Ghibli at Sitges 2008!!!

OMG!!! After the great deception when I saw the entire Sitges 2008 film program with the two great asian absences:

• Ponyo on the Cliff, by Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli), and

• Achilles and the Tortoise, by Takeshi Kitano ---the third and final part of his autodestruction-as-an-artist trilogy, after Takeshis' and Glory to the Filmmaker!---

i can confirm that finally, one of them, the Ghibli one, is featured in Sitges 2008!!! :)

I have already bought the tickets for one of the unique two sessions, tomorrow Saturday 11th at 17:15, as "surprise session 1" (damn filth program, the Ghibli movie was really a secret!!). But I'm glad, I will be able to see it :)

So, the neural massacre part 2 (that means, Sitges 2008 XD) will be composed by 26 movies, not 25 as said in the previous post :P I hope that the Kitano movie will be able featured soon by Casa Asia, or in BAFF 2009 as the last chance :S

Stay tuned to this Lair of Freak Shadows, poor mortals; I will publish soon the Sitges 2008 chronicles, together with the BAFF 2008 one :P And I can tell you now that they won't be short posts ---as usual XDDDD---. read more...

The neural massace, part 2: Sitges 2008!!

Hello everybody!! Finally, after a little period of rest, meditation, and obviously, passing the time with my beauty jewel ---even, by almost accomplishing at the same time five marvelous months of happiness---, there are some news in the Lair of Shadows!!! I have achieved the degree of Computer Science together with a Master in Computing, specialized in Computer Graphics. And I got an 'A' for my thesis' qualification :D:D:D:D

So, although I haven't got more than 3 holiday days, I will ber able to enjoy an important event: those who have been visiting this blog since the beginning, all of you already know my hobby: I'm a fanatic of peculiar movies (gore, horror, anime, sci-fi...), mainly those coming from Asia; and then, the Sitges Film Festival has come back again in 2008 with its 41th edition, from 2 to 12 of October!!! And, before publishing the chronicles of the last BAFF edition (in the last May, when my life was improved till unknown boundaries with the help of my recently discovered jewel :P), I will put online the films I will see in this festival ---however, the BAFF chronicles are already written in catalan, I only have to translate them to english, but I've been busy these last months due to my Master Thesis---.

For the moment, there are 25 movies with the dubtous honor of being seen by my eyes XD From Asia, but also from USA and UK and France ---this last one is being acclaimed of the most important country within Europe in terms of gore and horror movies since the great 'A l'interieur', featured on the last Sitges Festival Edition (see here)---, there are interesting movies as the last masterpiece of Mamoru Oshii, the great epic movies about Genghis Khan or the China's Dark Ages, the David Lynch's daughter first movie, or even the free-versioned animated version of the recently mentioned 'A l'interieur', entitled 'from inside', or the interesting movie about a space navy, used as asylum; besides, a greek movie about a curiousr looping-time. But I don't want to wait more; let's the movie list, ordered by Day and Session:

October 3rd, Friday

• Ichi (Fumihiko Sori; Japan, 2008)
• Terra (Asistotemis Tsirbas; USA; 2007)
• Eden Log (Franck Vestiel; France, 2007)
• Crows Zero (Takashi Miike; Japan, 2007)

October 4th, Saturday

• Freedom (Shuhei Morita; Japan, 2007)
• Surveillance (Jennifer Lynch; USA/Germany/Canada, 2008)

October 5th, Sunday

• Sky Crawlers (Mamoru Oshii; Japan, 2008)
• Ghost vs Alien (Takashi Shimizu, Keisuke Toyoshima; Japan, 2007)
• Chocolate (Prachya Pinkaev; Thailand, 2007)
• Evangelion 1.0: you are (not) alone (Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki; Japan, 2007)

October 6th, Monday

• Tale 52 (Alexis Alexiou; Greece, 2008)
• Hansel & Gretel (Yim Phil-sung; South Corea, 2007)

October 7th, Tuesday

• Our Town (Jung Kil-young; South Corea, 2008)
• From Inside (John Bergin; USA, 2008)
• The Warlords (Peter Chan; Hong Kong/China, 2007)
• Martyrs (Pascal Laugier; France/Canada, 2008)

October 8th, Wednesday

• Mongol (Sergei Bodrov; Russia/Germany/Kazakhstan/Mongolia, 2007)
• Dante 01 (Marc Caro; France, 2007)
• The Chaser (Na Hong-Jin; South Corea, 2008)

October 9th, Thursday

• Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess (Shinji Higuchi; Japan, 2008)
• Genius Party! (VV.AA.; Japan, 2008)

October 10th, Friday

• The Burrowers (JT Petty; USA, 2008)
  
• Idiots and Angels (Bill Plympton; USA; 2008)
  
• 20th Century Boys (Yukihiko Tsutsumi; Japan, 2008)
• Tokyo! (Michel Gondry, Léos Carax, Bong Joon-ho; France/Japan/South Corea, 2008)

And that's all, it will be horrible in terms of free-time but I'm sure of enjoying the time will be in Sitges, another time. The only thing I'm lamenting is the price of this journey: more than 180€ in tickets, and I haven't taken in account the food and the trains... but it's only once per year, and it will be my holidays this year... yahoooooooooooo!!

Stay tuned, poor mortals... I promise to publish the BAFF chronicles, and a little brief of every movie seen in this edition of Sitges, as well as done for the last edition. See you soon!!!! :)
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2100 visits!!

Wow, today Ignis Lacrima has reached the visit number #2100!!! Thank you all to you poor mortals, who enter the blog for reading... not much in this last times... :S I apologize for that, but my master thesis is absorving all my time and energy, and when I have an hour, I only want to go out far from the Mac...


Nevertheless, on September the 8th I will deliver the documentation, so I hope to be happier from this day ---though the presentation and last codelines won't be developed yet...---; I only wish you, the rest of poor mortals, were having a good holidays, and I will come back, sure :)

See you in the Penumbram Mundi!!! read more...

Not just enjoying the music, but also "enjoining" it :P

Hello poor mortals!!!!! Yes, the blog has been "a little" forgotten by me, the humble priest of Hefestus; it even seemed that I tasted my own medicine since I was also declarated as "poor mortal", but [geek-gag] Ignis Lacrima is not strongly tipificated at all XD [/geek-gag] so I've returned but only for a while :P

I apologize for this huge lag of news, but I've been (and I'm still) plenty of job because of:

• the research project in voice generation I'm involved in,
  
• my master thesis about generic deformation and cutting of 3D models,
• and over everything, because I found a precious jewel in the middle of the typical lonely time: a beauty gem composes now a great part of my whole existence and now, I waste my free time in expecting and enjoying this gem ;) ---Oh, sorry if you hadn't understood anything; those who have to understand they surely already did it :P---

Well, after this "little" introduction, let's go with the new post of Ignis Lacrima, this time about informatics, and more focused, about mp3 music. I maybe the only one who is worried about this affair, but as a fan of film scores, new age soundscapes and symphonic metal music, it's typical for some consequent album tracks to be musically connected, and it maybe be annoying. What can we do to solve this?

The first solution (and the more logical) is: if anyone wants to have a physical (or logical, better said XD) unique mp3 file with these connected music, the mp3 compression of the cd must be customized in terms of:

1. selecting multiple tracks (those that are musically connected),
2. and compressing them in one file (it's possible with the awesome software CDEx Beta for Windows, http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/).

But, what about this new culture of music adquisition based on mp3 music directly?? (i.e., buying it from iTunes Store, or cheaper, using P2P programs for non-capitalist-reason adquisition :P); yes, there is great software, like MP3 Workshop for Windows (http://www.iolfree.ie/~mp3workshop/, but it's shareware :S), that allows to recompress mp3 files joining multiple mp3 files in a unique file. But here is the negative part of this method: the recompression.

Broadly (and non exactly but easy for a first contact; if you want to know everything, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3), the mp3 compression is based on remove inaudible (or hardly audible) frequency components of the music:

1. filtering them in a Fourier analysis,
2. with a subsequent coherent formant removal,
3. and later, a Fourier recomposition of the capped signal;
   

So, if you recompress a mp3 file, although the recompression is in the same bps quality, the sound quality loses a lot of degrees. Then, how to join multiple mp3 files without losing quality?

The solution is the simple file packaging. The MP3 format is strong and robust, so please notice that, if you are downloading mp3 music, you can listen the song although it has not been completely downloaded. Following this nature, you can listen mp3 songs contained in a package file subsequently like it was a simple mp3 file (so, you only have to include the mp3 files in the package coherently). And there's an incredible advantage with this method, apart of the no-recompression: file packaging permits to unpack the files onto separate mp3 files if you want, so a backup of the separated files is not necessary.

Some of you, poor mortals, maybe will find this utility quite useless... but for me, who am always playing music with the "shuffle" option of my iPod Nano, is very useful :D

And that's for all, poor mortals!!! You can find below the instructions for doing this in Windows and UNIX systems; it's surely very easy to do, let's try it :) Please stay tuned to the Lair of Penumbrae (yes, it was the Lair of Shadows and Darkness, but the complaints must be redirected to the previously cited gem :P), see you soon!!! :)


Windows Method

1. Install the WinRAR software;
2. Then, select in the order you want to be joined the mp3 files you want to join;
3. Right click on the selection, and select the WinRAR option ''add to file...'';
4. In the new appeared window, edit the destiny filename and change the "rar" extension to "mp3" extension, and select "storage" in the "compression method menu".
5. Just click OK, et voilà! You have a mp3 file really playable by any MP3 player (iTunes, Winamp, Amarok). And if you open this "mpe fake file" with WinRAR, you will see the original songs, and you will be able to extract it normally :)
   

Unix Method (Linux, MacOsX, Solaris...)

1. By using the OS terminal console, go to the path of these mp3 files you want to pack;
2. Using the TAR utility, type "tar -cvf packed_file.mp3 song1.mp3 song2.mp3 ... songN.mp3"
3. Et voilà! The connected mp3 file is finally created. And for unpacking the file, simply type "tar -xvf packed_file.mp3"

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New Echoes of Metal...

Hello poor mortals!!!!! Before starting my personal impressions about BAFF 2008, the Barcelona Asian Film Festival, I've decided to do the periodical update of the blog's MP3 player, Echoes of Metal.

Hence, 3 new songs, (although one of them is really a replace song), offering 17 new metal minutes; as usual, all three songs are available in each band's own MySpace webpage, so that songs are totally legal. And also as usual, the new number of pieces is a primer number too: 19 songs.

The first one, the replacing song, is Triumph or Agony, the entitling song from the last album of the italian well-known band Rhapsody Of Fire; the other two songs are composed and performed by two classic brazilian heroes: Angra (with Ego Painted Grey, included in their last album, Aurora Consurgens), and the demigod André Matos (with his new masterpiece, Letting Go, from his first solo album, Time To Be Free).

I hope the metal fans visiting this site will be able to enjoy these three great songs. For those non-metaller visitors... nevermind XD but it could be a great idea for discovering three new songs with a peculiar musicallity ;)

Stay tuned, geek mortals, BAFF chronicles are going to appear soon ;) But for the moment, new music for your ears. See you soon!!!!

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BAFF 2008, 10th Edition with Hong Kong as special guest!!!

Hello geek mortals!!!! From yesterday, and till the next sunday (not tomorrow but the May 4th :P), the Barcelona Asiatic Film Festival is on the stage of the city!!! This is the 10th edition of this festival (that means, this is a prestigious event, although some people can't believe that :P), and the special guest country is Hong Kong, the most impressive noir asiatic factory, from where the hollywood-exported John Woo learned everything he knows :)

So, as I did with Sitges 2007 Festival, I'm going to see several movies (not 30 but 13 this time XD), and of course, a review of every movie will be psoted in the blog (the chronicle will be probably scheduled on two posts, apart from this preamble).

There are movies from Japan, China and South Corea mainly, but as it's previsible, Hong Kong has a special place on my preferences list, with some movies of my adored Johnnie To and others (however, it'll be impossible for me to see Made in Hong Kong, projected only on sunday afternoon... :(

Therefore, as the preamble of this BAFF 2008 and with the (easily deceived :P) hope of some one getting motivated for some movies I will see (thanks for coming on wednesday Anna!! muaa :P and of course, also to Gammateruo, my preferred asiatic-film-mate, since I'm sharing the vision of lot of films :D), I'm going to publish the list of movies I'll see, the theatre where the projection will be, and the starting time, everything ordered by day :)


> Friday, April 25th

• 22:30, Aribau Club 2: ASSEMBLY (JIJIEHAO) (Feng Xiaogang; China, 2007)
  

> Saturday, April 26th

• 17:00, Aribau Club 1: SAD VACATION (SADDO BAKESHON) (Shinji Aoyama; Japan, 2007)
  
• 19:45, Aribau Club 1: SECRET SUNSHINE (MYRYANG) (Lee Chang-Dong; South Corea, 2007)
  

> Sunday, April 27th

• 22:15, CCCB Auditori: FANTASTIC PARASUICIDES (FANTASTIC JA-SAL-SO-DONG) (Park Soo-Young, Jo Chang-Ho, Kim Sung-Ho; South Corea, 2007)

> Monday, April 28th

• 19:30, CCCB Auditori: POWERFUL FOUR (SI DA TAN ZHANG) (David Lam; Hong Kong, 1991)
  
• 22:15, Cinema Maldà: ON THE EDGE (HAK BAK DO) (Herman Yau; Hong Kong, 2006)
  

> Tuesday, April 29th

• 19:00, Cinema Maldà: DEVILS ON THE DOORSTEP (GUIZI LAI LE) (Jiang Wen; China, 2000)
  
• 22:00, Cinema Maldà: MY LIFE AS MCDULL (MAK DAU GOO SI) (Toe Yuen; Hong Kong, 2001)
  

> Wednesday, April 30th

• 22:00, Cinema Maldà: RUNNING OUT OF TIME (AM ZIN) (Johnnie To; Hong Kong, 1999)
  

> Friday, May 2nd

• 17:30, Aribau Club 1: FUNUKE SHOW SOME LOVE, YOU LOSERS! (Yoshida Daihachi; Japan, 2007)
  
• 20:00, CCCB Auditori: THE MISSION (CHEUNG FO) (Johnnie To; Hong Kong, 1991)
  
• 22:00, CCCB Auditori: LET'S FINISH!!! (WOORI ZZONG NAE JA!!!) (Whan Cheol-Mean; South Corea, 2006)

> Saturday, May 3rd

• 19:30, Aribau Club 1: ALIENTO (SOOM) (Kin Ki-Duk; South Corea, 2007)
  

And that's all, when the Kim Ki-Duk will end, BAFF will also end for me this year; yes, the next day there are also some projections, but I must filter a lot of movies because of my Master Thesis and the Research Project I'm involved in; too much things to do, and so little mount of hours per day :S Anyway, for the moment, I've seen Assembly and my impression is pretty awesome, a very good movie!!!! And today, two movies (Sad Vacation and Secret Sunshine), and OMG!!! the film director of the first one will be present on the theatre introducing us to the movie and at the end, a public questions round!!! :D I'm so excited, I love this kind of festivals!!! :)

Come on people, let's enjoy BAFF!!! Life is poorly 4 days: working on 2, sleeping on 1, and dropping tears on the rest one... so, watching a non-standard movie in original sound version and subtitled in spanish can't be worse than the own life, no? :) C u, poor mortals!! Stay tuned on the Lair of Tears of Fire, where darkness becomes bright by the luminance of the sadness' flames!!
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Have a nice Sant Jordi!!!

Oh, the Day of Holy Patron of Catalonia, my dear nation, has arrived!! Saint George, or Sant Jordi in catalan, is also the valentine day for catalan people, but extrapolated to more than passionate love: everybody is able to offer a gift (tipically, a rose for the girls, and a book for the boys) to a loved person, and not only the fallen-in-love one (that is, in my case, a rose for my mom, or any female friend :P); however, there is always a person more special than the others... and then... well, you know XD


Really I've found this inspiring bloody rose travelling through google images... a beauty metaphore of the pain behind the cruel beauty, I think... it can be seen simply as the blood of the dragon, but if we thinking in dragon as avarice or cruelty, its blood can be the symbol of the vestiges of these concepts, this rose is the most sincere expression of the dark side underlying love, joy and desire...


I must admit that I've tried to do a drabble based on this image, but I'm plenty of work and after thinking about the concept during 15 minutes, I've rejected the idea... besides, observing the acclaiming feelings because of my drabbles (hundreds and hundreds of comments, full of great reflections and sensations w.r.t. them... ¬¬), the urgent work has won the hobby.

The Legend of Sant Jordi is well known for everybody: Silca, a town in Libia (although in Catalonia is everything placed in Montblanc town), menaced by a furious dragon living in a closer lake, must offer one maiden per month, and when the king's daughter is the chosen one for be the draogn's lunch, Saint George arrives to the town, and kills the dragon, saving the people. Then, the blood of the dragon to the ground provoques the rise of roses in the meadows. However, not everybody will know that Saint George didn't kill the dragon in the first attack, he only hurted it. Then, he carried the creature till the town entrance, and demmanding the baptism of the entire town; else, he would liberate the dragon. Nice boy, isn't he? ¬¬


But at the same time, and conmemorating the death of two genious, Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, this day is also the Day of the Book (at least in catalonia), so, if you are able to dodge the merchandising spirit of this day, Sant Jordi is a nice festivity, enjoying the happiness of the others, watching glad couples (she with a rose and he with a book), and thinking about the good sensation should be of receiving a book... and the hiding of real feelings of the lonely people... so romantic (including the bright and the dark side of the romanticism...)

Have a nice day of Sant Jordi, poor mortals, and please, enjoy the experience of reading books!!! It's very worthy, although I'm not able to read as fast as I'm by¡uying new books XD ooops :P And, as I said a few posts ago: life is like a rose; if you want it, you will prick with its thorns.
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