Blogger: Jövőkép

Zsombor barátom fiatal egyetemistákkal készített interjú sorozat szerzője, melynek címe "Jövőkép".
De had éljek Zsombor szavaival:

"Kinek szól ez a műsor? Mi a célja?
    A műsornak számos célja van, és ezek rétegesen helyezkednek el. A felszínen szeretnénk lehetőséget adni középiskolásoknak arra, hogy megismerjék az egyetemi életet általánosságban, és egyúttal betekintést nyerjenek egy konkrét intézménybe. Ez persze nem csak a felsőoktatásba készülő diákoknak lehet hasznos, hanem olyan diákoknak is, akik szeretnének váltani.
    Miért pont egyetemisták? Miért nem szakmát tanuló fiatalok, vagy olyanok, akik nem tanulnak tovább? Manapság a továbbtanulás egy kényes kérdés – legalábbis Magyarországon. Rengeteg fiatallal találkoztam, akik vagy szülői nyomásra mennek egyetemre, vagy ha éppenséggel nem, akkor fogalmuk sincs arról, mi fog kisülni belőle. Azt is sokszor hallhatjuk, hogy akik elvégzik az egyetemet, nem fognak tudni elhelyezkedni.
    Az eddigi vendégeink magabiztosan és optimistán beszéltek a jövőjükről, ámde felmerül egy fontos kérdés: tisztában vannak az eléjük tárulkozó lehetőségekkel? Ebből a kérdésből fakad a műsor burkoltabb és hosszabb távú célja, ami nem más, mint képet adni arról, hogy a jelen generáció hogyan tekint a tanulmányaira és saját jövőbeli lehetőségeire. Ez később olyan tanulságoknak és messzemenő következtetéseknek enged teret, amelyek hasznosak lehetnek bárkinek, aki az oktatás jobbá tételében szerepet játszik."
Zsombor teljes cikkjét a műsorról itt megtalálod! 


A műsor a 2011-es évet 9 epizóddal zárta és most újra indult a nagy munka, egyelőre sajnos, de remélhetőleg sikeres stáb váltással!
Ha érdekel a sorozat, akkor ide klikkelve megtalálod a YouTube oldalukat. Ha netán már ismered, és szeretnél tudni arról, hogy mikor jelennek meg új részek, likeold a "Jövőkép" Facebook oldalát itt.


Zsombor barátom blogját továbbra is a TheWatermelonMans.Blogspot.com-on megtalálod!

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Rendezte Váczi Zsombor

Operatőr CsorEsz

Mikrofonos Végh Zoltán

Eleje főcím András Halák László

Blogger: Személyes/Personale

This is an entry about why I limit the personal entries and why I prefer to post my poems instead and write movie reviews. Which are also, in a way very personal when you think about it... nonetheless, this entry is more for those Hungarian and Italian friends of mine with whom I already had this discussion. Not to mention, that this entry is super personal as it is directed to a couple of friends of mine in particular! If you care to know more, leave me a comment!
Vai giú per la versione italiana.

Nagyon sok ismerősöm érdeklődött már az iránt, hogy a blogomat miért nem személyes írásokra használom. Ha őszinte akarok lenni, szerintem az, hogy leírom a véleményem filmekről, könyvekről, musicalekről és fotóimat meg videóimat osztom meg a világgal, annál személyesebb nem lehet valaki... és, amit az iskolámról írtam? Az is vélemény, nem propaganda. De ennek ellenére szívesen adok választ a barátaim kérdésére. 
Ha személyes gondolataimat írnám meg, akkor arról kéne írnom, hogy mivel töltöm a mindennapjaimat. Az annyit takarna, hogy alszom, az egyetemen vagyok, majd alszom. Eddig nagyon érdekes, ugye?
Ha személyes lennék, akkor írnom kéne a barátaimról. És ha írnék a barátaimról akkor el kéne mondanom, hogy azt kívánom, hogy ne kelljen a legjobb barátomnak könyörögni, ha szeretném, hogy nálam töltse az éjszakát. Azt kívánom, hogy a legjobb barátomat ne kelljen emlékeztetni, hogy adjon nekem karácsonyi ajándékot. Azt kívánom, hogy ne nézzen 10 évesnek a barátnőm, miközben arról beszél nekem, hogy milyen büszke arra a nőre, aki lett belőlem. Azt kívánom, hogy ne csak 4 ember akarjon velem találkozni a 370 facebook ismerősöm közül. Azt kívánom, hogy a 'barátaim' ne forgassák a szemüket, amikor a szívügyeimről akarok velük beszélni.
Azt kívánom, hogy a második családom emlékezzen a szülinapomra. Azt kívánom, hogy az emberek ne találjanak f*szságokat kifogásként, amiért megszakítják velem a kapcsolatot. Azt kívánom, hogy a szeretteim válaszoljanak a leveleimre.
És ha már emberi hibákat említek, azt kívánom, hogy legyen valami haszna vagy értelme annak, hogy állandóan tekintettel vagyok mindenre és mindenkire. Hogy elnyomom az akaratom és vágyaim mások érzései miatt. De végső soron csak azt kívánom, hogy ne érezzem magam rosszul, amikor nem csináltam semmi rosszat.

Látok egy képet az Eiffel toronyról, és oda vagyok mennyi mindenre képesek az emberek. Egy épitmény, ami ennyire óriási, konkrétan mágikus és csodálatos. Ha belegondolok, hogy rondának találták régen, nem is tudom elhinni. Remeg a térdem, amikor meglátom, sétálok, és benézek egy utcán és ott van. Elfelejthetetlen látvány, szószerint elvette a lélegzetem. A torony összmagassága 322 m, ebből maga a torony 300 m, rászerelve 22 m-re magasodik egy tévé-adóantenna. Négyzetalapú, 1,6 ha alapterületű, 10 100 tonna tömegű, 12 000 acéldarabból, csavarozással állították össze, átmeneti jelleggel. Évente kb. 10 tonna festék kell felülete karbantartásához. Nem akarnám ismételni magam, de valóban hihetetlen. Még most is előttem van, amikor hagytuk el a várost a buszal és még mindig láttam a torony tetejét, ahogyan kiemelkedett minden épület közül. 
Én mind az, amit eddig fel tudok mutatni az életemből, az ez a blog. Tele kezdő véletlenül jól sikerült fotókkal, amatőr videókkal és véleményekről, amik senkit sem érdekelnek. 
Ezért nem írok személyes dolgokról, mert akkor valahányszor feljövök, hogy posztoljak egy új munkát, ez a bejegyzés emlékeztetne minden rosszra, és azt nem szeretném. Ha már ez az egy dolog, amire büszke lehetek, akkor nem fogom baromságokkal megtölteni.
És ezért nem akarok személyes és nem munkáról szóló bejegyzések szerzője lenni.
Nem akarom sajnáltatni magam, mert akkor a fejemhez vághatják, hogy szerencsés vagyok másokkal ellentétben, és ezt tudom. De mindenki tudja, hogy a legfontosabb probléma az a saját problémád és örülnék, ha tudnánk a különbséget az olyan szituációk között, ahol üvöltve le kell cseszni valakit vagy csak átölelni és megérteni, hogy arra volt szüksége, hogy beszélhessen veled. Ne akarjunk beszélni csak azért mert félünk a csendtől, mert hülyeséget mondhatunk.

http://andrewastonishing.deviantart.com/

Tanti dei miei conoscenti mi hanno giá chiesto perché non scrivo di cose piú collegate a me. Piú personali. Ma ad essere sincera, penso che dividere la mia opinione su film, musical oppure farvi vedere mie foto e video, penso sia un livello abbastanza alto in riguardo al tema "personale". E poi tutto quello che ho scritto sulla mia scuola, pure quello é un'opinione, non una propaganda. Peró ho deciso di rispondere alla domanda lo stesso. 
Se io perderei tempo nel scrivervi di fatti personali, dovrei descrivere le mie giornate. Cioé dormire, andare all'universitá, e poi dormire di nuovo. Molto interessante, vero?
Se fossi personale, dovrei scrivervi dei miei amici. E se scrivessi dei miei amici, dovrei dirvi che non vorrei pregare al mio migliore amico, se voglio che dorma da me. Che non vorrei ricordare il mio amico di comprarmi un f*ttuto regalo di Natale. Non vorrei che la mia amica mi tratasse da ragazzina di 10 anni quando mi parla di quant'é fiera di come sono cresciuta e della donna che sono diventata. Vorrei che dei 370 amici su Facebook non solo 4 vorrebbero spendere del tempo con me. Vorrei che i miei cosidetti amici non facciano facce quando li parlo di affari del cuore.
Vorrei che la mia seconda famiglia si ricordasse del mio compleanno. Vorrei che la gente non si inventasse cazzate se non mi vogliono piú nella loro vita. Vorrei che la gente alla quale tengo, rispondesse alle mie email. 
E se parliamo di errori umani, vorrei che i miei sacrifici in tenere conto le emozioni di tutto e tutti e il continuo sorpresso delle mie emozioni per loro non andasse in vano. Ma piú di tutto non vorrei sentirmi male, quando non ho fatto niente di sbagliato. 
Se vedo una foto della torre Eiffel, mi sorprendo di quanto sia capace l'uomo. Una construzione tanto grande, proprio magico e fantastico. Se penso che all'inizio non lo trovavano bello, quasi non ci credo! Le mie ginocchie tremano quando lo vedo. Passeggio giú su una via ed eccola. É una vista indimenticabile. Ho giá letteralmente perso il respiro. A torre é alta 322 metri, della quale 22 metri é un'attena televisiva. Di base quadrilaterale, dove 1,6 metri, 10.100 tonnellate, 12.000 pezzi di acciaio, sono stati imbullonati tra loro temporaneamente. Ogni anno, su per giú 10 tonnellate di vernice é usata per mantenerla. Ancora vedo davanti a me, quando abbiamo lasciato la cittá col pullman, e lá, tra le case si vedeva la punta della torre alzarsi.

Per me invece, tutto quello che posso mostrarvi nella mia vita é questo blog. Piena di foto dilettanti, stupidi video ed opinioni della quale nessuno é interessato. 
Io non scrivo di affari personali, perché ogni volta che vengo sul blog per diffondere un nuovo lavoro, non voglio essere ricordata di tutto il male. In fondo se questo blog é ció che mi rende fiero, non voglio riempirla di deficienza.
Non vorrei essere l'autore di annotazione che non siano in relazione con lavoro.
Non voglio essere disprezzata, oppure avere gente che si sente male per me, o mi dica che sono piú fortunata di altri, perché tutto questo giá só. Ma sappiamo anche che per ogni persona il problema piú importante é il proprio problema e sarei contenta se la gente saprebbe la differenza tra le situazioni dove c'é bisogno di urlare con me, e quelle dove vorrei solo che mi ascoltassero. Non dovremmo parlare solamente perché abbiamo paura del silenzio, perché potremmo dire stupidaggini.

What was first on my list? Mamma Mia!

In October 2007 I had the fortune to see live the musical Mamma Mia!. I also wrote a review on it.
Come July 2008 the movie, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan appeared in the theaters and I also a wrote a review on that, kinda like the ones you read on my blog now. That was posted on a different page, however, instead of re-posting it, I thought I would simply let you know where you can find it:

http://mamma-mia-budapest.blogspot.com/

Also, it seens I have lost my password for the blog... so that'll stay like that, probably for eternity, so sorry about that, I'd like to correct a couple of facts and perhaps embed some links, but it seems I cannot do so. As time will pass, perhaps I'll re-write it here, until then you can find it there.
Do read it, it is one of my earliest and eagerest works!
Until the next item on my list!

Blogger: Az Élet Puzzle-je

Amikor nagyon megható és nagyon filozofikus akar lenni valaki, akkor mindig megpróbál találni valamit, amihez hasonlíthatja az életet. Szép metaforikus kifejezéseket és hasonlatokat von az élet nagy kérdései és valami között, ami nagyon érdekesnek tűnik, de, amúgy nem igen fogható az élethez. Legalábbis én így érzem. De lehet, hogy csak azért mondom, mert én is találtam egy ilyen hasonlatot, és szerintem az enyém sokkal jobb mint a többi...

Pár napja egy régen kirakott puzzle-met elővettem, még Rómában raktam ki, a Spanyol Lépcsőről volt egy esti kép, amit hátulról celuxal összeragasztottam és a falamon lógott egy képkeretben. A hazaköltözés óta először került megint a szemem elé. Ez felidézte bennem milyen kellemes játék is puzzle-t kirakni. Egy Neuschwanstein kastély 500db képet elkezdtem kirakni, és nem tudtam nem észre venni, hogy  mennyire idegesít, ha egy darabot nem tudtam betenni a helyére.  Ott van 499 másik, de azaz egy megőrített.

Ha kinyitod a dobozt, először megtalálod az összes elemet, amik a kép szélét teszik ki, hiszen, hogy te ki vagy, a családod és születési helyed, dátumod azok mind olyan adatok, amikre az ember általában tud válaszolni. Babakorunkban kapunk egyszerűket, 6-9 darabosak, nagyok, könnyen kirakhatók. És mindig van egy öröm érzés, amikor kiraksz egy képet. Ahogyan felnősz, egyre nagyobbak kerülnek eléd, 100db, 300db, 500db, akár 1000db! És akkor nézel egy tökéletes képet, és megpróbálod lemásolni. Találsz egy elemet, valami kék szín, ami a puzzle felének bármelyik darabja lehet, hiszen az esetek többségében az ég mindig egyszínű és a kép felét kiteszi. Alíg van valami, amit kiraktál, de mégis ott van azaz egy kék darab, amit azt akarod, hogy stimmeljen, beakarod illeszteni. Kiraksz többi részeket, például egy ház, vagy egy autó, az elég könnyű, hiszen látod, hogy csak egy helyre tud passzolni. De ott van a szemed sarkában azaz egy kék elem, és basszus annyira beakarod tenni valahova, de nem stimmel.

Eröltetheted, de tudod, hogy az nem oda való, annak nem ott van a helye. A kép egyre tisztább, egyre több elemnek megvan a helye, érzel egy kis büszkeséget. De már nem csak 1, hanem legalább 5 olyan elem van a szemed előtt, amik sehogyan sem stimmelnek, és rájössz, hogy valamit elrontottál. Valami nagyon rossz helyre került és a szemed nem vette észre először, hiszen az a pár militer, amivel eltért az alig látható szabad szemmel. És akkor lebontasz egy részleget, és dühít, hol rontottad el? Kezdheted előröl! És nem számít meddig húzod, azaz 1 darab lesz az utolsó, amit betudsz tenni a helyére, mert meg kell tanulnod, hogy akkor is ha megvannak egy képletnek az összes elemei, nem biztos, hogy minden szabályt már felfedeztek, amivel megtudod fejteni azt az egyenletet. Türelem. A puzzle egy türelem játék, az élet... az élet egy türelem játék. Lehet, hogy neked kell megtalálni a helyét, de az esetek többségében a kép fogja neked mutatni, hogy hova kell illeszteni a darabokat, csak meg kell várni, hogy világos legyen. Minnél idősebb vagy, annál okosabban és nyugodtabban fogsz belekezdeni és annál nagyobb siker élmény lesz.
És ha sikerült kitenned, akkor áttérhetsz egy nagyobbra, egy több és kisebb darabos képre. Csak annyit tarts észben, hogy csak akkor fogod tudni kirakni, ha akarod. Ne kezdj bele, ha nincsen hozzá kedved és ne akard más puzzle-jét kitenni. Azt a képet nem neked szánták.

Dear Creators of One Tree Hill

[2017.11.14] Amidst allegations of sexual harassment I gotta say that I am somewhat disappointed in creator Mark Schwahn. It kinda puts my whole childhood in a different perspective. You can read about what happened here, but I wanted to add this note, that despite the fact that I loved an grew up with this series I in no way condone that kind of behavior and am most definitely disgusted by it. I can only hope that this does not happen on the set of his new show, The Royals, because I care for that one as well... But I'm not very optimistic.

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For those of you who don't know One Tree Hill, allow me to recap the initial story.
Dan Scott was a very talented basketball player, but come high school senior year he got his cheerleader girlfriend Karen Roe pregnant. He had to make a decision between his career and Karen. He chose college, but luck would have it that he got his college girlfriend, Deb Lee, pregnant as well. Karen gave birth to Lucas, whom Dan never claimed and was brought up by his big brother, Keith Scott. While Deb gave birth to Nathan, and they all moved back to Dan's hometown: Tree Hill.
Dan turns out to be a jealous homicidal maniac who murders Keith for being with Karen; Lucas and Nathan made up and become really good brothers. At the end of season 1 the main mission is for everybody to get rid of Dan, one way or another...
Lucas has a best friend, Haley James, who after tutoring Nathan falls in love with him. Nathan used to be a cheating jackass, but he changed his ways because he loved Haley, the two get married at the age of 16 and by senior year Haley was pregnant with their son.
Lucas on the other hand was trapped in the love triangle between him and two best friends, Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer. Even if at first his love brought him to Brooke, everyone really felt that his soul mate was Peyton, and the two do come together and get married as well.
By the end of season 8th, Nathan and Haley have their boy and a little girl; Brooke gets married too, to a director by the name of Julian Baker and they have twins to raise; Lucas and Peyton are long gone; and Dan is out there somewhere on parole, because he got time off his prison sentence for good behavior.

Dear creator!
If my imdb.com research, and the DVD extras and the CW comments are correct (and they are) you are the creator/executive producer/writer of one of my favorite TV series: One Tree Hill.

I am writing this letter on a blog, because I am fully aware that in the long run my opinion does not matter. Also, if I sent this to you, nobody would read it and instead of a normal communicative letter, it would come off as a hate-mail (trust me, my letter are ALWAYS misinterpreted!). And, on the most important note, I am pretty sure that the last 13 episodes of season 9 are already written, so one angry fan's complaint will not change anything.
The reason for this little entry is also a quick review of your series. Also, you've made a couple of decisions that REALLY pissed me off, so now, I'm going to discuss them thoroughly!
I remember the first time I saw your series. It was the summer of 2005 and on an Italian TV station (RaiDue) in the afternoon they were airing re-runs of both Roswell and Felicity. And, among them, there was One Tree Hill. The first episode I saw was season 1, episode 6 "Every Night Is Another Story", and my first thought was "Oh my God, that's Charlie from Dawson's Creek! (Chad Michael Murray)" I fell in love and had to see more, by this time in America already the third season was premiering and I was watching the first two seasons on DVD.

First off is, a minor problem, but still important: Lindsey Strauss, the character played by Michaela McManus. I just didn't see the point of it. (Reader! Lindsey was Lucas's girlfriend after a four year jump at the beginning of the 5th season.) The watcher is finally happy that he and Peyton are together, and it was obvious that they would get back together and I just didn't see the point of hurting that poor girl! Also you showed us that she is a really nice girl! You know how bad I felt because they hurt her feelings? It was awful! I understand that you needed the tension, the suspense on whether or not this love that the fans have been cheering for since the first season will happen or not (of course it did). But if you show us that Lucas was mad, because Peyton wouldn't marry him, keep him mad! Don't make a man out of him who needs somebody by his side, NO! Make him the Lucas you made him, the one who waits for true love and the 'one for him'. I just found this weird and unnecessary.

The second is... yeah. This one drives me mad. Remember Katie Ryan, played by Amanda Schull? (Reader! Katie was a psycho who fell in love with Nathan's agent Clay and tried to kill him and his girlfriend Quinn, the latter being Haley's sister.) My problem was, that she reminded me of someone... she was just like another character, wait, who am I thinking about? She was a bit like Derek, played by Matt Barr. (Reader! Derek was a psycho who fell in love with Peyton and tried to rape her!) Oh, no wait, I know who I am thinking about: Nanny Carrie, played by Torrey DeVitto. (Reader! Carrie was a psycho who fell in love with Nathan and tried to steal his son.) Oh, no wait, IT'S BOTH OF THEM!
Talk about creative block, in the run of 8 seasons you used the "Melrose Place Psycho" cliché THREE TIMES!!! I understand that, again this is what catches the watchers, but my god, LEAVE THIS PEOPLE ALONE, let them be happy! I should be glad Lindsey didn't turn out to be a psycho, judging from your writing, it could've gone either way...

The third point is what made me not watch season 8. I watched two episodes, and then I saw the trailer for the third and I decided that that was it. You crossed the 'screwing-around-with-the-fans' line for the last time with me! I always gave you the benefit of the doubt, but not this time. Reader, from season 1 the main conflict was, that Dan, because of his marriage never got to be a big time basketball player. He forced it onto Nathan who, realized that maybe he doesn't love it that much. He stops playing, but gets back to it, because he misses it and understands that he didn't do it for his father, but for himself. All through the eight seasons, he gets into several accidents and he is told that he can't play anymore. He becomes f*cking paralized at the beginning of season 5 and, surprise surprise, he makes a comeback!
OK, fine, I went with it, I mean why not? But all through the series he was warned, that 'he will never play again' and he is like goddamn Superman, he always makes a comeback even if it is medically impossible! So, 8th season: Clay, the agent gets shot and Nathan offers his kidney. The doctor tells him 'you will never play again', that's where I said "F*ck You One Tree Hill." He had a car accident, came back he had a knee injury, he came back; he was paralyzed, he came back and NOW you're going to pull the same shit on us with the stupid kidney? No way...

Thankfully I later on found out that Nathan actually can't play anymore, the miraculous comeback from the paralyzed state maybe wasn't so successful after all which, I thank you for, but I also had to notice that it was somewhat convenient for the plot... but anyway, thank you for remembering that he had a freaking piece of glass in his spine! So he does have to stop playing but the fact that you would even raise that sentence 'you can't play anymore' is offensive! We know James Lafferty (Nathan) is a really good player, you are always going to give him a ball because he is good for stock footage! And after 4 comebacks, we are not going to believe you, it's just not good for a cliffhanger anymore!

The season DVDs. Of course, I understand that this is not exactly your area of expertise, and you are not involved in the making of the boxes for the season DVDs', but I just need to ask a question. This is regarding season 4. (click here to see the DVD!) For all the seasons they used a cast photo (check out all the DVDs here!) except for this one. Now, I noticed, because I always look up photo-shoots, that they didn't do a cast picture for season 4, and OK, I understand. But I also know the seasonal pictures and those on the cover of season 4? THEY ARE ALL FROM SEASON THREE! Peyton's, Brooke's, Haley's, Nathan's, not to mention Lucas', that is FROM SEASON 1!!! It's a shame, because even if there wasn't a cast photo of season 4, you guys took the CW advertisement/promo pictures which, ironically have the same green color background like the DVD box, so would it have been so hard to use them?
Also, as far as DVDs go, people like 2 kind of commentaries: (1) where the director speaks about how the movie was made, which is interesting if you want to be a part of show business. (2) the star's commentary about, literally NOTHING regarding the filming process of the show! Now, guess which one the One Tree Hill audience prefers! On the season 1 DVD you put a commentary by the teen and the adult group on the last episode of the season. And it was A W E S O M E ! You wanna know how many times I re-watched and listened to it? Because it is wonderful, they do tell you stories about the shooting but being a fan of such a show, you just want to get to know the actors, hear stories, you want to know whether if they are friends in real life too like the series. I don't care about how hard the shooting was of an episode! Leave me alone! At least when a couple of actors talk along with you Mr. Schwahn, sometimes they make a couple of jokes, but that's not nearly enough! "Season 2, commentary by creator and producer...", yeah, who cares? I ain't listening to that!

But, it is also important to say, that this series is awesome because even if it can't avoid some clichés, it totally avoids basic rules that were made up during the creation of 40 minute drama series. One of the most common ones is that if somebody dies, or moves away we never talk about them ever again! And that's just stupid. Of course, there are some characters you forgot as well Tree Hill, but at least when somebody died you didn't pretend they never existed! Like Keith, you never forgot, or when Karen moved away, she always wrote letters, or when Lucas moved away, Haley kept on writing to him. There was continuity, you could rely on your fans, which many shows don't do and they are stupid not to.
Also Mr. Schwahn, you brought love back. And that is the most important. I remember, my parents got married when they were 22 years old and they have been married for 35 years now and they are still very happy. I remember Bethany Joy Galeotti (Haley) saying on the DVD commentary that she hopes they will break Haley and Nathan up because she doesn't want young fans to think that if they got married at 16 it will be happily ever after. And I understand what she meant, but it actually gives you hope, that despite the stupid generalization of the 21st century that marriage isn't important anymore, and you should wait, and career is more important, you focus on the fact that love is important. Nobody wants to be alone and if you find that person in your high school, so what? In the end every story ends in 'you never forget your first love', whom usually you meet in high school.

The story was original, usually conflict among men has no rational base, this had. These were kids with damage, actual, touchable damage you can relate to (...in the beginning), and you made us fall in love with them. I saw the first episode of season 9, let me tell you, if there is going to be another psycho, I'm going to strangle you Mr. Schwahn! And of course, the 8th season all together had as many exciting stories as 1 episode from season 1... but still it was fun. I am sad that it comes to an end, but it is time, and as long as I re-watch the old episodes, One Tree Hill will never end for me. Looking forward to the last season!

            Thank you reader, and thank you Mr. Schwahn.
            Yours faithfully
            Csoresz

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Lucas Scott - Chad Michael Murray

Nathan Scott - James Lafferty

Haley James Scott - Bethany Joy Galeotti

Peyton Sawyer - Hilarie Burton

Brooke Davis - Sophia Bush

Dan Scott - Paul Johansson

Keith Scott - Craig Sheffer

Karen Roe - Moira Kelly

Deb Scott - Barbara Alyn Woods

Julian Baker - Austin Nichols

Marvin 'Mouth' MacFadden - Lee Norris

Skills - Antwon Tanner

Rachel Gatina - Daneel Harris-Ackles

Quinn James - Shantel VanSanten

Clayton Evans - Robert Buckley 

Chase Adams - Stephen Coletti

and

Coach Whitey Durham - Barry Corbin
_ _ _ _ _

The West Wing and my political "view" of the US

To start off with, let me wish everybody a Very Happy New Year, let it be prosperous and joyful!

That said, let us start off with a whole new review: The West Wing.

I remember the first time I saw this TV series. It was back in 2000 and on a very late night a Hungarian TV station aired the very first episode. I wasn't really interested in it, but the fact that my sister was made me curious too. We stayed up late to watch it and the first thing we noticed was a lot, and I mean a lot of walking. The set and offices seemed huge. But by the time you're watching a marathon of the third season, you realize what exactly the set looks like and they aren't really advancing, only making circles. It looked like a very grown up show for a 9 year old (it was), and even if they spoke Hungarian, I still couldn't understand it.

Seven years passed when on a site I saw the advertisements for the final episode, Tomorrow,and it got me curious. By then I had seen several random episodes, I knew the characters very well and I was curious about the last episode, so I downloaded it. While I watched it, I remember thinking "What the hell is going on?". This only raised more questions in me and made me even more curious. My brother had bought himself the first season on DVD, so I decided to pop it in and see for myself what exactly had happened these past seven years. (That, and I am a hardcore Stockard Channing fan and I try to see everything that she is in. Even if she wasn't in every single episode, it made no sense to skip on or three just because she is not in it, therefore I saw every episode.)

There is really no point in me telling you what happens season for season. It would take up all of my free time and you would get bored reading. Let us recap in one sentence what the story is really about, and then discuss it thoroughly. We witness the life of President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet from his second year in office up to his 8th and we get to know his staffers and the extreme difficulty they live with to be able to dissociate their work life from that of their social life.

This series has taught me one thing and that is the election process in the United States. Of course, every President meets obstacles and problems that require hard choices. I am also sure that the staffers around him/her have access to some high level information and that there is weight on their shoulders too. But among everything, if you get passed all the frightful things about working in the White House, I've found myself to want to work there. It must be so awesome! While watching the series you might think that the way the characters approach their jobs is a bit silly. But I don't. I find that the more pressure you feel, the more you need to let off steam, therefore every second you get to breath you find joy in the little things.


"- CJ, you wanna play pool?
- I don't know how to play pool.
- Wanna play for money?
- Sure!"

But the beauty of it is that it got me interested into politics. When I see a political debate (let us stick with American politics for now), I cry. I do, they suck and they are boring. Nobody cares really, it's all fake anyway: every politician has 3 sentences prepared all the way through their campaign which they always find a way to fit into their answers. There vary from "I'm against abortion", "We must continue our mission of peace overseas" and "Tax cuts" or "Healthcare". That's it. They basically choose and vote for you based on what you think about abortion and whether or not you promise to cut taxes. But it is the same in almost every country now, so I don't want to alienate the US!
However The West Wing made me interested in the work that is put into the election campaigns. All the people, all the places, all the connections! There is always one who advises you on your clothing (eg. it is a well known fact that if the tie of the politician has either red or blue in it, it will be associated with the flag, therefore you get patriots on your side); there are your speech writers; your press consultant; your chief of staff and let us not even mention all the people who work for the first-lady-to-be! It is a wonderful enterprise, a wonderful job really. It is something you can't get tired of. You need your connections in the poll office, you speak with Congressmen and Senators. It is truly incredible. I never thought I would be interested in a desk job, but if someone asks me if I want to work in the White House, I'm going to say yes without a second of hesitation!

So yes, the series portrays work as it is. I'm not saying that they make it look easy so you want to do their job, nope, on the other hand they make it look really hard. But somehow I believe that working there makes you feel like you're making a difference in the world and that is a really good feeling!

Let me tell you what I think is wrong with the series. Only the President. I love this series because it captures perfectly the life of those who are workaholics by choice, those who have no choice but accept that their work is their life and those who struggle with moral issues in situations that require them to be emotionally detached. But as far as the President goes, he is not real. As sad as it is, we don't live in a world where real people with real feelings want to become politicians. It is a disgusting and corrupt society I know, and as sad as it is, it is the truth. But Jed Bartlet is a historian, a man of arts, a caring father and husband and he became president because he wanted to change the world. And I hope that in the beginning that's the same reason for everyone who decides to become a politician, but, with all the attacking, the fighting and blackmail, by the time someone actually gets to a point where what they say actually matters: they get scared and do nothing. Power is such a sweet thing to have that nobody dares to jeopardize it (except for the idiots who became overwhelmed and turn into a less successful but equally pathetic dictator from the 30's!). They only smile and oblige or do something to ensure their power which only results in doing exactly the opposite of what they meant to do in the beginning.

I want nothing more than for all politicians to be like President Bartlet, but unfortunately that is not the case. So yes, I love this series and I have nothing against it. It might not be realistic for me, from that, and only that point of view but otherwise it is creepy how lifelike the stories and reactions of the people are. The writers didn't forget to feed their cast (like they did in 24 after season 1...); they didn't forget that sleep deprivation causes mistakes and bad judgement and, in one word: fatigue. Family and friends are the most important things, along with moral values and safety. And the second you hear the opening credits theme song... hmm, you shiver!
This is a great series, and if you can get your hands on a DVD with subtitles, make sure to check it out!

Until the next item on my list!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Cast:

Jed Bartlet - Martin Sheen

Abby Bartlet - Stockard Channing

Sam Seaborn - Rob Lowe

Josh Lyman - Bradley Whitford

Claudia-Jean 'CJ' Cregg - Allison Janney

Leo McGarry - John Spencer

Toby Ziegler - Richard Schiff

Donna Moss - Janel Moloney

Charlie Young - Dulé Hill

Will Bailey - Joshua Malina

and

Matthew Santos - Jimmy Smiths