communicate with normal people without the usually intermediary of big media. In a sense, Twitter allows these celebrities to be 'normal' in a secure and protected way.

It was inevitable that the barrier-breaking power of the internet would eventually crack the sheltered world of celebs just as it did that of well known brands and faceless corporations, and more notably presedential candidates. A decade or more ago it'd be unthinkable to have the top management and presedential hopefuls would be blogging, responding to user feedback and twittering all in a transparent forum. Now that we've seen these type of people join the social media game, it's not surprising celebrities would get in on the act too.

This type of interaction could change the way we percieve celebrities in the future though. Instead of allowing paparazzi to sell their holiday snaps, celebs can post them themselves. In stead of lenthly and tiring interviews, they can reply back to people directly on twitter. Waiting for your daily fix of celebrity gossip? No need, the celebs can give it to you from the 'horse's' mouth. It could also change the way celebrities work, maybe encouring them to steal some tactics from the plethora of web-made celebrities.

However it plays out, I can only see this direct interaction between celebs and their fans as beeing a good thing. Oh and by the way, Di Caprio, you're last movie sucked!

It's seems more and more people who are starting blogs or personal websites declare themselves, unequivocally, as gurus of their stated  métier. Often this is with little correlation to their experience or achievements in this stated area of expertise.

Nothing wrong with a bit of confidence, but I have trouble believing that everyone is an instant Guru. I also believe that people shouldn't be ashamed of admitting that they are still learning. We're all still learning. I know I have a certain level of expertise in the areas I work in, but I also know that my working career has been a constant process of learning. Hopefully with a lot more learning still to do. I can't imagine not having the pleasure and enjoyment of contant learning as part of my work. So why the rush to declare oneself a Guru, that doesn't leave much room for improvement.

After all, we all know who the top Gurus out there really are, the people that have risen to the tops of their respective fields through time, experience, hard work and innate talent. Mr Brody from Tapanga Falls, I don't think you count as one of them. But that's ok, have a bit of humility, admit that you're learning, you can admire the top dogs, the Gurus and strive to emulate them, but there's not need for unsubstantiated bravado.

Relax, chill. Take your time, learn a bit, enjoy the learning process. It's ok not to be a Guru just yet.

Rambo: Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don't turn it off! It wasn't my war! You asked me, I didn't ask you! And I did what I had to do to win! But somebody wouldn't let us win! And I come back to the world and I see all those maggots at the airport, protesting me, spitting. Calling me baby killer and all kinds of vile crap! Who are they to protest me? Who are they? Unless they've been me and been there and know what the hell they're yelling about!

Trautman: It was a bad time for everyone, Rambo. It's all in the past now.

Hans Gruber: I thought I told all of you, I want radio silence until further-

John McClane: Ooooh, I'm very sorry Hans. I didn't get that message. Maybe you should've put it on the bulletin board. I figured since I've waxed Tony and Marco and his friend here, I figured you and Karl and Franco might be a little lonely, so I wanted to give you a call.

Ok, so I watched this movie, being a fan of Woody Allen movies, I felt I had to check out his latest work. My basic impression is that it's so-so, with the performances by Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem lifting the film above the undesireable status of 'crap'.

As usual, Scarlett Johansson demonstrated the typically low levels of personality and acting ability, why Woody Allen chose her yet again for one of his films is beyond me. If you closely observe his pattern in hiring actresses to consistently star in his films, his choices seem based as much on a fascination for the actresses themselves rather than just their acting ability. Not sure if this is the best strategy when Johansson is involved.

The film kicks off with the two main Characters, Vicky and Cristina (Johansson) casually arriving in Barcelona to stay with some family friends who have a HUGE house with spanish servants (as one does, naturally). As is the case with most American's, Vicky doesn't need to work because her fiancee is loaded and Cristina seems to have a myseriously endless supply of income with her only key achievement beeing the filming of a 12 minute film.

Anyhows, the typical Allen-esque web of relationships, seduction, count-seduction ensues when Bardim approaches Vicky and Cristina as the animalistically sexually potent Juan Antonio in a Barcelona restaurant and invites them for a weekend of fine food, wine and love making.

The Spanish scenery and charm keeps the movie interesting, but the contant narration of events, and the somewhat dated Allen-esque diaologe leaves the film lacking in impact.

Whereas Match Point seemed to be an attempt by Allen to try to create an original film in comparison of his owther works, Vicky Cristina Barcelona seems to be a modern remake of a mish-mash of 1970's allen films, nothing really original about it, with the brief performance of Cruz being the films main saving grace.