There are two polar views on the new biggest film of all time, James Cameron’s Avatar. The most popular is that it’s a life changing movie, with beautiful visuals, incredible special effects and a moving and inspiring story. Some people leave the cinema feeling depressed that life isn’t as beautiful as the movie.

Another point of view is that it’s an impressive technological achievement, but… And I am in this camp. Sure, the CGI effects are surprisingly convincing and the modeling of the aliens is probably better than we’ve seen before. What’s wrong with Avatar is.. well, it’s everything else.

I haven’t laughed so much in the cinema this year, at least certainly not at a script. The writing is so dull, contrived and cliched it’s impossible to take the characters seriously when they are trying to be serious. I was well aware most of the audience didn’t share my amusement, but what I am I to do? The story is not only predictable, but embarrassingly so. Cameron didn’t even try to tell an obvious tale in a new way, unless you consider ‘with blue people’ to be a new way. The predictability would have been painful enough, but the pain is doubled by two things. Firstly, the interminable length, and secondly the fact that every single thing in the story has to be explained to the viewer. Nothing is left to chance, leaving you feeling as if an idiot has been trying to patronise you. Not nice.

Then we have the design and effects. The effects have their moments, but are never as exciting as earlier movies like Terminator 2 or even the capsizing scene in Titanic. Worse still, the most impressive, “wow” effects come when you are supposed to be being horrified by the humans blowing up a giant tree house. It should be sad, but Cameron makes it look cool, and the most visceral, exciting part of the movie. Oops! The design could be a matter of taste, but there is nothing inspired about it. The aliens are a dreary mix of earthbound ‘ethnic’ chic and the color blue, while the human machines look like they’ve been ripped off from Cameron’s previous futuristic visions.

While the earnings from Avatar are huge, for a sci-fi movie so devoid of imagination and excitement to win the best film award would be awful. Star Trek was a much better sci-fi movie, and there are many more artistically valuable films to choose from. Luckily, the Oscar judges didn´t make the obvious (bad) choice

The cycle began on January 3 and runs until March 16 with New Yorkers Yeasayer, who promise an interesting mix of rock, pop, tribal sounds and simple melodies. In between we can experience the strength of Eli Paperboy Reed rock and roll, and enjoy lots of music that’s mostly experimental and unclassifiable, like Doug Scharin and his project HiM (not to be confused with the Finnish metal band), Giant Sand and Joe Pernice.

Two of the most eagerly awaited performances are those of Jóhann Jóhannsson with cellist Hildur Gudnadóttir, and The Album Leaf . The former arriving directly from Iceland to invite us to dream with their delicate electronic music, and the latter visiting us for the first time to present their post-rock sound, accompanied by locals Murnau in an evening that promises to be hypnotic and involving.

There is no self-respecting festival today which does not incorporate a healthy dose of folk, and who better to represent the essence of the deepest neo-folk than Bill Callahan and his genious for compositions of apparent simplicity. Other representatives of the genre are the Canadian-born Swedish resident Wendy McNeill, and the multifaceted Jill Tracy.

There is also a special place for flamenco, now being reclaimed as a musical style suitable for an audience that normally does not pay much attention to it. It has attracted some interest since the recent documentary “Time legend” about Camarón de la Isla . In the Caprichos del Apolo, this new found interest in enbodied in Juguetes por Bulerias, and Flamenco sessions featuring young artists who are the grandchildren of great figures such as Juan Habichuela and Enrique Morente.

From reference and intuition, I had thought that the landscape there would be enjoyable but to my surprise I found it to be overwhelmingly beautiful and exuberant. My eyes, metaphorically, were blinded by a huge explosion of a mixture of colors that flooded the senses: red, orange, ocher, green, light brown, deep brown, yellow, which turned the forest into an infinite and imense rainbow.

We traveled from LA to Joshua Tree national park, taking highway 10 out of the city for almost three hours, turning off just before we hit Palm Springs. Here we found a harsh environment, scattered with the eponymous trees, and some interesting towns.

On Route 62 you’ll find the town of Joshua Tree, and it’s worth stopping just to grab some food at the excellent Crossroads Cafe and Tavern. While it can sometimes be busy, it’s a friendly and cheerful place, with some great food. For something different, the Portobello mushroom burgers are absolutely great! For the shopper in you, there are also artisan shops for you to explore, selling hand made stuff made locally.

We stayed out in the desert with friends, being mindful of rattlesnakes, and went out into the night to check out some rock bands playing at Pappy and Harriet’s. Situated in the ‘high desert’, in Pioneertown, it really does feel like the wild west. Pappy and Harriet’s is a big, warm and friendly place where you’ll get a great flavour of California desert rock ‘n roll.

After surviving the night without snake attacks, the next morning we headed south from Joshua Tree, taking the route through the national park. It doesn’t take much more than an hour to drive through, but it’s definitely an experience worth having.

In the park itself there are some striking rock formations unlike anything I had seen before. Against the huge California blue skies they are very impressive. Amongst the rocks and sand, surprisingly there’s a lot of wildlife, from circling birds of prey in the sky to squirrels and lovable little chipmunks on the ground!

The gallery is compact, with 4 main galleries, plus the usual shop, cafe, and a space for showing films. The building sits on a corner of a street next to a church, and despite its concrete and metal structure, it fits in very well with Nottingham’s picturesque lace market area.

The exhibitions are contrasting, with Frances Stark showing work from the last decade, and Hockney’s paintings form early in his career in the 60s. This include one of his most iconic paintings ‘A bigger splash’. Frances Stark’s work is sometimes funny, playful and uses mixed media, making it a great contrast to the paintings and drawings of Hockney.

This opening exhibition will only last until January 24 2010, but marks out Nottingham Contemporary as a gallery to watch, and a fantastic resource for the city. Visit Nottingham from abroad by flying to East Midlands Airport, and it’s only twenty minutes away.

Last week saw Primavera Club take over the music scenes in Barcelona and Madrid. There were concerts everyday, too many to manage! We went to as many as we could, and saw a nice range of bands.

On Wednesday, there were the hugely contrasting The Black Heart Procession and Health in Sala Apolo. The former offered dark, slow bluesy grooves, and then Health came on stage for a short but intense burst of sound. With some bands, you might complain if the only played for 35 minutes – but it’s perfect for Health’s brand of guitar based, effect laden madness. If they come to your town, make sure not to miss them!

On Thursday, we went to the small, smokey venue called Monasterio. Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard were playing there, with a selection of political, yet innocent sounding folky rock music. Jeffrey sang two songs that were soundtracks to giant comics he made – which were quite unusual.

I’m afraid we missed Friday due to other commitments, but were were right back on Saturday night for the power punk rock of Ted Leo and the pharmacists, who are incredibly energetic, while being warm and friendly. Top marks to Ted for learning some Catalan and judging by the number of people in the crowd dressed like him, he obviously atracts a devoted following!

The Pharmacists were followed by psychedelic electro-rock group Neon Indian. Sometimes they were great, other times a bit too spacey. Overall they were an enjoyable experience, and the certainly try hard with their constumes! Next up were Wave Machines, who say they’re from Liverpool, and sound like a marriage between Franz Ferdinand and The Bee Gees. Quite a promising band!

All in all, Primavera Club was a great musical end to 2009, and whetted our appetites for the coming year (and of course Primavera Sound 2010).

We recommend stopping at the city of Napa to eat at the Ubuntu restaurant, which offers vegan haute cuisine – it’s not cheap, but has great food that should convince even the most hardened carnivore! The restaurant was considered one of the top 5 new restaurants int the US in 2008, and while it’s not cheap, Ubuntu is certainly worth the experience. While in Napa, be sure to visit the tourist information centre, where the friendly staff will advise you on where to go and what to see on that day.

There are activities on offer for everyone: flying on a balloon over the Chandon vineyards, a visit to Alexander Valley in a horse-drawn chariot, the Napa Valley Train for a culinary tour of 3 hours between Napa and St. Helena, or simply choose one of the multiple vineyards that offer tours and wine tasting.

Two of the most famous vineyards by reputation and tradition are the Robert Mondavi and Rubicon Estate. The Rubicon Estate winery now belongs to Francis Ford Coppola, who is soon to launch a brand of wine under his own name and is a place worth visiting for its main building – pure Falcon Crest style – and also to test some of his best-known wines such as Sofia, Cask Cabernet, and especially its star wine, the incredible Rubicon 2005.

Immortalized by the movie Sideways, Napa Valley receives nearly 8 million visitors a year, and is becoming one of the most popular destinations in California.

Most hotels were closed, the old roads were narrow with almost no traffic and dilapidated, but it was very authentic, poetic and magical. The Mediterranean cuisine was fantastic, cypresses and olive trees dominate the countryside and culture is present everywhere.

Entering the Peloponnese was like entering into a world where the earth itself breathes history and myth in equal parts. A world in which every hill, every tree, every stone has a story. The Peloponnese is a country in itself, with its mountains, forests, beaches, towns and cities. In fact, the etymological origin of this region in southern Greece means island of Pelops. It tells the legend that it was precisely Pelops who conquered the land that bears his name. However, we are actually talking about a peninsula joined to the rest of the continent after the construction of the Corinth Canal in 1893.

A place where the beauty of nature surprises in the most varied landscapes. As Henry Miller said of the Peloponnese in The Colossus of Maroussi “Here there is no hint of ugliness, whether in line, color, as in the trait or feeling. It’s pure perfection”

Our one week exploration was simple and wonderful. We visited many villages, all special and unforgettable: Nafplio, Plaka, Poulithra, Monemvassia, Mystras, Olympia and Kalamata.

The Peloponnese is an unforgettable destination that I can’t recommend highly enough. It’s wonderful.

First impressions can be shocking, as the state of Bahia has seen economic stagnation for many years, and the city of Salvador is a vivid reflection of this; open sewers, huge poverty and chaotic traffic.

Photo by @elicrisko

Despite that, Salvador has energy and and almost unparalleled beauty, in part due to the cultural and ethnic mixing that has occurred during its history. During colonial times, Bahia had a great deal of slavery, and many of the slaves came from West Africa. Today, the population is predominately Afro-Brazillian, which shapes the cultural and artistic movements there. Unsurprisingly, strolling through the historic centre of Salvador you’ll see many craft workshops and cultural groups of theatre, dance and music – internationally known as Olodum.

The architecture of Salvador deserves special attention. The historic centre is placed along a hill, divided into ‘Cidade Alta’ and ‘Cidade Baixa’, and connected by the majestic ‘Elevador Lacerda’. The Portugues colonial buildings, with their colorful styles are plied up along steep cobbled streets and make the city extremely picturesque.

Photo by @elicrisko

The best district of ‘Cidade Alta’ is the Pelourinho, a World Heritage Site since 1985, filled with baroque churches and holding the charismatic Jesus Terreiro plaza. Here many events are held, and in the past where slaves were traded and punished. In ‘Cidade Baixa’ you’ll find markets, craft shops and textiles.

Photo by @laughlin

To experience authentic Salvador, it’s best to stay in the Pelourinho. There are many hostels and places to stay, the most impressive being Albergue das Laranjeiras, located near the plaza. It’s a restored old colonial house, with simplicity and charm. The price is affordable, with double and shared rooms. The staff are friendly, helpful and know a great deal about their city. If you want to stay away from the bustle of the centre, stay in the Barra area, which is more relaxed and has a good selection of hotels and beaches where you can chill out.

Bahia night life is an essential experience. Every night there are a variety of shows in the Pelouriinho, man of them free. In the plaza there are concerts, exhibitions and parades of Batucada and Capoeira. Tuesday is the highlight, and the streets throb to the pulsating drumming of Batucada. See a folk show at the Bale de Bahia, Miguel Santana in the theatre, dance performances from Afro-Brazillian Orix, Maculele to percussion and live singing.

Photo by @jrubinic

The Orixás are the gods worshiped in the rituals of Candomblé, which is the most orthodox of religions drawn from Africa and the dance is in honor of the gods. In some houses and huts in the hills of Candomblé ceremonies are still held Friday evenings and Saturdays. You can attend one of these celebrations, although it’s difficult to access them.

Here’s a review of traditions aroud Halloween across the globe:

In Austria people leave a lit candle and food and water overnight, to welcome back lost souls to Earth.
In Belgium, candles are lit to remember deceased relatives.
Canada celebrates the modern pumpkin and costumes Halloween we all know.
In China, lamps are lit for dead relatives, and buddhists build paper boats, which are burnt at night to release the sould of the dead to heaven.
In the Czech republic, chairs are placed round a fire, one for each of the family living, and one for each member who has died. That must need a lot of chairs!

In England, like Canada, the American tradititions have been mostly assimilated.
In France, people have bravely fought off this American cultural invasion, but as time goes on it is starting to get popular with younger generations. Meanwhile in Germany, folk hide their knives, so nothing bad can happen when bad spirits return!

In Hong Kong, it’s believed that spirits roam the land for 24 hours, and pictures, fruit and money are burnt in offering to them. The theme is the same in Japan and Korea, as it is around the world, it is a time to remember the dead and ward of bad spirits.

Traditionally in Hispanic countries, it is the day of the dead or all saints day, a celebration of family members who have passed away.

Whether you remember youf ancestors, or are dressing up to ward off evil spirits, enjoy your festival whatever it may be!