Alien Post - Mockingjay

Might be a little behind with that movie and I actually watched it some weeks ago. However, I didn't get to write about it until today. These are some things that stuck to my mind and for me are the major facts about Mockingjay.

Cut at the right spots.
There is this one thing I totally love about the Hunger Games movies: They are cut at the right spots. Especially after Catching Fire and now Mockingjay part one I can't wait for the next movie to come to the cinemas.

Hysterical screaming.
Also I really appreciated how Katniss kept her hysterical screaming to the minimum this time around - it pretty much made me hate the first movie.

Design of District 13.
At first I was a little disappointed by the design of District 13, but only until you got out of the living quarters. All the high tech elements were as impressive as in the Capitol.

Mockingjay evolution.
It is fascinating to see how the Mockingjay emblem changes over the movies and how it more or less sticks to the book covers. Also I found this fan edit including the possible, unofficial emblem for the last movie.



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Alien Post - The Stormlight Archive

Recently I really got into fantasy books again and the one I was most impressed by is The Way Of Kings from the Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson. I guess it's my girlfriend's fault. One evening she told me about the new book series she was reading and while she told me about the story (for once not spoiling me) she showed me some drawings that were included in the book. And for some reason, it drew my interest. So after she finished reading, or rather devouring the novel, I got it and this is what it is about:
In this first book the story is mostly built around the young man Kaladin who originally thought of war to be his chance to get out of the life he was born into but ends up as a slave, condemned by the man he would've given his life for. Of course slaves were wanted for war as well, what brought him to the worst place to be: The Shattered Plains, where the most brutal and outrageous war of all time was fought by the human race on the one side and the Parshendi on the other side, assumed to be responsible for the assassination of king Gavilar of Alethkar. King, assassination, war - sounds obvious, right?
At the same time - but on the other side of the continent - Shallan is fighting her own battle in order to save her family. To win the trust of the most important woman, the king's sister Jasnah Kholin, she tries to become her ward at first only to steal pretty much the most powerful item mankind knows about, a soulcaster, used to form anything you want from any material you want. Practically a way to make food from stone and water from soil.
Well, give it a try if you like what you've read so far. Book two, Words Of Radiance is also out already and book three is to be released in 2016 - so still enough time to read the first two over and over again.


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Hamburg Longboard Spots - Dove Elbe

So this week it pulled me out of the city once again, but not quite that far. Actually it was both, board and bike as my girlfriend was with me, but I was on the board so this counts as a board spot, I guess.

So we started right at at the east end of the marked path. Medium quality ground, some cars and a nice view. And if you take your time to look around instead of racing along you find these things that make you wonder about the story behind it. Like this little wooden boat there. I mean, when was the last time that you saw a boat completely made of wood out on the water? It must have been the for some years or maybe even decades.

And then, of course, there are just beautiful views of the river and nature. And you are mad because you have a 18-55mm lens only. But on the other hand, I like this shot of the river in the front at the cows at the riverside just chilling there.

Maybe I should explain: We were at the Dove Elbe, a arm of the Elbe of about 14 km length. At the place I live the Elbe is about three times as far away. This makes the Dove Elbe a good place if you want to chill out at the riverside.

We then finally arrived at the Hamburg Olympic Center of rowing that recently was the location for the rowing world cup. But I like it a lot more when everything is calm and there is a small boat driving by every now and then. Also, most people driving by are so nice and greeting each other - this is traffic how I like it.

That's it for today. As allways, keep exploring and protect your spots

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Train Blues

Look into a person's eye. What do you see? Sorrow. Exhaustion. Boredom. At least that's what I see right now. I stopped smiling. I get home and close the door to my room. Lie down and recover from the day's horror. These people hurt me. I feel terrible standing right in the middle of them. But why do the feelings of random people even affect me? In fact it would be quite unhealthy to stay in this state of letting all this impact on you for too long. So is this why people just live alongside each other: There is just to much bad mood that would probably kill you if you let it have an influence on you. But this can't be the right way, not the best. Nothing big today.

Hamburg Longboard Spots - Beating the Train

Welcome to the first episode of Hamburg Longboard Spots. Today I'll present to you a nice ride that will bring you directly to the city if you pursue it long enough. But this time I limited it to one third of the total length for this post as the amount of photos is already too damn high. Still I will add all worthy pics to an upcoming site that will include all the photos from all the posts plus some extra shots. So, let's get started!

Starting off at the Allermöhe train station we go west following the train tracks. As on this side of the train tracks there's no city but the countryside we get into a huge cloud of dust from a field machine right next to us. Not good for our lungs and not good for the camera either.Actually we got no possibility to race a train -- doesn't even matter as at least three other trains would have passed us on the way -- so we took our time to enjoy the ride (song of the week by Krewella) instead of rushing through.

As the camera I use still isn't my own I left it inside the bag for a long part of the first third of the ride because it seemed quite dangerous to me to carry it around my neck and in my hand while I was on the board. Also most of what I saw wasn't that awesome for photos. But I knew about some good possibilities to take a good shot.

For example there was this bridge leading us to the other side of a little river flowing along the fields. Well, hardly flowing. That's also the reason for the disgusting smell in some areas of the track.

For some reason there has to begin a dike right where the bridge is so the path has a bump of one and a half meters right before the bridge. The dike goes on to the left of it but only five meters to the right this wouldn't have been a problem. But this way you actually have to get off your board. What a shame! At least in the direction we were going as the bridge was very board-unfriendly. The other way round the bump was actually a nice help to get onto the board with at least some speed. 

The next problem was the tarmac at some parts of the track. Some small cracks are fine but you don't want to be forced to practice jumping because of them.

So we made it to the first train station and took a break preparing for the next part that generally looks better and also made a lot more fun what resulted in more photos.

As most horses were in their boxes already we had a hard time searching for one. But only for you I got a shot of a real beauty. Well, I found it right next to the path. Wasn't that hard to get.

Actually there was again a obstacle, a standard red and white bar. But my girlfriend had a nice solution. Just sit down on your board and roll on. As I was concentrated on taking the photos I didn't even bother trying it.

Some hundreds of meters further there was a handcrafted bench placed on the side of the road. Nothing you'd want to have standing in your living room but still it inspired us to shoot some photos.

I can't really describe it but in general I like places where you see man-made structures perfectly blending in to its natural surroundings. Or also if it didn't blend in so well in the beginning abandoned buildings that become one with the nature can be beautiful in their very own way.

But the best about the photos left and below is the contrast of my board, the red and black scarecrow, to the wooden bench and the green grass and trees. Also my girlfriend made a good job especially on the last one with the diagonal line of the plants on the ground, the rather decent focus on the bench and the relation of me to my board.

But then we we almost at the prison. Obviously I couldn't take many pictures of it as the guards don't really like that.

After passing the prison we approached the bridge that lead us over the motorway. Also nice for pictures and riding down on the other side. There, the motorway actually went through a tunnel underneath a freight yard with those huge cranes on rails moving containers from trucks to trains and the other way round. Unfortunately we didn't see more than the tops of the cranes moving from one place to another as there was a huge wall.

That's it for today. We didn't go on to the spot marked on the map as we didn't want to just ride along that boring straight road. But if you want to go home by train you should go there as the train station of Billwerder-Moorfleet is right next to it.

I hope you like this new series, tell me if you actually finished reading in the comments and also tell me what you'd like to be changed. Next Saturday we kick off the bike spots with a nice off-road spot. Until then, keep exploring and save your spots.

Boarding in the rain

Longboarding is so much fun as long as the sun shines or at least the floor is dry because rain is the natural enemy of every longboarder. Your griptape gets wet and dirty, your legs get sprinkled and your trucks and bearings don't like the water either.

Although you might actually stay on otherwise perfect skating-ground it is the equivalent to a bike or a car on wet grass and mud. Your wheels are a lot harder to turn and you have to be careful where to ride and step in case you want to use your shoes before the next day as the water gets whirled up onto your shoes and takes every little chunk of sand with it. Also you should be aware that you'll probably need a dry place outside for the board not to drop the water onto the floor inside (mostly a problem when living with your parents). You will need to clean up your board your shoes and your legs after the wheels spread the mud in little drops.
On the photo it luckily was only a short ride to the bus stop so it wasn't all that bad but only because I had luck with the bus arriving just then.

Why Longboarding? (2/3)

Hope Monday's post helped you :)

So now that you remember what your longboard is, how it's shaped and how it behaves under your weight (no offense) you should try to catch the spirit of longboarding. The feeling of the street melting under your feet, catching you up in waves to throw you forth and back ever so gently.

Never forget: It's no race, no contest. It's about the feeling you get standing on the board. Do you feel save or are you afraid to tip over? Do you want more or is it just enough? Tell me what you think while you're riding your very own waves!

Why Longboard? (1/3)

Longboarding.

Downhill, cruising, carving, freeride, dancing.

So many possibilities all made from simply a piece of wood and wheels. Of course, nowadays longboards are more than that. Bamboo, Canadian maple, glass fiber. Trucks, bearings, wheels. Many options to play with that piece of wood.

But you should watch out not to get lost. Longboading isn't all 'bout racing or having better parts than the guy or girl right next to you. If you're stuck in that loop of "bigger, better, faster" just take your board outside to a place you two have never been before and lay down on it and feel the edges and bends, the flex and the ground below your wheels.