SimplyMaggies

“Lies and illusions”, directed by Tibor Takacs and starring Christian Slater and Cuba Gooding, Jr., tells a story of a self-help book writer whose long-time girlfriend gets kidnapped and killed. Upon her death, Slater’s character finds out that not only did his fiancée had a house he knew nothing about but also an account and a safety deposit box, which one of the mob bosses is after.

Yet again, we have the story of a poor schmack, who is dooped into thinking he knows the woman he plans to spend the rest of his life with only to find out that the person he fell in love with did not exist. This time, however, the story is told in such boring fashion that you feel like poking your eyes out 20 minutes into the movie!

While the beginning is somewhat promising with its similarities to the ‘50s Bond movies and the French detective films, one quickly realizes it is not to be so… The story drags, the actors fail to portray the dilemma and the tragedy a person would experience in such situations and there is nothing there to keep you from turning it off.

And if you think that both Slater and Gooding will make a good movie, you are sorely mistaken. I’d say: don’t waste your time and two thumbs down!!!!

Yesterday I had one of the most surprisingly good days. It started awful…

I woke up congested and with a terrible headache and simply did not feel like getting out of bed at all. It took me about half an hour to convince myself I should (since I already paid for the trip I was supposed to attend). I finally dragged myself out of my warm and comfy bed and somehow got ready for this trip (which, at this point, I started to dread). And off I went…

As it turned out, my friend (who, by the way, convinced me to go in the first place) was also not feeling too chipper herself (we both shared symptoms of either common cold or flu, who knows…). And thus, we found ourselves sitting at the back of a van, sneezing every so often and drinking water to stay hydrated…

Perhaps it helped because by the time we got to the orange farm, we forgot about the cold or flu (or whatever it is) and actually started having a good time. However, the good time was just beginning…

The nice farmer and his wife welcomed us to their home as if we were part of their family. Then we went orange picking–the whole reason for the trip. It was an experience in itself, especially for someone like me, who likes nature but more form the distance than first hand. And here I had a chance to experience it first hand, not only covered nearly up to my knees in mud but also walking in weeds almost hip high just to get a chance to pick my own Sicilian blood oranges. Crazy, isn’t it? How I didn’t end up covered in ticks is simply beyond me… But I did end up having a time of my life,even though I had to carry my bag of oranges (that most likely weight about 10 lbs) up the muddy hill!

As if that wasn’t fun enough, we had this wonderful Sicilian lunch, which included lots of home-made wine and freshly-squeezed orange juice waiting for us at the farm. This was the perfect ending to a very adventurous morning. And the day that began dreadfully, turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life.

The funny thing is, I think you can only experience something like that only here in the Mediterranean. People are simply so friendly and they welcome you as if you were not this stranger but part of their family, which gives it a different meaning. And makes it far more special…

Since I am currently oversees, I have been trying to keep up with some of my favorite series online (”Brothers and Sisters” among them). Luckily, I have been able to catch up with “Brothers and Sisters” and OMG!

First of all, I can’t believe Kitty has cancer. The episodes when she found out she had lymphoma and was battling it made me cry like a baby. And then her problems with Robert… Thank God he saw the light and came around. I would hate to see them split. They make such a wonderful couple… And the fact that Rob Lowe is so incredibly hot has nothing to do with it (oh well, maybe just a little…)

Then there are Scottie and Kevin trying to have a baby..   Tell you the truth, I don’t quite know how I feel about it… Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against gay couples having children… It’s just that Kevin has become a bit of a control freak and I’m just not sure I like that side of him. And Scottie is simply way too understanding… But I suppose that comes with love, right?

The one thing I am still wondering about is Holly and whether she will fall for Dennis’s trap or perhaps ahe will find out what the heck he’s up to… That may be interesting to watch. i only hope that Walkers will not suffer on the power struggle between their nemesis… Although I really thought that Holly came around… But I guess we will ahve to wait and see…