Mars V/S Venus

Planets: Mars, Venus

Mood: Festive

Song: You Know Me * Roisin Murphy

It's getting hot in Beirut much sooner than expected.
We're in late March and it's already 32 degrees. What the hell!

I suggest we take two separate trips, to Mars and to Venus. We could go with the Mars Express or with the Venus Express (which are the ESA's spacecrafts that have been orbiting around the two planets for some time now).

(Magellan's topographical map of Venus)

Known to be widely dissimilar, the dual Expresses have found striking similarities between the atmospheres of Mars and Venus. While the atmosphere of the first planet is cold and very thin, the second's is hot and very thick. And yet the same processes are taking place on both Mars and Venus.

(Mars photographed by Hubble)

In contrast with the Earth that has a protective "magnetosphere" that protects it from the solar radiations, Mars and Venus are open to all sorts of solar winds that interact with their atmospheres since they are not defended by a magnetic field.

We assume we are lucky to have one!

So are you into the hotness of Venus or you'd change directions and hit the coldness of Mars?

In order to make this ride more fun to both planets, and as hot as the weather is in here, here's the Absolute Pornfunk Setlist of the month (part 2). Six deliciously funky songs to represent the 1970's, the 1980's, the 1990's and the 2000's.

01. Higher Ground (Stevie Wonder) - from the album Innervisions [1973]










02. Sing It Back (Moloko) - from the album I Am Not a Doctor [1998]










03. Ride a White Horse (Goldfrapp) - from the album Supernature [2007]










04. Big Time (Peter Gabriel) - from the album So [1986]











05. Just Can't Get Enough (Depeche Mode) - from the album Speak and Spell [1981]










06. You Know Me (Róisín Murphy) - from the album Overpowered [1998]

Cinematic Beauty

Nebula: Ant Nebula
Mood: Workaholic
Song: Song * Plej

We just wrapped up a small film festival in our art house in Beirut with a six-film program proposed by the French magazine Les Cahiers du Cinéma, with the presence of its editor-in-chief Jean-Michel Frodon who looked enchanted to be speaking in front of a packed theater every night!

The selection was the following:

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
by Cristian Mungiu (Romania, 2007)
Palme D'Or Winner, Cannes Film Festival 2007

Actresses (Dreams of the Night Before)
by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi (France, 2007)
Jury Prize, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival 2007

Aleksandra
by Alexander Sokurov (Russia, 2007)
Official Selection, Cannes Film Festival 2007


The Caiman
by Nanni Moretti (Italy, 2006)
Official Selection, Cannes Film Festival 2006

The Man Without a Past
by Aki Kaurismaki (Finland, 2002)
Grand Prize, Jury Prize, Best Actress Prize, Cannes Film Festival 2002

Intruder
by Claire Denis (France, 2004)
Official Selection, Venice Film Festival 2004

I loved the Romanian film. It strikes you with its harshness. Actresses was a little surprise. I didn't expect to like it but it's alright. It has its moments. The Man Without a Past is awesome. Moretti was a little let-down. I expected more from him for this film in which he tackles Berlusconi in bold. The Intruder was the most difficult of the selection, but I can't say I liked it. I didn't know where Denis was taking me, and I'm not sure I wanted to go with her path anyway.

But the real film was Aleksandra. I have already seen it in Cannes but couldn't refrain myself from watching it again. A film about the war without a single trace of blood. This film is not only art, cinema and whatever you want. It's pure poetry, as any film by Sokurov. This man is a genius. He's one of the reasons that makes me love cinema.

Beauty is a very striking element in Sokurov's film.

To face up to his genius, here's a striking image of Mz 3 (Menzel 3) a bipolar planetary nebula, also known as the Ant Nebula due to its shape.

So do you prefer Sokourov's beauty or the natural beauty of the Universe?