"The ARTIST" the Best Film of 2011 ?

"The Artist" was awarded 5 Oscars: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Male Lead, Best Music and Best Costume.
Let's just have a look at the first of these: "Best film"...
Was there really nothing better than this produced throughout 2011?
Let me say it right up-front: I think that "the Artist" was a "lightweight" as far as movie-production is concerned.
What an old tired tale it is: The Star of the Silent film Screen, who cannot or will not adjust to "The Talkies".
and the young, inexperienced acting-nobody who rises to the top of her profession, becoming everybody's darling. She is pretty, can sing a little, can dance a little, can even act a little and rises to the pinnacle of the movie-industry. Not only all of this, she also has "a kind heart" and in an auction buys everything the dumb actor had to sell so he would not starve to death.
The film does not deal with "why" the silent Screen Actor could not adjust to the talkies.
Depicted as simply a stubborn male who would rather face professional extinction than try out for the "New Era" of moviedom, he becomes a thoroughly unlikely and unlikable figure.
It is strange, to say the least, that the film's American producer, Harvey Weinstein, who spent a small fortune in a publicity campaign, without which this mediocre lightweight show would likely never have had even an "honorable mention" at the Oscars, was never mentioned during all the "Thank Yous".
Let us wait to see what the ticket-buying public has to say about this most "Oscar Undeserving" effort.

To whom should I talk to get my money back?
Bertstravels.

Is Spring really just around the corner?

...or is Mother Nature just kidding us a little? The Sun is shining from a blue sky, the temperatures are around the +10 mark and the snow is melting from the roofs. Yes, the skiers are complaining but on high (atop the Petzen)
it's still pretty cold and there is loads of snow.
I, for one, am happy that there are the first signs of Spring in the air. I am not a skier, have never, not even in my youth in Austria, been a particularly good skier. In fact I never truly cared for it and therefore have never become any good at it. So, at my now not so young age, I would not grieve if Winter packed it in and went to "you know where".....
Come this May I expect to be in Canada, roaming around the Downtown area of Toronto and doing a little hiking in Algonquin Park. You cannot imagine how much I look forward to this time. 2nd May to 2nd June...
It won't be long enough. Quite frankly if it were not for Christin, I would be back in Canada in a flash.
There are several reasons for this and some other time, if you care, I will tell them all to you.
Greetings to all you lucky people...
Bertstravels.

'THE MAYOR' - "THE BUERGERMEISTER"

MAYOR Stefan Visotschnig
with Secretary

The "Buergermeister" or "Mayor"
of Bleiburg
with a current and a future voter.

Kids too are having fun

Some "Merry Go Rounds" were erected on the Main Square.
Traffic was re-routed and every child could ride as much
as it wanted.
NO CHARGE !!!

There are a lot of good looking little kids in this town.

Fun...fun...and fun again..
That's Bleiburg at "Fasching" time,
which, unfortunately, ended today.
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday...
Time for "Herring" and other fish.

MORE BLEIBURG CARNIVAL

do you know the last one in this conga-line?

How does one dance, hug or kiss with a car around your waist?

That's when you'd like to be 35 again...

KARNIVAL IN BLEIBURG

It was a masked ball to which everybody showed up.
The Sports Club of Bleiburg sponsored this shinding of which
I took some 375 pictures.
To select 4 of them to show you on this Blog was not easy.
Maybe I'll show you some more.
Christin and I went home at 3AM.
( when you are young and vigorous, you can afford to do this)

Would you ever have expected to meet
Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone
in Bleiburg, South Carinthia?
Their respective husbands were also there.

CARNIVAL IN BLEIBURG

the people of this small town surely know
how to have fun.

...when they say: "masked ball"
they mean business...

"Fasching" is almost over.
Today is "Fasching Saturday"
The Big Day is this coming "Fasching Tuesday"
There will be more carousing and having almost unbridled fun.

On "Ash Wednesday" everybody goes for fish dinner
and the "Lenten Period" the time of repentance
starts.

WINTER SCULPTURES

These ice sculptures formed when the sun
shone onto the roof over our balcony.

The roof line runs on top of each of these images.
I cropped it out, leaving only the ice sculpture.

Maybe I should have given it a bit more contrast?

OH CANADA...!!!!

What a proud day for us Canadians !

Not only did Canadian Cross country skiers place First and Fourth in a grueling 23km long race in Rybinsk, Russia, but then, Jan Hudec of Canada comes down the mountain in Chamonix, on the second downhill race in two days, and in an incredible run he beats Romed Baumann of Austria and Eric Guay of Canada who placed second and third respectively. Get this: A downhill race in Chamonix, France. One of the longest downhills on the circuit. Everybody who  is anybody in "Downhill" is there: Didier Cushe, Klaus Kroell, Bode Miller, Romed Baumann, Aksel Svindal... you name them, they are there... and two Canadians place 1st and 3rd.

If you talk "excitement", the Cross Country race in Rybinsk had it in spades. The lead changed constantly. First the favourite Russians (three of them) were in front, then a German, then a Canadian, then the Russian, then it looked for a while as if two Canadians were in first and second. In the final 100 meters or so the Canadian turned on the power and came in First Place, followed closely by a Russian and a German and then another Canadian.I am sorry, that I did not catch the names of the Canadian participants. I will google this race and will find out the names of the Canadian racers.

So there, enough of watching Sports on TV...enough for one day... or I.ll get square eyed.

Cold Greetings ( - 10 ) from Bertstravels.

Hurrah...it's snowing.

In South Carinthia there has been NO snowfall to speak of this so-called winter. A few days ago it looked as if it would amount to something, but then it stopped, temperatures went to 7 above and that half centimeter was gone in no time. But since last night it has snowed. Gently, but persistently... there are at least 2 cm on the ground and, given the minus temperatures, they may stick around. Elsewhere in Austria there is more snow than they know what to do with. Some ski races had to be cancelled because of, believe me, "too much snow".
Since there really was no snowfall in November, December and January, I predicted that winter simply is starting later and will last well into April. I certainly hope that I am dead wrong.

Speaking of "Ski-races" there was a Lulu yesterday, in Chamonix, France. At a downhill race, the Austrian, Klaus Kroell placed First, one one hundredth of a second in front of the American, Bode Miller, then came Didier Cuche (Switzerland), in Third place, four one hundredth of a second behind. Another Austrian Romed Bauman shared 4th place with The Canadian Erik Guay, eight one hundredth of a second behind. A further Canadian, Jan Hudec placed 6th.
Now get this: The 15th placed racer crossed the finish line only 0.84 seconds behind the 1st placed .
There will be another Downhill in Chamonix today... Let's see if this one too will be such a nail biter.

Get out of my way, I'm coming downhill at top speed
Bertstravels