Sinister: "they are days that catch the sun, days like diamonds..."

[ola szkudlapska]

...and they sparkle in my memory, even though the actual sunny moments were
few and far between. in fact, on most occasions it was the freezing wind
that played the main part in the weather play. it was very excited about
being the star of the performance, blowing with twice the usual vigour, so
that we had to huddle together to keep warm, until the tram came, anyway...

hello again dear Sinister,

it seems like a while since i was last making you jaded with my ramblings,
does it entitle me to do so again? mmm, hope so..

i've been thinking how the present is just the tiniest amount of 'now', the
few moments that melt into the past, barely having time to actually HAPPEN.
the speed at which the future turns into the present (and thus, the past!)
is scary as well. especially when the present starts to seem like a set of
actions you repeat without even sparing them much thought. it's really easy
to get used to it, get into a rut and become bitter in the end. in a
nutshell - i am not satisfied with studying politics ;) plus, i am stuck
trying to make a decision what to do with my life. rant over.

i was saved from thinking too much about all that by the visit of James the
Star(!). although we didn't have a sinister picnic in the literal sense of
the word (we would have probably frozen, had we tried ;) Miss Maja came over
and it just seemed like holidays! yay.

James alreasy said a lot about it, but I felt obliged to make a few
corrections... :)

-i am by no means a 'mega guide'. i could, however, be described as a 'mega
disorganised guide', walking around the less-known-to-self parts of the city
with a map(!) in hand and still managing to miss the street we were supposed
to take a turn into. :)
(actually, i think it had all been planned beforehand. the street
temporarily disappeared, her aim being  to discredit my qualifications as a
guide. surely a well-devised conspiracy of some unknown forces)

-you don't have to 'go see the palace of culture'. ;) in fact, it is
practically impossible to find a spot in warsaw from which you CANNOT see
the bloody concrete monster! to me it looks a bit like a gigantic rocket,
but many warsaw people prefer to compare it to an enormous cream cake. i'm
glad i don't see it like that, i would surely end up thinking about food all
day long ;)

***
apart from having a halloween party (the Reaper was quite prominent too,
guarding the door with his huge scythe! that is until he got too hot and got
rid of his costume ;) walking round the city freezing and drinking carambOLA
in a club, we also saw the most hilarious film everr! i feel it's my duty to
tell you about it (and James told me it's my duty to tell you about it), so
now i'll just try to brainwash as many of you as i can into seeing it :)

this wonderful piece of absurd cinema is 'leningrad cowboys meet moses' by
Aki Kaurismäki. it's actually a sequel, but i couldn't find the first film
in series in my video-rental-place (and Jim Jarmusch plays a part there!!
bah)

what you have to do first is strain your imagination a bit, and try to
visualise a group of middle-aged men wearing colourful suits and (very ;)
pointed shoes, their hair fixed into huge sort-of-spikes shooting out from
their foreheads, each of them additionally equipped with a shock of a beard.
yes, they are the Leningrad Cowboys, the worst rock band in the world! :-)
having left their icy-cold home of siberia to get rich and famous in
america, they fell victim to Tequila - a devilish drink that killed their
manager Vladimir and left them strayed in a desert forgotten by mankind.
when all hope seemed gone, Vladimir suddenly reappeared, claiming he was not
Vladimir, but Moses - and offering to take the lost souls back to the
Promised Land of home.

or maybe 'offering' is not the right word. the Leningrad Cowboys were not
too keen to go back to russia, they'd much rather have a second go at
becoming music stars over the ocean. Vladimir, however, knew how to exert
his will, so their journey back is the content of the film.

the said journey is by no means monotonous, and includes events such as:
-Vladimir stealing the nose of the Statue Of Liberty
-ex-CIA agent joining the group, under the moniker of prophet Elijah
-the group getting arested and getting out of prison (in an interesting way)
-one of the Cowboys almost dying of Tequila overdose (again! naughty lads ;)

and lots of similar attractions.

however, it's the SONGS that made it for me. but they are quite
indescribable :)

honestly, the amount of pure quality nonsense in this film is so huge, that
i'm quite positive Edward Lear would have enjoyed it, had he lived in the
present day. i'll just add that all the actors are finnish, but they speak
english with fantastically authentic russian accents, making the film all
the more absurdly funny.

conclusion: go see it!!! now!!! :)

also, go see Múm, if you get the chance. these lovely people are sometimes
described as 'the Belle and Sebastian of electronica' (content? ;) and their
music is amazing in every aspect. besides, they drew pictures on my cd cover
and smiled when i said 'thank you' in icelandic. so there :)

love and cinnamon (and an invitation to warsaw :),

ola lala

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