Green Flash!

Keeping up with the lunar theme of posts, do you guys remember Pirates of the Caribbean? In the movie the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship would come out in the mortal world when a green flash occurred. Well to be quite fair I have seen quite a few green flashes (took bucket loads of patience & free time) but I have yet to witness the Flying Dutchman yet.

Clifton Beach can be fun if one knows where to look.

Green flashes are optical phenomena that occur shortly after sunset or before sunrise, when a green spot is visible, usually for no more than a second or two, above the sun, or it may resemble a green ray shooting up from the sunset point. Green flashes are a group of phenomena stemming from different causes, and some are more common than others. Green flashes may be observed from any altitude (even from an aircraft). They usually are seen at an unobstructed horizon, such as over the ocean, but are possible over cloud tops and mountain tops as well.

There are many different types of green flash. Some describe a streak or ray of the colour green … like a green flame shooting up from the sunrise or sunset horizon. The most common green flash, which many people describe, is a flash of the colour green seen when the sun is nearly entirely below the horizon. 

You can see green flashes with the eye, when sky conditions are just right, if you are looking toward a very clear and very distant horizon. That’s why those who see green flashes most often see them over a sea horizon. You also must be looking just at sunset, at the last moment before the sun disappears below the horizon. And you have to be careful not to look too soon. Wait until just the thinnest rim of the sun appears above the horizon. If you look too soon, the light of the sunset will dazzle (or damage) your eyes, and you’ll miss that day’s green flash.

Bottom line: The green flash is legendary, and some people have told us they thought it was a myth, like a unicorn or a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. But green flashes are very real. You need a distant and very clear horizon to see them at the last moment before the sun disappears below the horizon at sunset. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another instance zoomed in (hence the grainy nature of the picture)

The green flash from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean.

Look! Up in the sky...it's SUPERMOON!!

Supermoon May 5th, Karachi.

Last weekend provided the full Moon’s closest approach of the year to Earth. On Saturday, May 5, 2012 the Moon appeared as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full Moons of 2012, according to some calculations.

Every month, as the Moon circles the Earth in its elongated orbit, its distance from the Earth varies. Last weekend, the Moon reached what’s known as its perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit. It was about 356,953 kilometers (221,802 miles) from Earth on Saturday. Apogee — when the Moon is farthest away — varies, but is around 405,000 km (252,000 miles) away.

As it appeared. More brighter than usual.

Upon zooming in and clearing the picture up more details became apparent.

The last supermoon was in March 2011. At the time, it was the biggest and brightest full moon in 18 years.

Whereas a stranger looking moon was sighted over Disneyland.

MARILYN MANSON - BORN VILLAIN: An Album Review

Manson's no stranger to resurrection or reinvention. Every successive album has seen hard rock's smartest and savviest villain reborn in some manner. He went from the apocalyptic industrial metal of 1996's now classic Antichrist Superstar to the theatrical glam dream of Mechanical Animals. He came off the Holy Wood cross and became brutally burlesque for The Golden Age of Grotesque and then he ventured inside himself for Eat Me, Drink Me and The High End of Low.

Now, he's arrived at the aptly titled Born Villain. And thank god for that as due to the ill-advised crooning on Eat Me, Drink Me, to the hit-and-miss The High End Of Low, Manson had been treading water. The God of Fuck was in serious danger of becoming The God of Fuck-All.

There's thankfully none of that lighters-in-the-air singy nonsense of the last two records. Lead single 'No Reflection' lays things out nicely. Plenty of crunchy guitar, Manson's wails and croaks, waves of guitar, guns, razors, death, pain and some classic/terrible MM puns ("This will hurt you worse than me/ I'm weak, seven days, I'm weak").

Elsewhere, they gleefully plough that glam-metal-industrial-rock furrow that gave the group that classic late-'90s trilogy of albums, granted without any of that famous in-your-face shock value nor the same quality of tunes. It starts strongly, opener 'Hey, Cruel World' having a nicely shouty chorus built for some fist-pumping live performances ("We don't need your faith / We've got fucking fate / Fate! / Fate! / Fate!")

The half-spoken 'The Gardener' bounces along like a demented poetry reading with some good old-fashioned claims to outsiderdom ("I'm not man enough to be human / But I'm trying to fit in / And I'm learning to fa-fa-fake it"). 'Overneath The Path Of Misery' opens with a delightfully portentous reading from Macbeth's "sound and fury" soliloquy before culminating in some ear-splitting squeals.

Johnny Depp (yes the same fella who is best known as Captain Jack Sparrow) appears on a pointless cover of Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain' tacked on as a bonus track. Has Manson ever recorded a decent cover apart from the better-than-the-original 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)'?

There's some filler, some woefully underwritten tracks and some complete guff, and while Born Villain doesn't have anything near as wonderful as 2009's best rock moment 'Arma...geddon', it's much, much more fun than The High End of Low as a whole. Yeah, the original trilogy (Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals & Holy Wood) remains untouched and perhaps a decade of diminishing returns has nudged us to think of this record kindly, but all-in-all Manson and friends have clawed back enough of that primal energy that made MM such a draw.

In the end if I were to rate it, the new Manson brainchild will get a 4 out of 5.

 

The Dark knight Rises viral campaign

The Dark Knight Rises viral campaign is running in full speed!

Below are some samples.....

I'm fucking excited for 'The Dark Knight Rises' rather than 'The Avengers'

Avengers: GQ photo shoot?

The Avengers has arrived in theaters and brings Iron Man, Thor and Captain America amongst others, together to battle a great evil force. The reviews - so far - have been great (even my sister & her hubby in UK are raving about it) and the film promises to kick off summer in a big way.

But this isn't the movie that I'm most excited about this summer. Not by a long shot. The most-anticipated movie of the summer according to me (or maybe more fan boys like me) is The Dark Knight Rises - the eagerly-anticipated final chapter in the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy.

So you must be wondering why am I being all excited about Batman's latest outing. Here are my reasons due to which I'm looking forward more to Batman returning to the big screen than I am about Marvel's The Avengers avenging the earth in the time long battle of (superhero) good against (supervillian) evil.

The Story

Bane & The Dark Knight: Epic battle cometh?

I haven't seen The Avengers yet (awaiting its arrival at Pakistan's cinemas on 11th of May) and I assume that it will have a great story. But in many ways, it's going to be an origin story more than anything else. The film has to establish the team coming together and working as one unit for the masses yet unaware of the Avengers and their formation. Nolan's Batman origin story was already told in Batman Begins. The director then IMPROVED upon that in the masterful follow up The Dark Knight. Who knows what will await viewers of this third film?

The Dark Knight ended with a thought-provoking climax as Batman made a decision that few others would be willing to make: Instead of revealing the true motivations of the late Harvey Dent (Two-Face), the Caped Crusader opted to paint himself as the villain so that the citizens of Gotham would still idolize their hero (Dent) and not have the unfortunate reality undermine their idealism.

Now, in this final chapter, it will be interesting to see how Batman can thrive as a hero even though the people of Gotham view him as a monster. This dichotomy - between Batman's public persona and his private heroism-- will likely set the stage for a great story about nobility and honor in the face of criticism and hatred.

The Cast

If you put the cast of The Avengers together for a photo shoot, it would provide a great cover for GQ. If you put the cast of The Dark Knight Rises together for a photo shoot, it would include some of the finest actors working today.

Gary Oldman as Comissioner Gordan

There's no arguing with the fact that The Avengers offers up a strong cast - with Robert Downey Jr. as the best of the bunch. But many of the other actors composing the cast are younger performers who haven't established themselves as great actors quite yet - whereas the Christopher Nolan Batman films offer up one of the strongest casts ever in comic book movie.

Four of the main actors in TDKR (Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Marion Cotillard) have all won Oscars for their acting skills.  Additionally, the film's supporting cast includes the massively-talented combination of Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Oscar-nominees Gary Oldman and Anne Hathaway. This is an incredible cast - not only for a superhero movie, but for any film in general.

The Themes

I have seen Captain America. And Thor. And Iron Man and Iron Man 2. Even Hulk & the reboot The Incredible Hulk. And I thoroughly enjoyed every single of them. Overall, the Avengers lead-in films have had something to offer audiences.

But none of their themes compares to The Dark Knight, which tried to be much more than a typical superhero film. Not only were the special effects great, but the story itself offered a thematic depth that other superhero movies haven't yet matched. TDK wasn't just about a hero fighting evil. It also spoke to the dichotomy between good and evil that exists in all of us, and focused on the Joker's distorted view of human morality.

The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The Dark Detective.

When a boatload of innocents faced off against a group of prison inmates and had to choose whether or not to sacrifice the other in order to survive, the movie forced audiences to think about their own visions of good versus evil. Let's hope that Rises is half as thought-provoking and deep as its predecessor.

The Director

For some, Joss Whedon can do no wrong. The creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly (and off shoot movie Serenity) has a hardcore fan base that has loved much of the work he has done behind the camera. In addition to writing films like Cabin in the Woods, Whedon has directed episodes of Buffy, Angel and Firefly  and the film Serenity.

Nolan with Bale & Caine.

But it doesn't compare to Christopher Nolan. Nolan has created a series of unforgettable films over the past dozen years. From 2000's Memento to 2002's Insomnia, from 2006's The Prestige to 2010's Inception, this director has created several masterful works (not including the Batman films). And he is also the guiding force as Producer & writer for another DC's hot property Superman in Man of Steel. He knows how to develop strong stories, use special effects smartly, and show viewers a great time at the theater. That ability can't be under-estimated.

The Villian

From what I've seen of The Avengers so far in trailers and clips, it looks like their greatest nemesis will be Thor's boring brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Admittedly I haven't seen the film yet, so I'm not sure what Loki's abilities look like or how much of an opponent he will be for the team of superheroes.

BANE! Enough said hehe

That being said, Batman's nemesis in The Dark Knight Rises is Bane and the film's trailers - especially the awe-inspiring latest one - have focused on this evil terrorist. From blowing up a football field full of players, to bringing Batman to his knees, this monster could be the greatest threat that Gotham has ever faced. One must remember that in the world of DC comics, Bane is the only villian so far who has broken The Bat (literally breaking his back bone) after systematically wearing him down by making him chase all of Arkham's inmates who he has freed. And Tom Hardy, who is quickly establishing himself as an A-lister, seems to be great for the role.

Let's remember that Batman's previous enemy The Joker was portrayed by Heath Ledger, who won a posthumous Academy Award for his unforgettable performance. Bane might not match up to that, but I think Hardy will create a great and memorable adversary. Case in point: people have already started parroting their favorite Bane quotes.

Conclusion

The Avengers has opened to massive box office numbers, as was expected. But in a few months, I think people will forget it as they focus on the true superhero of the summer: Batman.

Batman, this summer box office's true superhero?

I'm far more excited for The Dark Knight Rises than I am for The Avengers. Here, again are my five reasons why:

• The Story: A Climactic Final Chapter versus an Original Story


• The Cast: GQ Photo Shoot versus some of our Finest Actors


• The Themes: Profundity versus a Typical Superhero Story


• The Director: Christoper Nolan versus Joss Whedon


• The Villain: Bane versus Loki

Which movie are you looking forward to more: The Dark Knight Rises or The Avengers?

Let me know in the comments and as always, make sure you follow me on Twitter: @farhan_raja