Tierra Unica

Hugh Hefner's 84th Birthday Party At The Palms Las Vegas!

Watch Hugh Hefner as he celebrates his 84th birthday at the Palms Las Vegas, in the World Famous Playboy Club.

 

 

  

How Fast Must A Man Go To Get From Where He's At - Downhill Racer!

With the much anticipated 2010 Winter Olympics in British Colombia, Canada just a few weeks away.  The eternal question pops up again but with a twist in last month's DVD release of docu-drama classic Downhill Racer.  The film asks those of us with some talent and ability - "How fast must a man go to get from where he's at?"

The 1969 sports classic movie "Downhill Racer" starting a very young Robert Redford tries to answer this pondering question that all of us with a crumb of talent and ability ask ourselves everyday.  How much ambition to you have in you to take your talent and ability to the next level?  Can you take it to the highest level in your chosen field or career?  At what cost?

What if you get to the top and you find out you never really left from where you started?

What gets me about this classic sports/love movie is that Gene Hackman has hair!!!

According to Hollywood critics, Downhill Racer is the best sports movie ever produced with some of the most spectacular ski scenes ever filmed.  It is not really a sports movie par se (Olympic downhill ski racing is just the setting), but more of a romantic drama told in documentary style in exotic ski locations like the Lauberhorn at Wengen, Switzerland and the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbuhel, Austria. Also included were Megeve, France and St. Anton, Austria.

25 year old former Swedish glamour beauty and actress of the 60's Camilla Sparv in 1965.

Here is what Image Entertainment wrote about the movie:

"Astonishing Alpine location photography and a young Robert Redford in one of his earliest starring roles are just two of the visual splendors of Michael Ritchie's visceral debut feature, DOWNHILL RACER.  In a beautifully understated performance, Redford is David Chappellet, a ruthlessly ambitious skier competing with an underdog American team in Europe for Olympic gold, and Gene Hackman provides tough support as the coach who tries to temper the upstart's narcissistic drive for glory.  With a subtle screenplay by acclaimed novelist James Salter, DOWNHILL RACER is a vivid character portrait buoyed by breathtakingly fast and furious imagery that brings the viewer directly into the mind of the competitor."

Very Short List wrote last month of the new DVD release of Downhill Racer:

"Just weeks after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid made Robert Redford into a megastar in 1969, the actor turned up in a very different kind of picture—a documentary-style movie about a fearless skier with an all-consuming desire for Olympic gold. Downhill Racer (available from Criterion 11/17) shows Redford at his early best: outrageously charming, naturally physical and unrelentingly sexy.

Much of Downhill Racer—which was directed by Michael Ritchie, who reteamed with Redford in 1972 for The Candidate—is a sort of thrill ride: Cameras mounted to actual skiers provided bird’s-eye footage of what it’s like to careen down slopes at what looks like a million miles an hour. Sure, there’s a love interest, and a rival or two, but the film focuses mostly on the development of one great undisciplined athlete into a bona fide star. Plus, Redford’s coach is played by a young Gene Hackman, who gives us a peek at the guy we love so much in Hoosiers."

32 year old Robert Redford on location in the Swiss Alps for Downhill Racer in 1969.

 

A young 40 year old Gene Hackman with hair - Un joven de 40 años Gene Hackman con pelo!

 

Gaston Acurio's Laureate Presentation During The Prince Claus Funds Awards!

This is the part of the Prince Claus Funds Awards presentation in Amsterdam, Netherlands yesterday Wednesday, December 16, 2009 in which it showcases the work of 2009 laureate Latin America celebrity chef Gaston Acurio from Peru.  Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, her family, and some 600 royal guests tasted delicious Peruvian Cuisine!

Castellano (Español)

Esta es la parte de la presentacion de los Premios Principe Claus de los Fondos en Amsterdam, Holanda, ayer Miercoles, 16 de Diciembre, 2009 en la que muestra el trabajo de 2009 del celebre chef Latino Americano Gaston Acurio del Peru.  La Reina Beatriz de los Paises Bajos, su familia, y unos 600 invitados reales comieron la deliciosa comida Peruana!

Screen shots

Marilyn Monroe Smoking A Joint!?!?

NEW YORK - A home movie showing a relaxed Marilyn Monroe apparently smoking marijuana has surfaced, retrieved from an attic some 50 years after it was filmed.

A raw reel-to-reel silent, color film taken at a private home in New Jersey was recently purchased by collector Keya Morgan for $275,000 from the person who took the film, who has asked to remain anonymous.

Damn, what is Rosie O'Donnell doing there in this '50s clip?  Wow, she must be hella old now......lol

 

Girls smoking anything don't look attractive - it a big turn off for most men.  But Marilyn looks SUPER HOT!!!

Fox News Alert - Tiger Woods Seriously Injured!

Fox News - Tiger Woods seriously injured!

 

 

More Mistura 2009, More Taste! Good Work Peru!

Here is more of the giant Peruvian Cuisine festival in Lima, Peru on opening day Thursday, Sept 24, 2009.  This four day food event is by far the largest cuisine festival in all of Latin America.  The organizers of this event, international Peruvian celebrity chef & restaurateur Gaston Acurio and the government of Peru, are expecting 300,000+ paid attendance from around the world this weekend!!!  And it is only the second edition of this international Peruvian Cuisine festival.

The video is called  "Mas Mistura, Mas Sabor!  Buen Provecho Peru".  Rough translation:  More Mistura (mixture/fusion), More Taste! Good Work Peru.  The music in the background is called "Festejo" and it is Peruvian-Afro or Afro-Peruvian.

A few images from the 1st day of Mistura Peru 2009 from various photo bloggers in Lima, Peru:

 

Time Magazine - Peru's Plans For Global Cuisine Conquest!

In January 2009, an extensive article was published on the LA Times about Peruvian Celebrity Chef Gaston, the #1 celebrity chef in all of Latin America.  The article is about the global emergence of Peruvian Cuisine and its current status as the international "IT" cuisine, Gaston himself, and the arrival of one of Gaston's key restaurant brands in the U.S., La Mar Cebicheria Peruana in San Francisco in Sept 2008.

(La Mar SF will celebrate their 1st Anniversary in San Francisco on Sept 29, 2009 with a "special menu" that day event for its clients.  More details later.)

A couple excerpts from the La Times interview with Gaston:

".....So he has taken cues from Japanese and Mexican restaurateurs, hoping to emulate the successes of the former and avoid some of the pitfalls of the latter.  Nobu Matsuhisa, the Japanese chef whose seafood restaurants (influenced by three years spent cooking in Peru) now span four continents, is also an inspiration.

"We don't want to sell cheap food, like the Mexicans have done with tacos all over the place," Acurio said. "The Japanese started with a very fine product -- sushi -- and that's what we have with ceviche. We have to do the best restaurants we can, in the best cities, in the best avenues to compete with the best restaurants in the world."

Here is the complete LA Times article called - Chef Gaston Acurio Carves Peruvian-Flavored Empire.  

Over the last few years, numerous favorable articles across the U.S. and aboard have been written about Peru, Peruvian Cuisine, and Chef Gaston in industry specific publications (travel, food, culture, history, Amazon River, etc.).  But last week, Time Magazine wrote this eye popping article about Peru & Peruvian Cuisine - Peru's Plan For Global (Foodie) Conquest!

Video Interview With Gaston

In December 2006, Gaston did a revealing interview with a Spanish reporter (Spain) for a TV program in Lima, Peru called La Ventana Indiscreta (The Indiscreet Window).  The interview reveals his thoughts about society - poverty, injustice, discrimination, courage, and success in Peru and aboard.  And the acceptance of Peruvian Cuisine internationally.  

Even if you can't understand Castellano (Castillian Spanish), you can see from the video below that former lawyer Gaston is very confident, motivated, smart, capable, eloquent, educated, and above all extremely charismatic!!!  All the qualities of a world class WINNER.....

As you can hear from the interview, Gaston is very confident but he is level headed with his global success. That is his charm - he is humble!

This Thursday Sept 24, 2009 in Lima, Peru is the start of the largest cuisine festival in Latin America and one of the top 2 or 3 in the world - Mistura 2009 Peruvian Cuisine Festival & Expo.  I will bring you all the cool info for you international cuisine foodies as I get it.

Over the last couple years, I've developed a friendship with Gaston and his excellent staff at La Mar Lima, Peru & La Mar San Francisco.  Gaston calls me his friend.....:-)

I wish him much success in this weeks Mistura 2009 Peruvian Cuisine Festival, and opening new upscale "Astrid y Gastons", "La Mar Cebicheria Peruanas" and his other Peruvian Cuisine restaurant brands in Manhattan - New York City, Miami, London, Barcelona, and Dubai in late 2009 and 2010!

PS. I'll have more info about the La Mar San Francisco 1st Anniversary Special Menu/Event later this week.

A few pictures of Peruvian superstar celebrity chef Gaston Acurio:

Actor Patrick Swayze Dies Of Cancer (1952 - 2009)

Legendary American Actor Patrick Swayze died this evening in Los Angeles, California of pancreatic cancer.

Actor Patrick Swayze - Biography

Retouched a little from a vlogger in Eastern Europe (Russia?), here is that unforgettable final scene of the 1990 classic "Ghost" between Patrick Swayze and actress Demi Moore.  Ghost is one of the most memorable movies of the last 20 years.

A few pictures of Patrick Swayze in "Ghost" (1990) opposite Demi Moore and co-staring Whoopi Goldberg.  A couple shots of Swayze in 2008:

In the 90s, in his mid-40s

2008 in London, England with Demi Moore.

Swayze in 2008.

Never Before Seen Footage Of Michael Jackson's Fire Accident During 1984 Pepsi Commercial Shooting!

Released yesterday from US Weekly, never before seen footage of Michael Jackson's fire accident during the 1984 Pepsi commercial shooting.

Argentina's Digital Artist Nico Speed Paints Transformers' Actress Megan Fox!

Nico Di Mattia from Cordoba, Argentina South America is Back!  The worlds best speed photoshop artist released his latest creation, a portrait of super hot Hollywood star Megan Fox!

Here it is in digital time lapse painting work and some photorealism in a couple layers in Photoshop CS.

The much anticipated "Transformers" co-starring 23 year old Megan Fox.  Music soundtrack is from Transformers by Steve Jablonsky.  

Megan Fox's most famous picture. WOW!!!

Picture of Nico Di Mattia of Cordoba, Argentina.