Going Steampunk

What steampunk is actually about? Well, there are a number of websites coming up with fancy definitions, all of which can be described as follows: it's all about revitalising the Victorian era with a futuristic element. I'm sure most of you heard about the ground-breaking books by Julius Verne, which in his time were revolutionary because they've introduced inventions and concepts which were ahead of his times: submarines, balloons, and more. Other authors who followed included H.G. Wells, Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), or Arthur Conan Doyle (The Lost World). Steampunk takes on board a lot of these concepts and adds a bit of a twist to make them attractive to modern audience. Sometimes including a bit of a fang and fur as well (e.g. Gail Carriger, The Parasol Protectorate series). However, a number of authors remained more down-to-earth concentrating more on "look-what-I-can-do-with-a-couple-of-screws-and-an-idea!".

As a natural consequence of steampunk books, we've ended up with a whole lot of film-makers focused on making money on those ideas. This resulted in a range of films, with an average quality somewhere between mediocre and not bad. If you've seen films like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Sean Connery, Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, Prestige with Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, or the trailer to the new version of The Three Musketeers, then, my friend, you were exposed to steampunk.

Of course, steampunk is not only represented by books and films. Let's nto forget about steampunk-inspired music, like for example the persona of Doctor Elemental and his steam-punkish hip-hop:

Does it seem like your cup of tea? Yes? No? Well, there was no harm in trying something new, was there. Of course now that you know it, you can't unknown it so sorry for any permanent damage :)

If you got hooked and want to know more I recommend a number of websites, a lot of which have taken steampunk and turned into a new way of life, e.g. The League of S.T.E.A.M., Steamed, and very informative - Steampunk.com and The Airship Ambassador.

Go STEAM!

Rocky Horror Picture Show Sing-a-Long

Yesterday evening, Hexagon in Reading, Berkshire. The crowd in the foyer looks slightly unsual for such an establishment. No black-ties / evening dresses tonight. Wherever you look you are immediately surrounded by fancy corsets, fishnets, wigs, sparkly hats and a lot of naked human (or so you'd hope) flesh. The reason - Rocky Horror Picture Show Sing-a-Long has come to town!

Apparently it all started with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, one of my favourite all time classic musicals. It seems whenever I'm not paying attention I start humming Going courting as I sort the books in Oxfam, or plot correlations in Excel. Back then sheet music was distributed to the participa

nt so they could chip in and s

ing along with the film. After the initial success in Inverness the idea was taken further and in 1999 the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival featured the same musical to celebrate the opening of the new cinema in London - Prince Charles in Leicester Square, which is the home for the sing-a-long production to this day. Initially there were just a number of screenings, but soon the demand was so huge that the number of shows had to be increased and new musicals converted into a Sing-a-Long versions. This is how Sound of Music was first introduced. The fame of the shows grew not only in UK but in mainland Europe as well. In the past decade the Sing-a-Long shows included such renowned musicals as: Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, Moulin Rouge, Wizard of Oz, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream and of course Rocky Horror Picture Show.

For me it was the second time I've seen it, the first time going all the way down to the Prince Charles cinema in London. And it was an extraordinary experience. So when RHPS came to Reading, there was no second-guessing - I had to go! Together with my friends from the Saturday shift in OXFAM Bookshop we've dressed and went up the stage for the Fancy Dress Competition and we were amazing! This is what I call - making an impact, or a statement....or just having a great time shouting "S***!" or "AR******!" and popping prematurely.

I highly recommend it to all you Rocky Horror Virgins wherever you are :D

Me

In the darkness of early morning films

In the past 2 days I went twice to the cinema. Morning shows before 11am, 5 people in total. It allows you to sneak up to the VIP section and enjoy comfy and spacious seats and a lovely hot Caramel Macchiato from the nearby Starbucks. A perfect beginning of a day provided the films are worth watching and spending £5.15.

Yesterday I saw "Beastly", the new take on the folk tale about the Beauty and the Beast. What can I say - I'm a sucker for that story. The film wasn't bad, it was what I expected which is good, because I avoided disappointment. It doesn't bring anything new, yet it's somehow pleasing and very enjoyable. Additionally I got inspired fashion-wise by Vanessa Hudgens playing the Beauty aka Lindy, to go back to my old look. Inspired by a teenage heroine in a girly film. Am I that shallow? You bet! :)

The second film, "Red Riding Hood", made me think about current trends in the cinema. The film itself was neither good nor bad, which made it belong to a long line of films (released int he past 5 years) which are aesthetically very pleasing (not difficult with the amount of £££ they spent on CGI), and that would be it. The plot is very simple and rather predictive, the characters roughly sketched and the acting is mediocre. And also, something that drives my up the wall, the clash of scenery and costumes with the type of characters created by the actors. If you are setting the film in roughly medieval times, make sure that everyone plays the part. The younger generation of actors was not able to learn from much more experienced actors, i.e. Gary Oldman and Julie Christie, and behaved like a bunch of high schools kids in costumes. Where is the historical accuracy? I went to see it from a little sentiment I have for the director, Catherine Hardwicke, after the great job she did with "Twilight" (again - yes, I'm that shallow). RHH wasn't, however, even remotly as captivating. I felt like the film makers were in a hurry to finish it on time (was there a short deadline?), to hit the Box Office target in the first weekend of showing and earn profit. The viewers are rushed through the film, like there was a little voice at the back of our heads saying: "Hurry up, you don't have the whole day". So you have plenty of wide angles and fast camera work (showing the characters, the village, the werewolf from every possible angle), scarce and rather meaningless dialogues, dimmed lights and haunting music to create an appropriate atmosphere of mystery and fear. All-in-all - good entertainment, poor quality = modern blockbusters.

And the question for tonight: what happened to films made with love and care?

Sleep well

A.

Senność-Bezsenność

Niedawno obejrzałam pewien film polskiej produkcji. Był ciężki, ale i nie spodziewałam sie niczego innego. Trudno w polskiej kinematografii znaleść film pogodny, który nie zakrawałby na głupawkę okraszoną humorem podwórkowym.

Z całego filmu w pamięci zostało mi jedno zdanie. W swoim przekazie nie mówi ono może nic nowego, ale dobór słów był na tyle intrygujący, że ten mój przeciążony mnogością informacji mózg znalazł wolną półeczkę: "Nie chcę pójść do piekła. W piekle na powitanie pokazują Ci wszystkie Twoje niewykorzystane szanse. Pokazują jak wyglądałoby Twoje życie gdybyś w odpowiedniej chwili znalazł odpowiednie wyjście. A potem widzisz te chwile szczęścia, które straciłeś śpiąc, to jak wyglądałoby Twoje życie gdybyś obudził się w porę. A potem zostajesz sam na całą wieczność i nie ma nikogo, ani niczego tylko ty i Twoje wyrzuty sumienia..."

Utwierdziło mnie ono w moim nieustającym dążeniu by cieszyć się kazdym dniem, każdą chwilą, i by umiec docenic te ulotne momenty szcześcia i rozkoszowac się nimi. Aby na zakończenie móc powiedzieć: "Żylam pełnią życia, tak jak chciałam".

Ulica Sezamkowa...dla dorosłych?

Dziś już tylko króciutki post ale za to jaki...a taki coby zasnąc z uśmiechem na ustach :)

Po raz pierwszy wersja ocenzurowana okazała się byc tą bardziej.... "niegrzeczną", czyli Ulica Sezamkowa na pikantnie z cygańską werwą, i morałem (tylko jakim?)

Dobranockowo,

Skrzat

With the Ukulele Twist

Facebook, among a number of cons, has one, very important advantage - it helps to spread the word about new and exciting projects. Let it be a new play opening on West End, a Caribbean Festival in Brixton or, as in this case, a group of talented musicians playing ukuleles. An instrument, which to this day I've associated exclusively with Marilyn Monroe and her classic performance in "Some Like it Hot", here in an innovative and cheeky interpretations of well-known songs and melodies becomes a master of its own.

Ladies and Gentlemen - the Ukulele Orchestra and their interpretation of Ennio Morricone's classic tune "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" with a twist:

swans in duets

Searching for various piano performances of "The Swan" from "The Carnival of the Animals" by by Camille Saint-Saëns, I came across a duet, Anderson & Roe and their amazing "Carmen Fantasy", a completely new approach to George Bizet beloved opera.



Unfortunately it turned out that the pair doesn't perform outside US. And I've got so excited when I saw "Southampton" as one of their 2011 concerts. However, upon closer examination I've also noticed two letters "NY", which immediately followed. And that rose my question for today: why they can't come up with a couple of original names for cities and not nick from Europe? Someone's getting home-sick in the Colonies?

A short story about my country

I thought I'll do a bit of advertising of Polish Art and present this little animation that was an absolute gem of this year's EXPO2010 in Shanghai. It's been created by one of the most visionary Polish animators, Tomek Baginski, whose short animation "The Cathedral" has been nominated for an Oscar in 2003.

The following video is a short overview of the most important events in the history of my beautiful country, Poland. I know that we have the opinion of people constantly dwelling in the past and extremely over-sensitive about our own history, however if you look at the history of our nation, you can hardly blame us.

I've just finished watching it, and as always when going down the historical Memory Lane, I ended up with wet cheeks. Is there something wrong with the state of my nerves or what :P

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it.

Miss B.

Londyńczycy

"Londyńczycy". Serial, czy może raczej zjawisko z którym się ostatnio spotkałam, a którego premiera ominęła mnie jak jeszcze mieszkałam w Polsce. Doprawdy, czy tak postrzega polską emigrację "ojczyzna". Czy wg naszego rządu każdy Polak kończy w rynsztoku, każda dziewczyna to prostytutka na Soho, a każdy mężczyna to potencjalny diler albo pijaczyna spod śmietnika pod kolumną Nelsona? Czy jest to może kolejna manipulacja, która ma za zadanie odstraszyć przed opuszczaniem kraju, wynaturzyć Anglików, przedstawić karykaturę człowieka na emigracji, przegranego, zrezygnowanego, który musi kraśc, kłamać, sprzedać się za sen o lepszym życiu?

Ja również jestem emigrantką. Od ponad półtora roku szczęśliwie żyję na Wyspie. Właśnie obroniłam tytuł magistra na tutejszym Uniwersytecie, jestem uznanym pracownikiem w mojej branży, a teraz zaczęłam w pełni finansowany doktorat. Moi znajomi, Polacy, to studenci wszelkich stopni i kierunków: od filozofii i prawa po cybernetykę, to pracownicy naukowi, kierownicy aptek, architekci. Ciężko nazwać nas ludźmi przegranymi. Czemu więc nie robi się seriali o nas, ludziach którzy są doceniani, którzy dopiero tutaj poznali smak sukcesu, o ludziach którzy spełniają swoje marzenia.

Może dlatego, że byłby to zbyt jaskrawy obrazek. Dowód na to, że może się udać. Że nie musimy być niańczeni przez kraj, który o nas nie dba. Że sami dajemi sobie radę, przemy do przodu, rozwijamy się, odnosimy sukcesy i jesteśmy w tym najlepsi.

Na koniec mam tylko jedną rzecz do napisania: kochani, nie dajcie się manipulować! Miejcie swoje zdanie i nie traćcie odwagi i wiary w swoje marzenia. One są do spełnienia!

Fenomenalna kobieta

Ostatnio oglądałam film. To znaczy, no może nie takie znowu ostatnio, bo w koncu koniec trymestru zmusza do wysiłku (mój się zakończył dokładnie o 23.57 zeszłej nocy), więc i przyjemności trzeba sobie dawkować, na zasadzie: przeczytam jeszcze dwa artykuły, wysiągnę trzy wnioski i wtedy obejrzę 30 minut ulubionego filmu". Sam film należał do jednej z moich ulubionych kategorii, gdy mózg pracuje na 50% normy nocnej, a mianowicie mało-ambitny-ale-za-to-sympatyczny :P Wiele filmów należy do tej kategorii, czasem zastanawiam się czy nie zbyt dużo. Filmy z tego rodzaju składają się z prostej fabuły, charyzmatycznego bohatera lub, jak w tym przypadku, bohaterki (w tej roli jedna z moich ulubionych aktorek, czy może raczej osobowości - Queen Latifah) i oczywiście szczęśliwego zakończenia. I już widzę jak moja mama zgrzyta zębami, więc szybciutko prostuję - szczęśliwe zakończenie szczęśliwemu zakończeniu nie równe. Nie mówię o ckliwych komedyjkach niby-to romantycznych, gdzie w 8 milionowym mieście (powiedzmy Londyn), oni właśnie na TEJ ulicy, albo na TYM moście, właśnie w TYM momencie się spotkają i buch! Magia! Pocałunek z Londyńską Orkiestrą Symfoniczną w tle! Bo takie zakończenie zamiast człowieka podbudować to jeszcze bardzie przygniata. Musicie przyznać, że każda w miarę zdroworozsądkowa osoba jest w stanie przeporwadzić wstępny rachunek prawdopodobieństwa zajścia powyższej sytuacji i nic tylko sznur na szyję i siup! Otóż nie! Filmy, które klasyfikuję jako mało-ambitne-ale-za-to-sympatyczne mówią o tym, że na przyjaciół można liczyć i że jak człowiek coś bardzo mocno postanowi to musi się udać (to akurat znam z doświadczenia nie tylko swojego, że działa!).

Ale wracając do owego Filmu. Otóż, co usłyszałam to przepiękny wiersz o wspaniałej kobiecie, fenomenalnej kobiecie, która kryje się w każdej z Nas.

Mary Angelou "Phenomenal woman"

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.