May Wrap-Up

Life Events

Defended my thesis and got a top grade! Now I am officially a cosmologist!

Together with my husband and my family we celebrated one year of my marriage by eating a piece of wedding cake that we preserved in the freezer for that occasion specifically (Danish tradition).

Books

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas - I enjoyed it.

Man in the Dark by Paul Auster - really good read.

The First Three Minutes by Steven Weinberg - a classic popular science book in cosmology. Since it is from 19.. It is a bit outdated but it is still a delightful book to read.

Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard - two novellas Queen Song and Steel Scars as s prequel to Red Queen series. Both stories had potential that in my opinion hasn't been explored. I like the concept and ideas Victoria is presenting in those stories but I lack in depth description and dimensionality of characters. We are being informed that the heroines are interesting and unique personalities but we get to know way too little about them to really believe that it is true. 

Movies

I watched obscenely many movies on youtube. Here is a few that I saw first time:

Not Another Teen Movie - horrible but might squeeze from you few cheap joke provoked laughs.

What's your number? - funny enough if you really have nothing else to watch or if you want to watch Chris Evans playing a charmer.

The Switch - bearable.

The Accidental Husband - sweet and funny enough.

Hot Pursuit - funny enough. 

The Prince and Me - I thought it was funny and sweet but I am biased because I like one particular Danish man a lot ;)

Bad Teacher - horrible movie but it has a moment when the teacher played by Cameron Diaz checks tests of her pupils and probably most people who ever were checking tests/homeworks/exams will find it funny!

I also saw:

Money Monster - pretty good.

The Dressmaker - I liked it a lot. If you liked movie Chocolate then this one has a bit similar vibe, maybe a bit more dark.

The Intern - nice movie to watch with family excluding kids (they might not find it very interesting)

Deadpool - it was totally different form what I expected. At first I really didn't like it and couldn't understand why people loved it so much but in the end I got used to the format it was made and my final conclusion is that if I see it again I probably like it a bit more.

Travel

Keukenhof flower garden - spring garden. I was very lucky to have spectacular spring weather! It was a very nice bike trip :)

The first weekend of May I have biked to Scheveningen beach and Katwijk beach because it was truly "summerish" weekend. Together with the trip to Keukenhof I have made 90 km on bike in four days!

Delft - engineering town of Netherlands ;)

January wrap up

Books

"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read"
- Internet claims it was Mark Twain who said it but who knows...

Last year I have read 26 books! So I actually managed to fulfill my aim of reading two books per month ;) I probably should aim for three books per month this year... Although I have read an article about some crazy challenge of reading 100 books in a year?! I am obviously intrigued... but let's see what improvement I will make this year and maybe 2017 will be my 100 books challenge year ;)

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - for those that like fairy tales it might be exactly what they need for relaxing read. On the other hand, for those that don't it might be too cheesy. I liked it. It was my book companion during Christmas/NewYearsEve break.

Movies

The Five-Year Engagement - it turned out to be a second-rate piece of work even I do like both of the leading actors Jason Segel and Emily Blunt. There was nothing exciting about this movie, it was sad to watch that is how bad it was. It also wasn't my type of movie. People that love each other but ruin each other lives that is not for me, way too stressful. My mum also didn't like it but we managed to watch it to the end so that we never ever have to see it again.

Love, Rosie - a bit better than The Five-Year Engagement but still really irritating to watch. The same topic, so again not really my type of story, but even more messed up plot. I wasn't alone my husband and my parents also thought that it was tiring to watch. Please people if you love each other then just be together stop being afraid - love is the best this short life has to offer, don't miss it and definitely don't waist time on hurting someone you cannot live without! I wish I could scream it at the leading characters on the very beginning of the movie then I could have watched beautiful love story instead of watching two people pretending that they don't love each other!?

Event

I greeted this year with my husband and friends by playing board games, drinking Pina Colada, and smoking Cohiba cigar. Both cigars and rum were recently brought by my friends from Cuba so the evening were under Cuban theme.

Dear world,
I wish you more peace, more love and more wisdom,
Cheers.

October

Books

10 billion by Stephen Emmott - very depressing book. It hasn't received the best reviews and has been very criticized for not being precise enough when it comes to numbers and data that it refers to. I do not have time to play a Sherlock Holmes myself. Therefore, I have decided to assume that the author probably made some mistakes and that he has a bias opinion. He himself admits that he is a bit on a pessimistic site when it comes to a view on a situation of humanity and on what is going to happen next to our planet. Regardless, I think it was very important book, it is loaded with information and there is nothing to like about future author presents but I think it is a healthy alternative to ignorance and non scientific optimism.

Introduction to Quantum Field Theory by Maggiore - I am not going to describe details. It is an academic book meant for two semester course. I read it in 4 days so you can imagine a headache I had in the end. Regardless, I think it is not the best book for self study because it skips a lot of details.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - very cool book. I am not really a geek and I loved it, I cannot imagine how much geeks love it. This book is a science fiction, fantasy and adventure in one. It is about growing up, about how our world could be in 30 years. It is full of action book that go through enormous amount of references to 80s. Geeks were born in 70s this is a must read for you!

The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow - I really enjoyed this book. Nicely written book about limitations of science and philosophical methods of dealing with it.

Movies/Shows

The Lobster - it is a very very weird movie. I guess one of most surprising and interesting I have ever seen. It is an anti-utopian love story that will shock you, and about some things you might laugh first when you leave the cinema ;)

The Martian - very good movie but unfortunately not nearly as good as the book. I am saying mostly because movie didn't manage to show how dangerous was the situation of Mark left on Mars on his own. In a movie it seemed way too easy. I was entertained but I would say book is a must whereas movie you can watch if you want to but you don't have to. For me Interstellar was better as a movie, but book The Martian is incomparable to anything because it is absolutely fantastic.

The Maze Runner II - number one was a better movie. This one is not as well rounded and balanced because we get so many new characters and so many turns of action that it is hard to care and fill in in their situation. I sill was entertained but I even stronger regret not having read the books.

The Voice - I have lost one day of my life to watch this program from USA, UK and Poland. It is a great show, funny and so pleasant.

Food

Jujube fruit - is kinda like an apple but very little, and has a stone in the middle. It is a first time I have tried this fruit but it stole my heart. Apparently if one lets it dry it will taste like a date.

Travel

Strasbourg, France - I have spend there almost whole month visiting my husband. I was very proud of myself because I managed to limit myself to manageable amount of luggage.

Paris, France - for the long weekend of October which was also the last weekend of the month me and my husband went to Paris. We have spend there four days. These were my last days in France before going back to Denmark. It was wonderful. Paris is great but we also were very lucky and it was warm and sunny.

Versailles, Paris - I also went on a bike trip to see one of the most famous palaces.

September update

Movies

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - it is a very nice movie. Great music, good sense of humor, handsome men, sweet romance, action and a spy vibe that I love. I definitely recommend it, especially for those that love James Bond or Mission Impossible type of movies.

No escape - The movie is about American Dwyer family in an unnamed Asian country that borders with Vietnam. They find themselves in the middle of a very violent coup where rebels mercilessly attack the city. Rebels attack anyone that do not support them but also they are hunting down foreigners. They fight against the government that allows the foreign corporation investments to take control over main resources of the country. Dwyer's are trying to survive and that is the only theme of the movie.
It was brutal and intense movie. It doesn't have much story or depth, therefore, I think it leaves a lot of space for personal interpretation. Some will find it xenophobic but I despite a lot of shortcomings of the movie found it interesting enough because it made me think about how our complex world runs. I do not recommend it.

Pawn Sacrifice - great movie about Bobby Fisher, his brilliance and his obsessions. It shows power and shortcomings of our mind. It shows a sacrifice and hard work behind success. I really liked it, and I highly recommend it.

Books

The Martian by Andy Weir- it is amazing book and I am waiting like crazy person for the movie adaptation that is coming to theaters this November. This story is technical enough to satisfy nerds like me, but it is a wonderful story of a man with very strong will to survive and of course fantastic sense of humor. I loved it and I recommend it very very much!

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas - I read some negative reviews and I was a bit afraid that I will be disappointed but I am NOT!


Life/Events

I was probably not the only one who haven't slept whole night from 27th September to 28th September to see an eclipse.

I have tried to spend as much time in the garden as possible and enjoy the last warm days of this year. There is just nothing better than being surrounded by peaceful nature while reading a book or an article.

September it is also an Apple Pie time, so together with my mother in law we baked a pie from the apples from her garden. It turned out absolutely delicious.

August update

Books

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas - this book contains five novellas that should be treated as a prequel to The Throne of Glass series. First two novellas are ok. Third novella is a bit slow but ending definitely compensate patience. The last two are the best because of amount of action that take place there. It was nice to get to know Celaena a bit more and also read about her and Sam. I just wish I have read these novellas before the firsts two books in the series. Other than that, I have enjoyed the read.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas - this is a third book in The Throne of Glass series. It is divided into two parts and we follow three separated stories. One of Celaena in Wendlyn land getting her training by Rowan. One taking place in the king's palace in Rifthold where we are following Chaol and prince Dorian. And one about Blackbeak witch Manon and other witches who have to learn how to fly wyverns. I liked two first books in this series but this one is better. The world is getting broader and reacher and there is some much more of adventure and action. We already know some of the characters but there are also very interesting new once introduced. It ends the way that I am grateful that the fourth book is coming out first on 1st of September 2015 (written on 10th August 2015) otherwise I would have to devote another bunch of hours to find out what is going to happen next ;)

The Embassy of Cambodia by Zadie Smith - it is a short novella about Fatou, domestic servant in London near The Embassy of Cambodia. Through small ordinary events we are getting to know hardship she ran away from and hardship she is having now. This book made me feel emotional and lucky. I highly recommend this story. It is a first book of Zadie Smith that I have read and I will definitely reach for her other stories.

Let's explore diabetes with owls by David Sedaris - it is a book consisting of short stories written by an American comedian. Some of the stories are really funny, some are disturbing, some are very provocative. I think the sense of humor is quite rude and it might not be everyones cup of cake. I could handle it most of the time but sometimes I really had to put it down and wait some time to continue reading. I've got intrigued enough that I consider reading another book by this author.

Movies

Ant-man - is awesome! Very funny, I laughed a lot and very well paced without being overloaded with action. There is a plot and I think overall it is a more rounded movie than other movies in the super-hero gender are as for example Avengers (although I am a big fan of them anyway). I think it could be enjoyed by broader group of audience. It is a bit like The Amazing Spider Man but not as dramatic as The Amazing Spider Man 2. It has a bit of National Treasure with Nicolas Cage vibe, anyway I highly recommend it.

Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation - has very good reviews so even that until now I haven't been so much into MI movies I went to see it. It is very good. Definitely the best MI movie until now. It is a filled with action lovely classical spy movie, so funny at moments that you will make you laugh out laud. Plot is interesting, car/motor racing is impressive and the female character Ilsa Faust is surprisingly very well made. She is pretty but her look is kept very natural, she is young (31) but not eighteen and she is quite convincing as an intelligent agent. I was pretty impressed when I read that Rebecca Ferguson that played Ilsa did actually all stunts herself what explains that she did look fit enough to be an agent. This movie left me in a very good mood and I have to say that I hope that Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames and Rebecca Ferguson will join Tom Cruise on his 6th Mission Impossible that was announced to start its production in 2016, because they did create a team comparable in "awesomeness" factor even to Avengers.

Travel

I have gone for a short road trip: Denmark-Germany-France.