"The Network" and a beautiful Irish day

Have you seen "The Network"? If not, please, for the love of God, see it. There is a reason why this movie won 4 Oscars, one of them being for Best Writing. I was absolutely blown away.

Not often do I watch movies that were made in the 70's for the first time. The movie is older than I am. I have seen parts of the scene pictured above over the years but never the entire scene nor any other parts of the movie. I was intrigued because I've heard many critics talk about the movie yet it was always a mystery to me. The movie started off kind of slow even though the set up of the movie basically happens in the first 5 minutes. The movie did progress slowly but the longer it went on, the more captivating and riveting it got. I was actually expecting a different movie, with the scene above being the pinnacle of the movie. I was completely wrong!

If you haven't seen the movie, don't read this paragraph. The story starts off with the news anchor being fired after many years of the job simply because of declining ratings. Starting with his last two weeks on the job, he goes on air and announces he will "blow his brains out" live on TV next week. Hilariously most people working behind the scenes don't even notice his rant (excellent premonition). Finally a few people alert the main producer or whatever he is and they try to get him off the air. He is promptly fired but asks for and gets one more show. The next day he goes off on a another rant but this time he's allowed to go on because his boss is pissed at the company who recently purchased the TV network. Instead of ruining the show, the ratings go up and this is basically where the story starts. Ironically, the news anchor is ranting about the fact that everything he and the TV network do is bullshit and all they are doing is dumbing down and lying to people. Yet the ratings go UP and the network takes advantage of this. And it just gets better from here. There is marriage infidelity, (fake) political movements, corporate greed, emotionless corporate woman, sensationalism (does any of this sounds familiar)?

The reason why the movie is so great is because it pinpoints exactly what is wrong with the society ... TODAY. It's as if the writers could predict the future and reach deep inside of people's psyche. In essence, the movie predicts a rise of today's "mainstream" media. However, there are so many different angles to the story, each of them intrinsically connected and beautifully portrayed in the movie, tying back to the point of the movie. The acting was impeccable even though in the beginning it seems amateur. I have no idea how the director pulled that off but the character development and acting flows so well with the story line.

Watching the movie should alert the viewer to the perils of modern media. If you didn't see through their bullshit up to this point, after watching this movie you should.

"The best way to discover new places is not knowing where you going and just let yourself get lost."

On the lighter note, I watched this movie after a perfect Sunday afternoon. I wanted to go cycling up to the hills of south Dublin and the day could not cooperate any better. The sun was shining, clouds were interspersed like sprinkles on a cake, there was little wind and the air was remarkably fresh. I didn't know exactly which way I will go but I did map out a route to get back to the spot where Klara and I went hiking last week. The area was called Rathmichael and it was on the way to Powerscourt in Enniskerry.

The route I picked went pass an area I worked so I was kind of familiar with the surroundings. As soon as I went pass the Dundrum Shopping Center which is the furthest south I cycled so far, I was immediately but pleasantly surprised. I took the wrong turn at a roundabout so instead of going back to the round about, I stopped at the end of an overpass and spotted what looked like a cycling trail. I cycled down and took this mini trail through the woods towards the road I was supposed to be on. Oh, wow, what a beautiful little trail that I didn't even know existed. It went between a neighborhood on one side and a little forest and a park on the other. There were some teenagers relaxing on the grass, a lady was walking her dog, some more teenager lovers. I ended up at the road I needed to take.

I took Sandyford Road up the hill. The further up I got the more envious I got of the people who lived there. Everything was on the hill: pubs, shops, apartments, houses, parks. It was so beautiful and peaceful. It's such a different part of Dublin that I would have never discovered if I didn't jump on my bike and went on a mini-suicide ride. Oh, it was so nice cycling up there. Looking at the Dublin mountains from Phoenix Park seems as if there are no people living there or at least there is a lack of big buildings and streets. On the contrary, there is a whole other country up there, seemingly disconnected from rest of the world. The big buildings and streets don't take away from nature either. It is so well integrated with green areas everywhere and so much attention was paid to leave the old trees and parks.

As I made a wrong left turn and whizzed down one of the tree covered roads, I ended up at a roundabout where there was a big apartment complex built. Yet, the complex seemed like it belonged there. It is so difficult for me to describe this. Maybe it's the architecture or maybe it was the day itself but it seemed so well integrated into the surroundings. Anyway, I had to cycle WAAAY back up to get back to the main road. Then I cycled some more up the hill and finally made the correct left turn. I literally broke the speed limit going down. I hit 62 km/h!!!! In a 50 km/h zone! I cycled right pass the area where Klara and I had to jump over the fence to get away from the horrors of the highway.

I didn't know where the road was going to take me. It went all round the quiet neighborhood, the road was covered with old trees. I ended up at a major road, the E1 I think. I stumbled upon another little park but I got out of it and started looking for a place to take a break. As I cycled down E1 for kilometer, I wanted to get away from the main road so I went through a little passageway which took me to a road parallel to the highway. This road eventually took me to a major road (read, main going through a town but only two lanes) on which I discovered what is now one of my favorite parks, Cabinteely Park. The park was like something from a fairy tale. The perfect grass, the rolling hills, a pond, people relaxing, kids playing, sun shining, old trees, a brook passing under a bridge. Simply magical.

I took some photos of the park. You can see them below. I rested for a little while and ate my banana. I took off after 30 minutes or so then headed home. It took me another 18.5 km to get back and by the time I got to my apartment, I was exhausted. In total, 48.5 km of cycling and not a single regret. Ireland in the summer is beautiful.

A church I saw on top of the hill while cycling on Sandyford Rd

This is where I rested. Heaven exists here

Oh, the wonderful nature

Today was a gorgeous day in Dublin. It was sunny with little cloud cover and a little bit of a breeze. It was a seemingly perfect day. So I went to Phoenix Park which is a massive park just outside of Dublin city center. Phoenix Park is more than twice the size of Central Park in New York. I thought the Memorial Park was huge but Phoenix Park is actually larger. There are a couple of unique characteristics of the park; for example there are herds of deer living in the park. I saw some today relaxing in the expansive fields inside of the park. I only had a chance to explore the park for about an hour so I didn't get to see everything. I can tell you one thing, I'm definitely going back next weekend, even if the weather is not nice.

What really surprised me was the emotion I felt when I got to the park. Something wonderful took over me, it was a happy feeling, feeling of belonging. It felt good to be in nature, away from buildings, street lights, pubs, etc. There were lots of cars, probably not as much as in some other parks but there were also lots of people walking and cycling. I think more people came to the park on foot or on bicycles, at least that's what it seemed to me since I didn't see that many cars. I also loved being around people who are also enjoying the nature. It wasn't like sitting in a coffee shop or grocery store or on the street. It felt like everyone there was free but we were all part of one organism. Ah, it was so great to see people relaxing on the grass, kids running around and getting dirty, all this bustle and hustle but in a way much different than what you hear in the city. I felt so relaxed and fulfilled when I was cycling to the park. I stopped and took some photos, more for others than for myself. I want others to see what nature has to offer and what people have preserved for themselves. I want to share the emotion I had with everyone else. More importantly, I hope to inspire you who read this blog and see these photos to go out into nature and explore. Just go, get out of the house and climb a rock or hike through a forest.

Check out some of the photos I took. If anyone ever comes to Dublin, make sure you go to Phoenix Park. I am going back next week!

One down, many to go

Today was an accomplished day, hopefully one of many to come. I got to work early, used my time efficiently, ate four meals (I made all four), worked out, relaxed a bit, played the guitar, read the news, and wrote on the blog. I love days like this! I just need to keep it up and keep it going for a long time (forever?).

It makes me feel good when I have days like this. I feel like I've actually progressed in life, unlike the days when I'm tired and lazy. Those days I feel like I'm actually going backwards, unlearning what I know and simply not contributing anything to the world. Ever since I moved to Ireland I have been wanting to change my life for the better. I want to explore nature like I used to do when I was a kid in Bosnia. There are so many places to see and feel, even just to smell the fresh air or feel the wind breaking across the top of a hill you just climbed. I think I'll do some hiking this weekend, maybe go down to Dublin "mountains" (I think they're more like hills), cycle down there, climb a hill, and browse the forest. Then I'll come home and write about it on the blog. There is just something fulfilling when you get things done in order to have time for the things you like to do. It's a natural high.

Seeing as I did soooo many things to day, I'm tired and I'm off to bed. I can't wait to get to work tomorrow and take on another day.