Sinanation

Have you ever watched a good movie that is paired with tasteless music? I haven’t until I watched Nicholas Cage’s 8MM. What a good movie and what a disaster soundtrack! The 1999 thriller movie is based on a private detective being hired by a wealthy family to discover if a recently surfaced horror pornography is in fact authentic. 8MM is packed with all the heart-pumping genuine thrill scenes: gloomy weather, suspicious characters, greyish dark settings, etc. There is great harmony between the scenery and the plot, but there is a huge flow in the equation: the African orientalist tribal music that accompanies the cast whenever they are in action. It is simply unbearable  and totally lowers the tasteful vibe. The music is so off with the content that it pops out like white socks on a black tie.

Mychael Danna – Missing persons ile talula1

It is my fault. I should have remembered how boring the actual game was before my girlfriend persuaded me to watch Moneyball. Then again, I remember telling myself “how bad could it be” right before I clicked to rent. Yeah it is actually that bad. Here is the summary:

Moneyball is the story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

This movie is like getting into an operation room to help out the doctors without knowing anything about human biology and/or general surgery. There is a constant flow of baseball terms thrown around while Brad Pitt aggressively turns tables upside down and throws cans to walls and Jonah Hill looks even more chubby and miserable. Why angry? Why sad? Why is everyone cheering? What the heck is going on? You got me. If only the movie was an average 90 min. the whole alien language would be somewhat bearable, but two-hours of anything is enough to put anyone in a coma. Watch this movie only if you can take on an actual baseball game with less than 3 hotdogs and a pint of beer (I certainly couldn’t).

An amazing retouch to the famous “Singing in the Rain” by Betina Badger, a music producer who managed to get her track on the latest Buddha Bar Compilation. This is one of my new favorites (sorry about the unrelated youtube background)…

I have been a skier since the age of 5. Got my first skis on in Uludağ, Turkey and have been a fan of the sport ever since. Every season, I desperately try to make time for some snow action, fighting back the vicious office hours and the modern capitalist pressure on the free soul. It is this year that I finally decided to retire my Rossignol Mountain Viper ski boots after years of loyal service. Some experts say ski boots’ lifespan can go up to 200,000 km if they are taken good care of. I must have certainly reached that mileage with my longtime buddies.

The decision for change is tough since it requires parting ways with comfy liners and loyal boots. Yet, the part that comes right after is even more challenging. If you have been content with your boots’ feel I recommend you stick with the same brand on your new purchase. Go online and do as much research as you can. All the mountain gear brands (Rossignol, Salamon, Nordica, Atomic, etc.) have comprehensive websites that teach the different credentials (flex, liner softness, clip count, etc.) on a ski boot and help you determine what kind of a skier you are (beginner, advanced, darting, insane, etc.). We are blessed with such wealth of information in this century that it should be regarded as pure pitifulness if we don’t take advantage of the resources.

Once you decide on the brand and the model, grab a pen and a blank A4 paper. Trace your feet onto the paper with the other leg’s knee on the floor. Then measure the trace (from tip to toe) with a ruler (in cm). That measurement will take care of your Mondo (measured in cm) boot size. Do not go above or below that size. Your feet are not meant to be comfortable when you try on the boot. They should squeeze in every available inch in order to provide maximum control on the slopes. Yet be assured that things will only get better as the inside liner slowly takes the shape of your feet.

I went once again for Rossignol on my new ski boots. I have been happy with it for a long time and the fact that the French brand was originally established solely to make ski boots gives me some kind of a reassurance. I picked up a 90 flex (the resistance of the boot when you try to bend it), all-mountain instead of 110 flex (harder than 90) racing, hoping to sacrifice a bit of speed for even more control on the curves. Will be back with more review once I take the boots out for a spin.

Ca’d'Oro is a new upscale restaurant by the successful entertainment group, Doors. These guys manage anything from a nightclub to restaurant chains and in my opinion have been expanding close to a viral Starbucks-scale around the hills of Istanbul. Despite the common belief that chains lack the flavor and attention one gets at an original location, the doors group continues to maintain an over-mediocre customer satisfaction in all its establishments. The only problem I have with this vision is that it leads to great losses in originality. I am happy to know that I can expect the same good food I got in Bebek over in Nişantaşı. Yet, I am completely turned off by seeing the same furnishing and decoration in a neighborhood I think is different from the last one I visited. That is I believe a complete violation to the unique characteristics of all the different areas we get to wander around Istanbul.

So, I was a bit biased with my expectations when my friends told me about Ca’d'Oro. This place was not created to be turned into a chain and that lead me to think that like all the other “one-of-a-kind” Doors establishments (for example: the London’s Famous Japanese, Zuma in Ortaköy – brought to Istanbul by Doors) Ca’d'Oro would be painfully expensive. I was right about the wine list (cheapest bottle starts at 100 TL.) but mistaken about the food (with an average of 20 TL. per plate).

This place is inside one of the coolest and gallantly renovated buildings found in Karaköy – once belonged to the historic Ottoman Bank and now owned by the non-profit innovation organization called SALT. The entrance hall will take your breath away and make you forget all the degraded streets you pass through to make it inside. The restaurant found in the back is a completely modern, icy, fully-windowed, rectangle structure expanding into the ancient city. It looks too-dark-to be-cool inside, but the individual lighting found at each table takes the worries away once seated for dinner.

Focus on the appetizers. Order the fried goat cheese, the crispy tomato risotto, the cheese pide, the artichoke and the pizza. Yes, you won’t have any room left for the main course and that’s good thing. The flavor and thus the satisfaction is hidden in the appetizers and the rest of it (until the dessert) is nothing but disappointment. Get the chestnut merengue toopped with ice-cream for desert.

Reservations are a must at Ca’d'Oro.

I took my seat last night to see Meryl Streep’s most recent biographic portrayal: the world-renowned ex-British Prime Minister Lady Thatcher’s life. As always Hollywood brought magic to the white screen and the Iron Lady reassured me the movie industry’s undeniable authority in our society. It is solely because of this movie that I became curious about Margaret Thatcher’s life. I dwelled on questions about her political achievements, success as a prime minister and her current personal life, hoping to put together the flashbacks from the movie. Despite the effort, like many others in my generation, I failed greatly in satisfying my own curiosity. I have been indifferent to history until it came and punched me in the face with a hefty Hollywood budget and an impeccable cast. It was as if I cruised inside a Ferrari for 105 min. on a race track not knowing the legend and the capability of the machine at hand. Yet, I found relief in the thought that nobody, especially in this century, can be constantly up to date with everything surrounding the daily life.

There has been a lot of buzz about his movie in the media. Yes Meryl Streep is getting old and it might be the reason she is running after all these world-famous public portrayals. She might be looking to farewell with a chunky series of success in her career. Yes Hollywood could be trying once again to sympathize with the “European magic and values”. Whatever the case may be, Iron Lady is an impeccable work of acting and it is a slap on the younger generations who have failed to get the historic facts straight.

Go see the genius and then get on Wikipedia to connect the dots together. I will go ahead and answer one possible question: yes Margaret Thatcher is still alive.

Ok now this is what they call an adult toy! And it is definitely a QUE moment for us the little creatures at the office. Its awesome, expensive and splashy for sure. Thumbs up to Matt Damon, Chris Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky and Luciano Bozan for renting out this modest baby and its accessories for their getaway around the bays of St. Barts.

We should seriously all become movie stars, singers, soccer players or crook bankers. The regular 8 to 6 office work just doesn’t do it anymore.

Her rough Spanish accent really does tire me and she does look a bit “plastic” at times. Yet, she is a Columbian goddess who is as hot as an 18 year-old even at 40. She certainly proved that to me once again at this year’s Golden Globes.

This awesome dish is intended more for the Turkish crowd as some of the ingredients are only found in Turkey (more specifically in Istanbul). Yet, you can certainly replace them with the things you can get and like in your own country.

Ingredients:

• Focaccia Bread from Mangerie in Bebek
• Thinly sliced veal tongue from Santral Şarküteri in Bebek (yes it is what it is, but also undeniably delicious and yes I am a carnivore)
• String cheese sold at any fromagerie inside the supermarkets
• The famous Ayvalık cheese from Ayvalık, Balıkesir
• Black olive paste (the one I use is produced by Fora) or White truffle olive oil (from Fortnum & Mason in the UK – an amazing recent addition to the classic recipe by my girlfriend)

Preparation:

Cut the Foccacia into thinner pieces using a bread knife. It is essential to keep the slices as thin as possible. If not the dense Focaccia bread that will take away from the taste of other ingredients. Grill the slices in the toaster for less than a minute to give them a bit more crunchiness. Put in a few drops of the white truffle oil or spread a nice portion of the black olive paste on the insides of the slices. Lay the thinly sliced string and Ayvalık cheese and the veal tongue (to your taste) in the middle. Cover the top slice and grill inside the pre-heated toaster.

Deliciousness served on a white breakfast plate.

Get ready for an intense psychological thriller if you haven’t yet seen this movie. Martha Marcy May Marlene is based on the troubled life of a teenage girl who has been neglected by her family. Without support and care, Martha (played by Elisabeth Olsen) is driven into the shelter of a completely isolated cult that rejects modern day facts and embraces violence against capitalism, hatred towards monogamous marriage and total submission to leadership. We meet the main character at the point when she gathers the strength to run away from the group she voluntarily joined a year ago. Shaking with fear, she makes the uncomfortable call to her sister (as we find out later on) and desperately seeks her help. The siblings finally meet once again in years. They lead us to the troubled past of the younger one whose life wasn’t as fortunate as her older sister’s.

As Martha finds new shelter inside her sister’s luxurious Connecticut summerhouse she is be constantly haunted by her conflicting past, emotionally stressed and deeply troubled between the two completely polar lifestyles. Her disturbing reach for reality and the constant leap for a clean start loads this movie with guilt and despair. The audience hardly accepts the fact that such a beautiful girl went through such a nasty and wounding time in her life. She can’t get the break she desperately yearns for and there is nothing we can do but watch her try.

The movement of the camera plays a major role in this movie’s success. It constantly leaves the audience anxious to find out what the heck is going on. Martha sees something in the woods and starts walking towards it. She has her eyes looking forward but we have our eyes completely focused on her face. She goes for a swim in the lake and we sneak on her from a great distance on the other side. We see her tiny head in the water and she notices us. We instantly become the pervert making her uncomfortable. We are constantly stuck on her while she struggles to make it out of her tragedy. The camera forces, constrains and tires us, giving the storyline the spice it needs to make it even better.

Elisabeth Olsen is a wonder as Martha Marcy May Marlene. She depicts the psychological trauma so well that the audience can’t find the break to infiltrate the actress from the main character. The fact that she is a new face on the white screen helps her a bit in that aspect. She is definitely one of the more talented and mature Olsens. Hope she continues to amaze us behind the camera.

PS: Be ready for a very unorthodox ending. It is so unexpected that it will make you sit and wait for a bit more of what is already left to your imagination.