Impressions of "The Hobbit"

Just came from the cinema, where we watched "The Hobbit: Unexpected Journey". My expectations which were high from the very beginning, were greatly exceeded by this movie! I loved every minute of this movie and wanted it to last much longer than it did. First of all, what a nice adaptation of the story, it really stays through to it. In the beginning I could recall every single word of the book, so precise the scenes were. The song "Over The Misty Mountains Cold" gave me shivers. Even remembering the sound of it, does.

Perfect choice of actors - Martin Freeman (a big discovery for me) was funny and pompous as Bilbo; Thorin Oakenshield, played by Richard Ermitage, was simply epic. Good to see old'n'witty Gandalf, played by Ian McKellen, though time is not going to this actor's advantage. Hope they will make it to shoot all the scenes with him, until he feels like retiring! I would not imagine anyone else take his role as Gandalf. Smeagol looks creepily realistic, and... almost cute at times.

 The scenery and narrative is breath taking. I wasn't even able to absorb all the beauty. Talking about the visuals, it might be hard to get used to 48 per second frame rate - felt too sharp in the beginning, but later I didn't feel any discomfort as I got used to it. The pace of the movie is also very satisfying, despite the criticism, for me nothing felt too rushy.      
Glad they decided to brake the story down to a trilogy. It's impossible to put all the majesty of the story into a movie, but this was a great job.

    

The Weirdo's Dossier?

Want to get to know something new about yourself?
Or maybe find out things you always knew, but never thought about? Try this dossier, or - how I like to call it - the Weirdo's Dossier.
You thought you're a normal person? Nope! You're a weirdo. And that's how I like you! :P


The most soothing sound (non musical): The sound grasshoppers make in the night
The most irritating sound:  Snoring
Favorite smell (non perfume): Smell of air after raining in summer
Worst smell: Rotting things
Most delicious flavor(not a dish): Melon
Most insipid flavor: Licorice
Your peculiar habit: Walking back and forward in a room, while thinking
Your favorite body part: Eyes
Cozy moment (describe): Sitting under the blanket with a cup of tea, while there's a snow storm outside
Embarrassing moment: Lying about something, then the truth coming out for everyone to know
Awkward moment: Being involved in other people's argument while having nothing with them to do
Unachievable dream: Making a discovery that would be a turning point in human history
Favorite historical period: Industrial Revolution, Renaissance 
Historical figure you would like to become for 1 day: Marie Curie
Thing you wouldn't like to exist: Cruelty
Thing you can't wait for in the future: Organ cloning
What new things did you learn/got to know recently?: Learned some object oriented programming in Java
Things you don't dare to do: Be myself with someone I just met
Something you consider yourself to be too old for: Hoping that someone else will solve my problems
Something you consider yourself to be too young for: Whining about how everything was better "back then"
Most beautiful landscape: Mountains and lakes
Most beautiful place you've seen with your own eyes: Meteora Monasteries, Greece
Childhood memory: Dancing and singing "Erasure" songs
You, in 20 years(how you imagine yourself): Humorous snob who appreciates everything of high quality
If you wrote a book, what would it be about?: Fantasy saga
If you had a band, how would it sound/look?: The most awesome symphonic metal band
If you could solve one of the world's problem, what would it be?: Find cure for incurable and deadly diseases, stop animal cruelty
Thing you should do instead of answering these questions: Damn, I should be programming instead of this...

Stay cool everybody!

Capturing a moment

Just wanted to share some of my best photographs, where I succeeded to capture that magical moment and imprison it into a digital image. I'm not a good photographer yet; there's a lot to learn and a lot of failed pictures to take until I become better, but here come those that I really like.

This one's from Palanga, Lithuania, taken in 2010. It looks almost like a painting




























Still Palanga, Lithuania. The horizon is not visible in this picture, the water is so still that it reflects the color of the sky.  

 This picture was taken in Kalambaka, Greece. I always loved taking pictures of... building roofs.



                                                                     

Stockholm, Sweden. The pretty area of Hagalund in autumn 2012






























Stockholm, Sweden. Haga park. First meeting with geese

Lisboa, Portugal. 2012

Porto, Portugal. 2012
I loved those typical boats, called 'rabelo', for transporting portwine. The wine itself was also magnificent ^^


























Alducia Beach, Mallorca. Peaceful serenity. 2012

 Still Alcudia! Someone's seriously into photography 






























Sailing somewhere around Nynäshamn, Sweden, 2011

Why I don't need an iPhone

Everytime I take a metro to school and look around me, I see people mindlessly staring at all different sorts of fancy devices - tablets, smartphones, kindles, ultrabooks etc. I don't really mind this obsession, there's not much you can do on a train anyway, besides watching the tunnel lamps blink before your eyes. So go on, scroll down those shiny touch-screens, pass the time checking your Facebook, or listening to some crappy  music through your headphones so loud that I can hear it clearly and that kinda forces me to listen to it too...But wait a minute. There's one sort of gadget that occurs way too often and it's kind of freaking me out. I try to count how many people around me have iPhone 4s and iPhone 5. One of the most expensive and overrated phones on the market. And I can tell that every second person (cannot guarantee the accuracy of my counting though!) has it. There are so many good smartphones out there, but they JUST.HAVE.TO.HAVE.IT. Are they so rich, or just the victims or good marketing?

Why I will never buy an iPhone?
Here's my reasons:
- There are many good and cheaper smartphones, like Android.
- People think it's so trendy. By having an iPhone you will belong to the society of trendy people, yay.   
- It's expensive. What's so special with Apple's design and technology to make them so overrated?
- Apple products are so linked together and that's limiting.
- I don't want to be yet another brainless user who chose to have something they don't really need.


Buy yourself some quality time instead. You don't need an iPhone to check your Facebook or take a selfie-pic in the bathroom. *moralistic voice, muahahaha.*

Nice afternoon with my piano students!

Today in the afternoon, we had a last lesson and a little home concert with my favorite piano students. It was a chance for them to show off in front of their family members and impress them with their improved skills. Parents, grandparents, uncles and cousins were completely blown away with Mila's and Niki's achievements in music - they are such talented and patient girls! When their mom said, that I inspired them to love the instrument, I felt so proud and happy, as only a teacher (or a parent!) could be. Nothing could be more rewarding, than to see, that your help and guiding can lead children forward into musical development!I am a young and very engaged teacher. I'm learning together with my students - how to find the right way to teach, because every one of them is so unique and requires different approach, how to make things clear and put them in words. I learn from my mistakes and become better with time while listening to their needs and adapting. No effort will pay off, if you're gonna try to imply some methods that you think are right for everyone - there are no general rules, how to learn to play the piano. Of course, you might become good at reading notes and your finger techniques will improve, but will you ever learn to really appreciate the instrument, if you don't enjoy what you play?
Picking piano pieces for my students Mila and Niki, is not easy. I know their tastes in music, so I always try to find something, that they will really like. Mila prefers melodic, minor-scaled pieces, with some chromatic elements, she's a serious and musical 12 years old girl, and 10 years-old Niki likes to play fast and cheerful pieces, just as cheerful and fun, as she is herself. I pick classical songs, that would suit them, and most of the time I pick the right ones! For the summer, Mila got to play the Swan Song and the famous Hungarian Dance, and Niki's songs were - Mozart's Minuet "Don Giovanni" and Curious Story. They were both  happy by this choice!

I am looking forward to having even more students (at the moment I have 5). In the end of this years, right before the Christmas vacations in December, I promised myself to organize a little concert with many families and young students. Somewhere in a culture house or in a nice and cozy cafe where everyone could gather together and enjoy the event. It's my next goal, as a teacher! That, and becoming even better at doing this job. Who knows, maybe some of the girls I'm teaching will want to continue with this and become professional pianists? :)

5 big stereotypes and myths about Lithuania

Living in a multicultural society, I have heard many different opinions and beliefs about my country from various people. Some of them (not surprisingly) got to know about Lithuania for the first time in their lives when they met me, but those, who heard about it before, were usually mistaken by a bunch of stereotypes. Let's admit that all of us like to imagine, that a country has some things that are very typical and unique about it, but most of the time it's not so far from the truth. With Lithuania it's a bit different - most of the myths and stereotypes don't resemble the reality at all - almost like a shot in the dark, trying to hit the target. But the target is not even near.
So here comes a list of myths and stereotypes, that (in my opinion and based on my own experience) people could have about a little country on a Baltic shore - Lithuania.



1) Lithuania's capital is Riga.
Well, Riga is a well- known capital, because of it's harbor. Vilnius is much harder to pronounce (and to remember) and has more historical importance, which, in a modern world, can be easily ignored by common people, who aren't so keen on reading about history. The difference between Latvia and Lithuania are also a bit too slight for them.
2) People speak Russian as the main language.
No. The older generation might still speak it, as it was an important school subject, but younger citizens are very unfamiliar with it. People are proud to have preserved Lithuanian language, one of the most ancient languages in the world, even though in the time of Russian Empire, it was forbidden to speak or read it. They try to wipe our language of the surface of Earth, but didn't succeed. Maybe that's why it hits a painful spot, whenever we hear the question, if it's Russian that we speak in Lithuania.
3) People are poor.
It's a very general statement. A level of poverty might be high, but it's mostly in the villages and small cities. I would dare to claim, that people, getting the average salary can afford a normal life without trembling for tomorrow. Maybe not too luxurious, but definitely enough to not call it "poor".
4) Basketball is the only sport we have some achievement in.
Not true! We have great athletes, cyclists, and tennis players! Enough to check our achievements in latest Olympic games - we have many medals in different spheres. Our citizen was also nominated as World's Strongest Man and was a champion among heavy athletes.
5) There is no good music in Lithuania.
It's true that we don't have many international artists, but that doesn't mean there's no good music in Lithuania. The worst thing is that even some Lithuanians believe that... This topic definitely needs a separate topic with Youtube links and tips about good music!

Bubble tea!

It was love from first taste. 

When I was walking the streets of Central Warsaw, I saw an interesting little shop, with a colorful sign - "Bubble Tea". It took me some time until I dared to try it - wasn't sure if it's really worth the price. But the last day in Warsaw, I decided that I won't be at ease, if I leave without trying it, especially knowing, that there's nothing like that in Stockholm. I tried it, and it was the funniest thing I ever drank! Sweet tapioca pearls, tasting of strawberries and passion fruits in the combination with lychee flavored tea was like a carnival in my mouth (I know, a weird comparison, but it really felt like that).

When I came to Sweden, the first thing I did was searching for Bubble tea shops in Stockholm. Unfortunately, the closest shop I found was in Malmö, which is not at all so close.

Bubble tea is originally coming from Taiwan. It can basically be of two types: fruit-flavored teas, and milk teas though there can be many different variations of it, depending on a tea house. You can choose if you want to have tapioca balls in it (tasty chewy pearls of jelly consistency) or small cubes of jelly that can also have many different tastes, such as coconut, mango, green tea.

Who I Am

I'm one of 7,003,019,800 people, living on Earth (the number is increasing while you are reading this line). A fragile body, chained by the gravitation, and curious mind, desiring to take a glimpse beyond the sky.

 
I'm one of those, who think they have what to say. Not about the fashion trends or new cosmetic products, but about my perspective of life that have been influenced by different experiences many people could relate to. Also, about my country's history, culture and the way of thinking, that I inhabited. 
Simply about my life and thoughts, things I get to learn. A piece of dearest me. :-)


Oh, and music! Everyone has the background music of it's life. 




Have a productive time.
J.