Hans' Milieu

For the last several months I have been toying with the idea of truly making my blog, or should I say website, my own. That time has finally come.

From Hans’ Milieu’s humble beginnings with Microsoft’s Windows Live Spaces back in 2005, all the way to the eventual progression of my blog to the WordPress platform last month, I have always wanted to make my blog my own. However, I did not have the courage to do so; no matter how many times my intuition whispered ‘relax, just do it’. That is, not until late last week when, in the spur of a radical moment, I did what I have been longing to do. With absolute confirmation having only arrived early yesterday morning, my envisioned plan for my website has finally become a reality.

Nike – Just do it!

I am immensely proud to announce that now, after almost four years, I officially and finally own Hans’ Milieu (© 2009 Hans Haupt, All rights reserved) as well as the domain www.HansHaupt.com. I still cannot get over the fact that I now have my own, self-maintained island of information, that anyone on the Internet can holiday on. It truly is an amazing feeling!

Consequently, I now have absolute freedom to do whatever I want with my website. That said, I do have a myriad of ideas bouncing within the confines of my cranium, waiting to be unleashed on the unsuspecting masses. However, I do have a lot of learning to do, both in terms of programming skills and my Masters, before I will be able to actually gain a comprehensive understanding of how to nurture my website into all that it can be. With that said, the first aspect on my new agenda is creating a logo and potential slogan for Hans’ Milieu. So stay tuned!

Lastly, I would just like to give a quick shout-out to my parents and our gracious Lord God. If it was not for their continued love and support, through both the good times and the bad, Hans’ Milieu would most probably have been shelved several years ago. They have given me the strength to ‘Relax and just do it’! Thank you for everything that you do, I love you!

Until the next time “Milieunairs”!

This weekend I managed to watch Sasha Baron Cohen’s latest mockumentary, Bruno, as well as Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock’s latest romantic comedy (romcom), The Proposal.

Bruno

First things first; if you did not enjoy watching Borat then do not watch Bruno. Alternatively, if you have not seen Borat and would like to know what kind of a movie Bruno is, then please do go and rent the movie. However, those who, like myself, enjoyed the shamelessness offered by Borat, will, undoubtedly, enjoy Sasha Baron Cohen’s latest ‘candid cinematic work’.

About the movie:

Borat trickster Sacha Baron Cohen returns to the big screen to offer yet another stinging dose of sociopolitical satire in this comedy that finds him assuming the persona of gay fashionmonger Bruno, the self-proclaimed "voice of Austrian youth TV." Originally conceived as part of Cohen’s cult television series Da Ali G Show, the character of Bruno offered a cleverly costumed Cohen the opportunity to highlight the absurdities of the fashion industry by interviewing unsuspecting fashion icons and other haute couture hangers-on (D-Man2010, IMDB.com)

Let me be frank. The movie is crass. To put it into perspective, about 20 minutes into screening Bruno, there were actually several individuals who hastily exited the cinema in a bizarre flurry of popcorn, soda and mild ranting. Strangely, I found the departure of those individuals to be more disturbing than the movie itself. Let me explain.

The film is, superficially, a wholeheartedly sordid affair with copious amounts of nudity filled in with gratuitous use of sexual innuendos and stereotypes, which are often always highly amusing. Consequently, if you are easily offended by nudity, sex, violence or a lack of political correctness, then Bruno may not be the movie for you. However, that is only one aspect of this film.

Although it may not seem so at first, there is in fact a method to Sasha Baron Cohen’s madness. Underneath this films superficial exterior, of a homosexually charged fashion stereotype with an unabashed tendency to offend different races and creeds, lies a rather important and universal notion. Even though the movie is a ‘mockumentary’, the message is certainly quite clear: ignorance is a clear cause of civil unrest. Until the human race can learn acceptance without prejudice, we will never truly know a world without pain and suffering.

Bruno -Official Trailer

Bruno is unfortunately not for the ignorant, homophobic, squeamish, narrow minded, prude or conservative. For everyone else, however, it is definitely an eye opening experience. Whether the experience is good or not, is up to you!

Verdict: 7/10.

The Proposal

The Proposal is your standard romantic comedy, or ‘romcom’ in movie lingo. No more, no less.

As romantic comedies go, The Proposal is a movie filled with all of the usual cliché’s, in which we find ourselves cheering for the underdog while despising the obstacles hindering the progress of ‘true love’. Furthermore, even though we know how the story inevitably ends, we are inexplicably drawn toward finding out exactly how the story unfolds.

About the movie:

When high-powered book editor Margaret faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she’s actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew, who she’s tormented for years. He agrees to participate in the charade, but with a few conditions of his own. The unlikely couple heads to Alaska to meet his quirky family and the always-in-control city girl finds herself in one comedic fish-out-of-water situation after another. With an impromptu wedding in the works and an immigration official on their tails, Margaret and Andrew reluctantly vow to stick to the plan despite the precarious consequences (D-Man2010, IMDB.com).

The Proposal – Trailer

The movie is good. So if you are looking for a fun, light hearted comedy, which offers genuine moments of laughter, and allows you to leave the cinema with that ‘warm and fuzzy’ happy feeling, then do go and watch The Proposal. You will not regret it.

Verdict: 7/10.

Until the next time “Milieunairs”!

Since Google is wishing all tech savvy moms a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’, I figured I would too!

I would just like to give a shout out to all of the mom’s out there and wish you all an absolutely fabulous day. May you all be spoilt rotten!

An extremely special thank you, with tons of love, to my very own adoring mommy, whom I love tremendously.

Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky,
Hundreds of shells on the shore together,
Hundreds of birds that go singing by,
Hundreds of lambs in the sunny weather.
Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the world wide over.

(Unknown author)

With broken arm and all, I still managed to covertly buy a gift for my mom for Mothers Day, consisting of: a musical card, written with my left hand (looks like a nursery school kid did it), a huge ‘Me to You’ bear and a light pink cubic encrusted Nomination charm for her bracelet. My mom loved it all!

Unfortunately my mom was not feeling too good, her gout was kicking in again, so we simply ordered in and spent the day watching ‘Private Practice’. It was actually really nice and we all had a great time together.

Until the next time “Milieunairs”!