Christophe LANGLOIS (first version)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: as good as it can be

"In a brief statement on Friday night, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He Who Must Not Be Named has returned to this country and is once more active. "It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord - well, you know who I mean - is alive and among us again," said Fudge.' These dramatic words appeared in the final pages of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In the midst of this battle of good and evil, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes up the story of Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with Voldemort's power and followers increasing day by day "

For the 6th HP book, I thought I would take my time, and not read more than a couple of chapters every two days... And that's what I did, but still it went too quickly: the end is incredible and I am already looking forward to the next book!
Hurry up Joanne! ;)

A couple of comments/remarks: there is no fight against Lord Voldemort, a major character will die, a pure blood teacher was in fact a half blood...

24

From ny opinion, 24 is one (if not The One) best TV Program ever: it is fast, breath taking, and the suspense is present all the time… I love it!

The key strength is, not talking about the scenario itself with its multiple parallel stories, the charism of all the characters: Jack Bauer (played by a brilliant Kiefer Sutherland), Kim Bauer, Nina, President David Palmer, his wife Cherry (if you watch the very good Eastwood movie, you will be surprised to find them both with minor roles…) (that you want to kill in the first 2 series… and even in the 3rd one) and Tony Almeida…

The 4th series has just been released in the States a couple of weeks ago and I am really looking forward to it.

The United States of America

I have always been attracted to the US: don’t ask me why.
I love going there on vacation of for business: one of my dreams (and I will fulfil it) is to live and work there for a couple of years.
My favourite destinations would be: 1. New York City, 2. San Francisco and 3. Chicago.
I have been to the States 3 times now: in 2001, I went on a trip to the West Coast with one of my best friend: in 15 days, we drove from LA to San Francisco and through Phoenix, Page, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Bryce National Park, Zion National Park and Yosemite.
I went to New York in 2003, and to Chicago in 2004.

I can hardly describe the landscapes which are breath taking: the colors are from blue to red and it looks like a martian setup.

The Americans are lovely people, and I would love to mix with them and develop relationships, the same way I did in London.

London

There are so many reasons which make me love that city, but the main one is PEOPLE.

Indeed, I like socializing, and I find London fantastic to meet people: I celebrated my birthday in November 2002 in London, with more than one hundred friends. It is so cosmopolitan, people are very friendly and like going out and socializing: and I love it too!

And it is very nice with its green spaces, its exhibitions, its pubs... My favourite places in London are: Leicester Square, Soho, Bayswater, Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park and Oxford Street.

Some places I like in London:

To drink / to Dance: Bar Soho, Revolution, Tiger Tiger, The Loop Bar, The Trafalgar

To eat: Maggiore's, The Blue Elephant, Gordon Ramsay at Claridge

To brunch: Cafe Diana, Balans

To learn: Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery, Sadler's Wells

Exhibits

I must admit my interest for Art is kind of new. I really started going to see exhibitions in 2002. I find any kind of arts and technics interesting: whether I love it or I hate it, I am always happy to have been given the opportunity to see the exhibition.

I love going to Art Galleries & Museums to see exhibitions of any kind: photography, painting, sculpture, etc...

In the last 2 years, I saw several exhibitions: Magritte in Paris, Lichtenstein in London, Lee Bontecou in Chicago, Matisse in New York, Bill Viola in London, etc...

Nicolas de stael in Paris at the George Pompidou Center

Very good exhibition with all the most famous paintings fron de stael such as the football player, he concert, the Ballet.

In June 2004, we visited a gallery exhibiting some pictures from Leni Riefenstahl: we all know about her "Third Reich" photos ordered by Hitler, but she also took amazing pictures of African people in Soudan!
I went to the Tate Modern to see the Edward Hopper temporary exhibition: in all of his paintings, the lights are fantastic!

Graphic Design Museum in London: An exhibition of Saul Bass was very interesting too.

SAUL BASS (1920-1996) was not only one of the great graphic designers of the mid-20th century but the undisputed master of film title design thanks to his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger and Martin Scorsese.

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When I was in Oslo, on a Business Trip, in January 2005, I managed to find some time to visit the Yoko Ono exhibition at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art.

Yoko Ono is one of the most renowned and significant artists living today. With her celebrated instructions, performances, installations, films, music, sculptures and photography she has remained at the vanguard of contemporary art since the 1960s. This exhibition will focus on Yoko Ono's impact on art as a concept and her critical vision. Supplementing the works on display at the museum (sculptures, installations, music), several works will exist only as instructions accessible by mobile phone or the Internet.

Museums in London

http://www.designmuseum.org/

http://www.hayward.org.uk/

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk

http://www.tate.org.uk/home/default.htm

http://www.npg.org.uk/live/index.asp

Museums in Paris

http://www.cnac-gp.fr/Pompidou/Accueil.nsf/Document/HomePage?OpenDocument&L=2

Museums in Oslo

http://www.af-moma.no/?&language=en

Museums in Helsinki

http://www.kiasma.fi/www/index.php?lang=en

Dan Brown's Novels

First, I wanted to name this section: Da Vinci Code. Then I realized it would sound boring as everybody talks about this best selling novel from Dan Brown.
I would like to add that I read it before all the coverage on the media, in February 2004.

Indeed, I travel a lot as part of my job, so it gives me a great opportunity to read: I bought The Da Vinci Code and could not stop reading it until the last page.
I remember starting reading it before a trip to Switzerland: I found it so gripping that I could not stop reading it: at the airport, on the plane, on the tube, at work, at home.
Then, I read one other book as excellent, Angels and Demons, with the same main character, Robert Langdon.
4 weeks after starting the Da Vinci Code, I had read all the books from Dan Brown: Digital Fortress, Deception Point, Angels and Demons and Da Vinci Code.

They are all amazingly gripping, with some parallel plots and a lot of cliff hangers. My favourites being: 1st Angels and Demons, 2nd The Da Vinci Code.