In My Mailbox (71)

Not so many this week. Only two postcards. But both nice ones. This first card came from Ogre, (I know...) Latvia. Really like this nature sight.

Sent: november 3rd 2012
Received: november 7th 2012
Distance: 1,365 km (848 miles)
Travel Time: 4 days

This really cute mouse with balloon came from Pinsk, Belarus.

Sent: october 29th 2012
Received: october 7th 2012
Distance: 1,390 km (864 miles)
Travel Time: 9 days

I also got a card from Germany, but I can't register it. The number is wrong and I can't track the sender. Thanks Sanita and Valentina for the postcards.

Top 5 Thursday: "Seinfeld Characters"

Maybe this is the funniest sitcom ever. Maybe it’s because of it’s quirkiness. Maybe it’s because of the out of the ordinary characters. Yes, I think all of that is true and here are my five favorite characters from “Seinfeld”.

5. Newman
“Hello Newman”. A classic greeting from “Seinfeld” that Jerry always says when he sees Newman. Jerry’s mom also did it by the way. Newman is a funny character and I like how dramatic he can be.

4. Elaine Benes
Elaine is someone I could never be friends with, but it’s also hard to hate Elaine. Whenever one of her friends tell her something new, she pushes them away. And remember how Elaine dances? Exactly, she can’t!

3. Frank Costanza
Frank Costanza is one of the most memorable characters the show has created. He has his quirks and his principals. A man who made up his own holiday just deserves to be on the list. “Festivus for the rest of us!”

2. George Costanza
With a father like Frank, it’s not a surprise that son George isn’t perfect either. George is actually full of imperfections and flaws. He lies all the time and everybody always finds out. And he always tries to go one step further, but that always costs him.

1. Cosmo Kramer
Kramer is such a nice man, but he has a lot of weird habits. The way he enters a room, his strange ideas, his weird friends and how he always pretends like Jerry’s home is his home. You gotta love Kramer.

They almost made the top 5: Jerry Seinfeld

Movie Trailer Sunday (58)

This weeks trailers are about out-of-body experience, minions, a cottage, side effects to some kind of drug and aliëns trying to escape planet earth.

John Who Dies at the End
Description: Soy Sauce is a drug that promises an out-of-body experience with each hit. Users drift across time and dimensions. But some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly a silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead is John (Rob Mayes) and David (Chase Williamson), a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can these two stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can't.
Director: Don Coscarelli
Starring: Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman, Paul Giamatti
Trailer: Trailer "John Who Dies at the End"
Comment: Weird but funny.

Despicable Me 2
Description: Gru (Steve Carell), the girls, the unpredictably hilarious minions ... and a host of new and outrageously funny characters return in the sequel to the animated hit.
Director: Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Al Pacino, Steve Coogan, Ken Jeong
Trailer: Trailer "Despicable Me 2"
Comment: I really liked the first one, especially the little yellow men who looked like tic tacs.

Cottage Country
Description: Todd (Tyler Labine) wants everything to be just perfect at the family cottage where he plans to propose to Cammie (Malin Akerman). But things go awry with the arrival of Todd's slacker brother Salinger (Daniel Petronijevic) and his free-spirited girlfriend Masha (Lucy Punch). When Todd accidentally dispatches his irksome sibling with an axe, Cammie is determined not to let murder stand in the way of their happiness.
Director: Peter Wellington
Starring: Tyler Labine, Malin Akerman, Daniel Petronijevic, Lucy Punch
Trailer: Trailer "Cottage Country"

Side Effects
Description: A troubled woman (Rooney Mara) who is coping with the imminent release of her husband (Channing Tatum) from jail begins to take a new prescription drug with unforeseen consequences.
Director: Steve Soderbergh
Starring: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum
Trailer: Trailer "Side Effects"

Escape From Planet Earth
Description: On planet Baab lives admired astronaut Scorch Supernova (Brendan Fraser). He is a national hero to the blue alien population. A master of daring rescues, Scorch pulls off astonishing feats with the quiet aid of his nerdy, by-the-rules brother, Gary (Rob Corddry), head of mission control at BASA. When BASA's no-nonsense chief Lena (Jessica Alba) informs the brothers of an SOS from a notoriously dangerous planet, Scorch rejects Gary's warnings and bounds off for yet another exciting mission. But when Scorch finds himself caught in a fiendish trap set by the evil Shanker (James Gandolfini), it's up to scrawny, risk-adverse Gary to do the real rescuing. As the interplanetary stakes rise to new heights, Gary is left to save his brother, his planet, his beloved wife Kira (Sarah Jessica Parker) and their adventure hungry son Kip!
Director: Cal Brunker
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Jessica Alba, James Gandolfini, Sarah Jessica Parker
Trailer: Trailer "Escape From Planet Earth"
Comment:

In My Mailbox (70)

Seven postcards this week. The first I received came from Potsdam, Germany. A really cute rabbit card. I didn't like the stickers on the front of the card, so I took them of. But I love the card.

Sent: october 26th 2012
Received: october 30th 2012
Distance: 505 km (314 miles)
Travel Time: 4 days

From Rotterdam, Netherlands I received this handmade card, made by a 63 year old woman who just had hand surgery.

Sent: october 30th 2012
Received: november 1st 2012
Distance: 132 km (82 miles)
Travel Time: 2 days

This adorable animal card came from Krasnojarsk, Russia. I like it, it's super cute.

Sent: october 20th 2012
Received: november 1st 2012
Distance: 5,396 km (3,353 miles)
Travel Time: 12 days

This very interesting postcard came from Nanjing, China. It shows Confusius and has some information in it about him.

Sent: september 26th 2012
Received: november 2nd 2012
Distance: 8,691 km (5,400 miles)
Travel Time: 37 days

From Vilnius, Lithuania I got this mailbox. I think it says Lithuanian mail, but I'm not sure. The sender told me it's a typical Lithuanian mailbox.

Sent: october 30th 2012
Received: november 2nd 2012
Distance: 1,347 km (837 miles)
Travel Time: 3 days

My favorite of the week came from Jiaxing, China. i love everything about this postcard. The image and the colors are gorgeous.

Sent: october 19th 2012
Received: november 2nd 2012
Distance: 8,915 km (5,540 miles)
Travel Time: 14 days

This really nice pigeon came from Sint Petersburg, Russia. I always like black and white photos. This postcard is great.

Sent: october 16th 2012
Received: november 3rd 2012
Distance: 1,800 km (1,118 miles)
Travel Time: 18 days

Thanks Marlen, Alice, Evgenija, Duyaojie, Dovilé, Yue and Nika thanks for the wonderful postcards!!

50 Books Challenge 2012 Update - October

Stephen King month was pretty succesful. I read some of his best stories and also some more unknown books.

# 43. Duma Key by Stephen King - 5/ 5
# 44. The Mist by Stephen King - 4,5/ 5
# 45. Carrie by Stephen King - 5/ 5
# 46. Morality/ Blockade Billy by Stephen King - 3/ 5
# 47. Different Seasons by Stephen King - 4,5/ 5

Average: 4,4

Favorite of the Month: Duma Key

Now the theme for november:

While reading the short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" I actually got his idea. I want to read books that have either a TV show or movie based on them. And I already ahve some great books lined up for the mpnth of november.

50 Books Challenge 2012 - # 47: Different Seasons by Stephen King

Title: Different Seasons
Author: Stephen King
Story: "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" - Andy Dufresne is convicted for the murder of his wife and her lover. He is locked up in Shawshank prison.
“Apt Pupil" - A schoolboy discover that a man in his neighbourhood is a wanted ex-nazi.
"The Body" – Four boys decided to go on a trip to find a boys dead body.
“The Breathing Method” – An unmarried, pregnant woman wants to triumph over death.
Start: october 25th 2012
End: october 31st 2012
Comment: I have to admit that I didn't read all four stories. I will, in the future, but I only read "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption". I wanted to read this because my favorite movie is based on this story. It's a short story if you compare it to the length of the film. It's told like the movie, narrated by inmate Red, who you come to like pretty soon. We see the story through his eyes and we also experience his first encounter with Andy Dufresne. Andy is a quiet character, someome you have to get to know before you can like him. Red liked him from the start, maybe because of this calmness he has. The friendship between Red and Andy is very special. You can feel the connection. Red is a very reliable man, a true friend. There are several differences between the book and the movie, there always are, and mostly the books are the better versions. In this case the movie is better, only slightly.
Rating: 4,5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Tom Hanks Movies

Tom Hanks has been my favorite actor for years. I just admire how he can be hilarious in one movie and so convincingly dramatic in another. This guy can literally play any role. Here are my five favorite movies.

5. The Burbs
I can hear you think: “What the hell is this doing on you list”? Have you seen “The Burbs”. It’s freakin’ hilarious and Hanks’ best comedy. And frankly it’s one of the best comedies ever made.

4. Toy Story 3
My favorite in the series. I love the entire series, but this one stood out a little bit.

3. Catch Me If You Can
I don’t know why, but every time this movie is on TV, I watch it. It’s such an extraordinary story, that someone really got away with all this. Great acting too.

2. The Green Mile
Based on a Stephen King novel and such an amazing story. I especially like Michael Clarke Duncan’s role in this and he forms a great duo with Tom Hanks.

1. Forrest Gump
My second favorite movie of all-time. This movie has so many ingredients that make me love it so much. It’s funny, endearing, dramatic, a good story, great leading character and fantastic acting.

They almost made the top 5: Big, Toy Story, A League of Their Own, You’ve Got Mail. Road to Perdition, Cast Away