30. Los Asesinos del Emperador.

30. Los Asesinos del Emperador. Santiago Posteguillo. 1185 paginas. Febrero 2012.

Bienvenidos al mundo de Marco Ulpio Trajano. Esta es una de las novelas históricas mas fieles a la historia. Es excelente para aprender y entretenida a la vez. La novela sigue varios personajes, alrededor del asesinato del emperador Domiciano, y los eventos que precedieron a un gran cambio en las políticas de Roma. El ascenso de un emperador no ciudadano romano sino, nacido en una provincia de Hispania. Es uno de los libros que me hizo recordar la gran importancia de Roma para la formación del mundo actual y como por pequeños eventos de la antigüedad sucedieron los eventos que condujeron el mundo.

Los personajes son muy bien elaborados. Llama la atención que los capítulos de Trajano no son el centro de la historia, sino los relacionados con el emperador en Roma.

"Nunca sabes cuanto duele perder algo que quieres hasta que llega el momento..."

" En este mundo hay que aprender a observar primero y hacer las preguntas adecuadas después. Quien yerra en cualquiera de estos dos puntos esta condenado al sufrimiento propio...

"

29. El Regreso del Joven Príncipe.

29. El Regreso del Joven Príncipe. A.G. Roemmers. 124 paginas. Enero 2012.

Trata de ser como el principito, pero no lo es. Es extraño y es imposible no comparar pero el desarrollo del libro es extraño, si bien tiene varios aspectos que he pensado varias veces y que son importantes recordar, pero a veces suenan muy sentimentales o muy forzados en la conversación entre el príncipe y el autor.

Los temas interesantes recorren entre otros: El vivir en el pasado y en el futuro en vez de en el presente, dilemas entre el ser y tener, la orientación de los medios y los fines, la felicidad y el amor, la actitud de felicidad frente a la vida, el dar y el recibir.

27. Inheritance.

27. Inheritance. Christopher Paolini. 860 pages. October 2011.

Paolini decreased the interest of the history with every book. This one is the proof that the story got bigger than what he imagined and he could not deal with a good development and end for it.

Most of the books is useless, everything resolves in a few chapters and in a stupid way. Galbatorix was so powerful that he was virtually impossible to defeat.

"Was a broad but shallow education superior to one that was narrow but deep?"

"It is easy to be calm when there is nothing to worry about. The true test of your self control, however, is whether you can remain calm in a trying situation."

"Change itself is never good nor bad, but knowledge is always useful."

39. X-Men: First Class. September 2011. Matthew Vaughn.

39. X-Men: First Class. September 2011. Matthew Vaughn.

It was good to see the origin of the old mutants, and the beginning of the friendship between Magneto and Professor X, when they were called Eric and Charles. The movie is not very good and it relies a lot on the special effects more than in the story itself.

38. Bodyguard. September 2011. Siddique.

38. Bodyguard. September 2011. Siddique.

Not as good as the other indian movie I saw. This one was more representative of Bollywood as it had more dancing and more festivities.

The movie is bad, but is interesting to see movies from another culture.

26. A Dance with Dragons.

26. A Dance with Dragons. George R. R. Martin. 1009 pages. September 2011.

Finally a book that changed things and speeded up the situations. This is the second book after "A game of thrones", that it is well paced and almost all chapters have something interesting. The end is excellent and the author doesn't care about killing important characters for the story (that was shown with all the Stark family and Robert). I discovered what is the problem that makes this books so different from TLoTR and others like that, is that it tries to cover so much points fo view that the reader forgets the importance of some things, there are still things that happen in the second book that hasn't come specially relevant to the story but they must be.

The book is good just wait for the remaining two.

37. Aarakshan (Reservation). August 2011. Prakash Jha.

37. Aarakshan (Reservation). August 2011. Prakash Jha.

A cultural experiment that went very well. It is not real Bollywood but is still the first complete indian movie I watch. It was excellent because it touched many aspects I have think about and have some relation to the situation in Colombia. The movie is full of contrasts and mixing of culture, chastes, social classes and differences in education. They show an education based on chastes. The movie has good music and the dancing "just for fun" are funny. That system based on chastes and scores is a really hard system in the way that they see education as the only end, but many people fails and are considered losers. The main aspect of the movie is that the race for education is unequal and that people from low and high chastes start at different levels and for this reason are in disadvantage, and for this they have a "reservation" of spots for higher education. My conclusion stays in that if they have the same opportunities and the same base the reservation has to be abolished. Another problem is the opposite, when the reservation becomes to big and the high classes start to be at disadvantage. The problem is between elitism and equity vs charity and effort. In some way is the same thing in Colombia with the public and the private universities.

36. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. July 2011. David Yates.

36. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. July 2011. David Yates.

It all ends. Probably one of the best movies of the year, probably the best HP movie. I liked it for many reasons:

1) It is the epic conclusion to a story with which I grew up and is exciting to see it represented in "real life". Sentimentally is good to see the end of the story and look backwards to all the series.

2) It was my first movie on IMAX, and the experience is excellent, is the best possible image, surrounded with the clearer sound you can get in the biggest screen I have ever been.

3) The movie itself is fast paced and exciting, the left all the good stuff for the end, with all the battles and the tension moments.

4) The movie is very well done, it has some problems comparing with the books (but is the movie and it always will happen), but for the people who hasn't read the books is perfectly understandable.

5) They spent all the money they needed to get excellent visual effects and great scenes, specially the battles, finally a big battle showing great spells and the final confrontation between Voldemort and Harry.

Of course the movie has some flaws but the good things are much more important than the details.

35. Blue Valentine. June 2011. Derek Cianfrance.

35. Blue Valentine. June 2011. Derek Cianfrance.

I liked the feelings of the movie, how a relationship can goes from the wonder of the beginning to a complete failure. Works with the idea that people can have good and bad things and that many adjectives are not exclusive and everybody has some good and evil. My classic example for this is that you can be an excellent doctor and be mean with patients, being nice and being a good doctor are not exclusive. The usual saying that a relationship has to be nurtured everyday is a cliche but is true (another example of non exclusive adjectives).

"So if I break your heart last night is because I love you most of all".

34. Sucker Punch. June 2011. Zack Snyder.

34. Sucker Punch. June 2011. Zack Snyder.

I only watched this movie because of the director, and expecting to see the visual settings and the colors of the movie. The movie is bad, the story has no foundation. But as I expected the music and the pictures were good, as the name in spanish they are surreal. Of course this aspects do not make a good movie. The first fight with the giant samurais is excellent.

"We control the worlds we create"

33. Kung Fu Panda. June 2011. John Wayne Stevenson.

33. Kung Fu Panda. June 2011. John Wayne Stevenson.

The story is very similar to the first one, a simple story with an already predetermined end. The characters are good, the action sequences are great, especially when the 5 warriors are fighting simultaneously. But unfortunately they just tell the same jokes from the first one, and they repeat more or less some of the situations. Despite this I stay with my idea that this kind of movies are offering something else to the adult public, and the things they are creating with computers are very entertaining to see.

25. A Feast for Crows.

25. A Feast for Crows. June 2011. George R. R. Martin. 753 pages. July 2011.

Again for the third time in a row more of the same. More inconclusive plots of different stories. The best ones are the shortest ones the other ones do not add much to the story or are very slow. Despite all the bad feelings about the series, I already bought the fifth book and I am going to keep reading until it finishes just for seeing the end. I am convinced now that this series is for very faithful fans or for experienced fantasy readers. It is not like HP (I like HP), that anyone who picks up the series will finish it. I hope the TV series creates more fans for the books, and encourages GRRM to write faster.

32. The Hangover Part 2. June 2011. Todd Phillips.

32. The Hangover Part 2. June 2011. Todd Phillips.

Esta es una película de puro cine crispeta. Es una total replica de la primera, cada personaje cumpliendo el mismo rol, teniendo una misma ruta, e incluso bromas repetidas y adaptadas a la situación solo cambiando el lugar. La película es pésima, tiene algunos chistes charros, pero la lógica de la película, el guion, las situaciones inverosímiles e inexplicadas, y algunas actuaciones hacen una mala película.

31. Pirates of the Caribbean. On Stranger Tides.

31. Pirates of the Caribbean. On Stranger Tides. May 2011. Rob Marshall.

Piratas del Caribe tiene su sello propio. Ya van cuatro películas y la formula es seguir el estilo de la primera mientras a la gente le guste y siga dando plata. La personificación de Jack Sparrow es bacana, pero no se ha cambiado nada y ya se vuelve muy repetitiva. Lo que mas me gusto de esta fue la adición de las sirenas y del barco de Barba Negra. Las sirenas fueron muy bien hechas y es bacano el hecho de que se transformen en humanas en tierra. Que lastima que no hayan mostrado el Perla Negra, y que no hayan mostrado el barco de Barba Negra en combate (De pronto es que era muy poderoso para competir con otros barcos). La relación de Angelica y Jack no me gusto, Penelope no cuadro del todo en la película. La historia es la mas floja de todas hasta ahora.

30. Soul Kitchen.

30. Soul Kitchen. May 2011. Fatih Akin.

Algo que me gusta mucho del cine europeo, es la forma de contar sus historias. Las historias generalmente son de la vida normal. Si bien en algunas se juntan diferentes situaciones que a veces son difíciles de encontrar juntas, cada historia es de personas con vidas normales que podrían existir en algún lugar de Europa. Otra cosa que me gusta de las películas Europeas, es su multiculturalidad. En esta película aparecen personas de al menos cinco nacionalidades y diferentes regiones, y se escucha al menos tres idiomas tanto en el guion como en la musica.

Esta película me pareció una película que ilustra el cambio. Cada personaje esta en una etapa de cambio constante o va a cambiar a lo largo de la película. Lo interesante es que son cambios normales de la vida. Cambios laborales (El chef excéntrico), cambios de pareja (Zinos con su novia desde lejos), cambios de amistad, las trampas por dinero, la modificación del restaurante, la enfermedad de la columna de Zinos, el viejito Socrates y su barco que nunca iba a pagar la pensión, y en general cada situación que se da en la película y los obliga a cambiar y a replantear las cosas. Esto me gusta por que yo creo que debemos estar abiertos al cambio en todo sentido, y tener mas plasticidad mental y adaptabilidad a las situaciones de la vida.

"El viajero aun no ha llegado a su destino". Lema de Shayn Weiss, el cocinero. Esta frase La deja el Chef en la puerta de Soul Kitchen cuando sigue en su viaje y se adapta nuevamente al cambio.

24. A Storm of Swords.

24. A Storm of Swords. George R. R. Martin. 1145 pages. June 2011.

More of the same. The 7 books wont change much on their style, just the developing of the story that can end in a complete success or in complete shame. Finally some things are revealed, but more things create doubts that nobody knows when will be told. Now the characters that have been pov all the time are very well developed. The story is moving forward now, but soon some of the characters will have to lose and the fans of every character wont be happy with that.

" There can be honor in a lie if it is told for the right reason". Samwell tarly to himself.

"Sometimes the short road is not the safest". Mance Ryder to Jon Snow.

"Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin". King Jaehaerys Targaryen to Barristan Selmy.

29. Rio.

29. Rio. Mayo 2011. Carlos Saldanha.

Una de las películas mas charras que me he visto este año. La película tiene altibajos y cosas predecibles que se le perdonan por ser una película para niños. A pesar de esto llevo varios años sorprendidos por la capacidad de la gente de hacer "películas infantiles" tan complejas sin perder su atractivo para los niños, es increíble como hacen una película seria que los adultos disfruten disfrazada de una película infantil.

23. A Clash of Kings.

23. A Clash of Kings. George R. R. Martin. 760 pages. May 2011.

This book was similar to the last one. It has the same good things and the same flaws.

The books is interesting it has the action in different fronts and you want to know what is going to happen. The problem is that you want to know what is going to happen in 5 different stories and you have to wait more than 120 pages to find out. The book is complex in its plot, the alliances change very fast and you have to put attention. I do not know who this guy is going to put together all the stories at the end, make them a big story. Another problem is that you get some point of views that make you side with some of the character and hate the other ones. At some time someone has to lose. The story advanced very well but some things that seemed important in the past are now forgotten are they going to be brought back to the plot?? This book is only for fans, I do not know how they are going to put it in a television series, from what I have seen in GoT the plot is hard to follow on screen.

"The longer he lived, the more Tyrion realized that nothing was simple and little was true."

"Power resides where men believe it resides, its a trick a shadow in the wall, and a very small man can cast a very large shadow." Game of Thrones season 2 trailer, HBO airing 2012.

"Death is so boring specially now that there is so much excitement in the world..." Tyrion Lannister to Jeoffrey Lannister.

"Knowledge is power... power is power..."

22. A Game of Thrones.

22. A Game of Thrones. George R. R. Martin. 694 pages. May 2011.

The plot is very complex and very crowded (probably has more characters than TLOtR). The plot is intelligent in a wicked twisted way, but the problem is that is not centered as many books in the principal character. Martin tries to show 9-12 points of view, the good the bad and the neutral characters, so you find out everything every character is thinking but that makes the story slow and sometimes confuses the reader. The HBO miniseries is more agile. The story plots seem very distant I hope they join in a good way by the seventh book.

This weakness is also a strength because the characters are very well created and very complex. And it is also created for a different reader than in the past, now people is more interactive and are able to follow multiple story lines at the same time.

"Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you." Tyrion Lannister to Jon snow.

"Watching is not seeing. Opening your eyes is all that is needed. The heart lies and the head plays tricks with us, but the eyes see true. Look with your eyes. Hear with your ears. Taste with your mouth. Smell with your nose. Feel with your skin. Then comes the thinking, afterward, and in that way knowing the truth. The man who fears losing has already lost. Never do what they expect." Syrio Forel to Arya Stark.

21. Invitacion a un Asesinato

21. Invitación a un Asesinato. Carmen Posadas. 359 paginas. Abril 2011.

Literatura light, entretenido, con algunas alusiones a libros de detectives.

Y es que se puede mentir mucho alejándose apenas de la verdad.

El enamoramiento no es más que un cóctel de endorfinas con dopamina o serotonina y que dura exactamente treinta meses.

Páncreas, esa es la palabra que menciono el doctor Pedralbes antes de explicar lo que significaba dicho termino en su caso. “Páncreas “e “incurable” son palabras que suelen ir juntas, así lo sintetizo él, vaya eufemismo… pero vaya coño la muerte es lo más trivial del mundo. Todos tenemos que pasar por ahí, tarde o temprano, lo verdaderamente importante es el cómo, no el cuándo.

Pero ese es, me temo, el problema con los mentirosos y con los que les gusta demasiado llamar la atención, nadie les cree, incluso (o tal vez debería decir sobre todo) cuando dicen la verdad.

Tengo observado que los jóvenes de hoy carecen de filtro; dicen todo lo que les pasa por la cabeza. Para mí que confunden la sinceridad con la diarrea mental.

Pensar fuera de la caja consistía en salirse del carril, del marco habitual de pensamiento, relacionar, por tanto, cosas dispares y, a veces, sumar peras con manzanas.

19. 20. Contra el Viento del Norte. La Septima Ola.

19. 20. Contra el Viento del Norte. La Septima Ola. Daniel Glattauer.

Los libros no fueron la gran cosa. Lo mas llamativo que tenían era el estilo. Escrito enteramente en correos electrónicos en los cuales solo se incluyen dos personajes y hasta las situaciones donde se encontraban eran relatados por el correo. El primero es mucho mas ingenioso e inventivo que el segundo. Muestra los procesos que se dan en la atracción y el enamoramiento de una manera diferente y muy detallada. Hace metáforas bacanas con los efectos de la naturaleza, el viento del norte, y la séptima ola.

No hay demostración científica pero entre algunos grupos de gente (surfistas en general) y múltiples escritos en la literatura existe la creencia de que cada siete olas, se produce una mas alta que las otras.

"... aquí cuentan la historia de la indómita séptima ola. Las primeras seis son previsibles y equilibradas. Se condicionan unas a otras, se basan unas en otras, no deparan sorpresas. Mantienen la continuidad. Seis intentos, por mas diferentes que parezcan vistos de lejos, seis intentos... y siempre el mismo destino.

Pero !cuidado con la séptima ola! La séptima ola es imprevisible. Durante mucho tiempo pasa inadvertida, participa en el monótono proceso, se adapta a sus predecesoras. Pero a veces estalla. Siempre ella, siempre la séptima. Porque es despreocupada, inocente, rebelde barre con todo, lo cambia todo. Para ella no existe el antes, solo el ahora. Y después todo es distinto. ¿Mejor o peor? Eso solo pueden decirlo quienes tuvieron el coraje de enfrentarla, de dejarse cautivar..."

18. Routine Miracles.

18. Routine Miracles. Conrad Fischer. 336 pages. March 2011.

This is the kind of stuff that has been getting most of my attention lately. TED, Conrad Fischer, great people in every field, investigation opportunities in the United States, Phd and Postdoctoral careers. My mind is lately filled with this kind of stuff, I want to go to the United States to have the opportunities, I may not be one of this brilliant minds but I want to be as close to them as it can be. I have the drive, the desire, I want to help in the construction of what I think is the knowledge, and pyramid in which even the wrong bricks help and is constantly rising.

"The object is to inoculate the best and brightest of our society against negativity, false despair, and fear... To shield their minds from a rampant cynicism and narrow mindedness of senior physicians and faculty and to inspire them to get back in that laboratory to choose the most difficult problems to solve in medicine and find cures - for cancer, for rheumatoid arthritis, for asthma, for blindness, for depression, and for myriad other causes of suffering. The best minds of our generations will need positivity and optimism, unlimited energy and enthusiasm. And they will need the confident hope that when you gather the smartest people in the room in the search for a cure, they will find it."

28. Black Swan.

28. Black Swan. Darren Aronofsky.

A great masterpiece. Natalie Portman earned her Oscar with this movie. I liked the duality between the white and the black swan. The changes in the personality as I have thought since I was a kid with my astrological sign Gemini. The end of the movie is great, the falling in grace as the white swan committing suicide and dying happy is excellent.

27. The 11th Hour.

27. The 11th Hour. Nadia Conners.

A movie about climate change. I didn't had anything different to my old perspectives. It only kept my awareness of the problem turned on. Right now I cant do much, buy I hope with time and the right decisions I will be able to help more.

26. An education.

26. An education. Lone Scherfig.

A strong movie brought forward by the leading cast. The story is a little awkward and hard to believe but is well constructed. The thing I liked the most is the duality (That I also have in my life) of the difference in happiness that you can achieve by having a relaxed life and full of pleasures enjoying life, and the satisfaction of studying and working hard. My conclusion is that I wish to study and work and come to a elite of investigation in medicine, while enjoying the life and the academics.

25. Never Let Me Go

25. Never Let Me Go. Mark Romanek.

A very interesting movie that deepens in the human soul. The intro scene is very good, the kids say that they cannot go beyond the grounds of the school, and the theacher asks why and they say that they have been told that it is dangerous. This is a great example of indoctrination in little children just as religion.

23, 24. Iron Man, Iron Man 2.

23, 24. Iron Man, Iron Man 2. Jon Favreau.

Marvel as Disney is another company that has taken the way to modify and enhance its characters. They have been choosing so well their actors for the superheros, The Iron man is not the exception. I liked the movie because its entertaining and is very likable. It is not a great production, it has cliches made in Hollywood but the characters and the movie needs them. The creation of the suit is very good and the introduction of war machine is also good.

22. Tangled.

22. Tangled. Nathan Greno, Byron Howard.

As I have stated many times before, I believe that you can make a good movie out of any topic. Disney is a company that has been able to cope up with the changes of times, and recreate themselves modifying the kids stories to more mature and serious stories, without losing its essence and its appeal for kids. This creativity plus the money available to buy the technology make excellent movies with graphics that soon will be as good as real ones.

I liked the animals, Pascal the chameleon, and Maximus the horse. The movie is funny and well paced.

The only thing is that being a kids movie lets many things unexplained and just left there so the movie can work. But in general is ok.

17. La elegancia del erizo.

17. La elegancia del erizo. Muriel Barbery.

Un libro que casi no le doy la oportunidad, y cuando iba en la tercera pagina no lo podía soltar. Es de un tema que en realidad no se porque no me atrae mucho Francia.

Pero la autora (una filosofa) tiene una manera de narrar y de filosofar al mismo tiempo que me sorprendió. Este libro es uno de los favorito que me he leído este año y me lo leere nuevamente en el futuro.