Hello from Italy!

Yesterday I finally arrived in a small town near to Bari, after spending two days in a (surprisingly economic!) car. If you've already started to hate me because of my geographic location, I can tell you that there's nothing to be jealous of - it's cold, it's raining and I have no time to do anything else apart from playing violin and studying. But during this 2000-km journey I had enough time to reflect about things that I'd like to share with you.

First of all, if you've ever had an opportunity to see a sunset in the Alps from a plane, you might think that there's nothing more beautiful in the world. That's what I thought when I saw it last year for the first time. But this year I decided to change perspective and see the Austrian and Italian part of this incredible mountain chain from below. And I'm not able to decide whether it's better or worse because it's totally different, but still, definitely breathtaking. It's impossible to catch it if you only have a poor LG smartphone camera, but still, isn't it just amazing?

Secondly, I had a great opportunity to actually experience some observations from one of  Marc Augé's texts, which some of you and I were lucky to comment with our professor on the master's degree seminary classes. Here's a fragment from his famous book 'Non-places. Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity':

'France's well-designed autoroutes reveal landscapes of somewhat reminiscent of aerial views, different the ones seen by travelers on the old national and departmental main roads. They represent, as it were, a change from intimist cinema to the big sky of Westerns. But it is the texts planted along the wayside that tell us about the landscape and make its secret beauties explicit. Main roads no longer pass through towns, but lists of their notable features - and, indeed, a whole commentary - appear on big signboards nearby. In a sense the traveler is absolved of the need to stop or even look. Thus, drivers batting down the autorout du sud are urged to pay attention to a thirteenth-century fortified village, a renowned vine-yard, the 'eternal hill' of Vézelay, the landscapes of the Avallonnais and even those of Cézanne [...]. The landscape keeps its distance, but its natural or architectural details give rise to a text, sometimes supplemented by a schematic plan when it appears that the passing traveler is not really in a position to see the remarkable features drawn to his attention, and thus has to derive what pleasure he can form the mere knowledge of its proximity.

Motorway travel is thus doubly remarkable: it avoids, for functional reasons, all the principal places to which it takes us; and it makes comments on them'. 

It's a great observation, valid for the French, German, Austrian and Italian autoroutes. If you think about it this way, a 2000-km journey becomes a long and incredibly dynamic narration. 

That's all by now because the 'siesta' is already over and I have to dress up as an artist and try to win a violin competition. 

Have a nice afternoon!

Hello!

I was afraid that I would have nothing interesting to share with you, even though I had spent most of the time reading books and press. I've suffered from what we normally call "spring solstice", that is I've been going through a really harsh migraine that made me feel unable to collect my thoughts.

Yesterday, just for a change, I decided to have a break in Virginia Woolf''s 'Orlando' and watch a film with my other half. As usual, it took me some time to pick up one, but I finally decided to watch a film I'd already seen a few years ago, inspired by the International Transgender Day of Visibility that took place 2 days ago.

'The Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story' is a biography television film directed by Agnieszka Holland. It's based on the true story of the real life of Gwen Araujo (1985-2002), born Edward Araujo, a transgender American teenager who was murdered in an extremely cruel way by four men, after discovering that she was transgender. They lured her into a trap and then they spent five hours beating and strangulating her. She died from strangulation associated with blunt force trauma to the head. Her body was covered with dozens of bruises, which showed that she'd been beaten even after dying. The defendants tied her, wrapped in a blanket and buried her four hours away from the house they'd killed her in.

The film touches on many different problems, most of them connected with the (unfortunately, still omnipresent) transphobia. It also reveals the importance of the full acceptance and unconditional love of the family. Furthermore, it's not just another important, worth watching film - it's also very well written, starred and shot.

After Gwen's death, her mother, Sylvia Guerrero, became an important LGBTQ right's activist. Here's one of her speeches, which I truly recommend you to watch. Almost each sentence is a powerful and wise message to all people. I could tell a lot of things regarding this question, but I just think that it is enough to listen to Sylvia Guerrero speaking. 

Maybe just one short commentary. Gwen's mother has said several times that sometimes, especially at the beginning, she found it difficult to accept Gwen, just because she couldn't understand her. That's why the education is so important. I truly believe that, even though there are a lot of adversities in the world, there would be less hate if there was more understanding and social awareness.

   

Shalom!

I hate being sick, especially when I have to stay at home and I'm not able to do anything but sleeping and watching films. That's why the only thing that I can write you about is a film that I watched yesterday (as you might suppose, sleeping wouldn't be so interesting - mostly because all the time I was dreaming about breathing normally). 

'Blue velvet' is one of the most famous films by an American director, screenwriter, painter, musician and author, David Lynch (1946). Like almost every other movie he's made, it's surreal, strange, mistifying and disturbingly violent. The plot seems to be far more complicated than it actually is. However, although we might feel that everything becomes clear at the end, there are some things that remain unsaid and leave the viewer confused and distracted. 

It's really difficult to decide which of the elements play the lead - is it an amazing charcater starred by Kyle MacLachlan, or horrifying and fascinating at the same time Isabella Rosellini, or maybe a really beautiful soundtrack, which can also compete with incredibly genious and poetic takes by Frederick Elmes. 

I've already seen it twice and I can only tell you that it's worth watching at least once! 

And for all of you who has started (or want to start) watching new Ellen's show, the second episode is already available on Youtube. It's very sad, painful and depressing, but still, worth watching.

Another week, another challenge, another reflection.

I've just finished an extremely intense week, full of sound (mostly definitely too loud), people, stress and tiredness. It was also the last project of the Symphony Orchestra of Academy of Music in Poznań in which I had to participate to gather enough ECTS points to obtain a respected (but not so prospective) title of Master of Arts next year. And it was also the first time when the CIM gave out all passes for our concert in two hours (althought they are always free of charge)!

After hundreds of times of rehearsing the part of the first violin in Verdi's 'Requiem' and giving two, utterly tiresome concerts, I assured myself again that being a musician is one of the most devastating things that may happen to you in your entire life. Or maybe I should say 'during' your entire life, because normally you start before you find out how to say 'dog' in English, and it turns out that at the age of 21 you've already spent more than 75% of your life playing your instrument. Furthermore, you have to be aware of the fact that if you accidentally end up sitting near to the concertmaster, what means that you have to play with him (or her, like this time) the unfeasible solo part in the 'Offertorio', and you fail on one of the concerts, other musicians will make fun of you for next 300 years. And even though it sounds like a stupid trifle that should be as significant as the opinion of the Venice Commission for our government, it actually hurts a lot. Mainly because you're never as vulnerable as when you decide to open your soul in front of other people. Especially, when some of them live on other people's failures and derive from them a kind of disgusting and strange pleasure.  Contrary to writers, painters, film-makers and other kind of artists who have the possibility to rewrite, rethink and retake their work again and again, we have only one chance to do it. Hic et nunc. Nothing else. Sometimes it works and sometimes it just doesn't.

Few hours after the second concert I came to another conclusion. Being a musician is one of the most beautiful things that can happen to you in (and during) your entire life. Tiredness, stress, mental and physical sacrifice, years of exposing your heart to be devoured by vipers, always hungry for sb's failure... All these things are nothing compared to what you feel when you see tears on the faces of the most important people in your life, or, even more, on the faces of the strangers, who let you guide them to the places they've never been to, deep inside themselves. 

Hello again! 

I know that I've already reached the limit of the posts for a day, but because it's the day of the world's premiere of the series, I'd like to share it with you right now. If you're already fed up with 'Grey's Anatomy', 'House M.D.', or you just don't want to waste time looking for another TV series that could occupy you by the next season of the 'House of Cards' (which I - shame on me, future philologist, can't wait to see), check out something totally different. 

The day that Ellen Page decided to come out was a very important day for the whole LGBTQ community in the world. As she admitted in one of the interviews she gave after her famous speech, she made herself the best gift she could ever make. But she also made a gift to many other people and, no wonder, she became one of the unofficial ambassadors of the LGBTQ people all over the world. And it's really great to know that she perform this function very, very well.

Hello!

Today, on this very special for every filmgoer day, I'm back after quite a long, but very intense break. Last night, during the 88th ceremony of American Academy Awards, Leo finally got an Oscar, after 23 years that had passed from his first nomination. The whole Internet filled up with funny memes and photos of Kate Winslet praying for mercy for her friend. 

I remember the year when I got excited about the Academy Awards for the first time, short after I got fascinated about films and film industry. I was thirteen, maybe fourteen, and I got addicted to watching films. I was doing it during each possible everyday activity. It was the only moment in my life when the books weren't the most significant position in my personal budget - I bought films and film magazines like a nutcase.

I also remember how shocked I was, two or three years later, when I read an article in 'Kino' magazine about the backstage of the American dream prize, and my doubts about the objectivity of the members of the Academy turned out to be justified. I had to accept that it's just a huge farce, that it's all about the money and the influences, which is, basically, the same thing.

From that moment I was not an enthusiast of this annual ceremony anymore. I also realized that there are a lot of other aspects that should be openly condemned. This morning I found an interesting study made by Los Angeles Times: from aprox. 5700 of Academy Award members, who decide about the nominations and vote for the winners, the 94% are men, and the 77% is white. The following image reveals more details:

Does it really matter, if they're white, black, Asian or Latino? It shouldn't, but, actually, it does, because this year there have been no nominations for black artists. Is it because they weren't good enough? Well, I don't think it's necessary to answer this question. The worst thing about it is that the racism isn't the only symptom of the strongly discriminatory politics of the Academy. 

Regardless of this question, I really believe that 'Spotlight' is worth watching and I recommend it to all of you who haven't done it yet!

Here is the trailer which may encourage you to go to the cinema: