This is a metal festival organized here ( in Katowice, 400 km from where I live ) every March. This was the 20th edition - my first time there.  25 bands performing on two stages. I didn't plan to go. The idea was born on Friday eve ( the event was on Saturday, March 4th). A spontaneous crazyness- that's what i can call it. I went there with a friend to celebrate his 50th birthday (!). And to see two bands I respect and adore... Anathema and Therion. Due to the long journey ( 7 hours by train ) I missed the minor bands playing in the beginning and just went to see the stars. Within 28 hours I spent 14 hours on the trains, 2 hours at a lousy , dirty railway station in Katowice and the remaining 12 hours at the festival. The bands performing there were very diverse, from thrash metal ones (of which I managed to stand just the first two or three tracks , LOL ), to the grand, spacious, marlvellous, symphonic and absolotely breathtaking ones, pouring honey onto my soul ...

The first band worth mentioning here is Moonspell coming from Portugal. I like the gothic elements they include in some tracks, their eclectiveness, and their charismatic frontman  (hello, Fernando;-)

And now the main dish - Anathema. I've always loved this British band,and I'd seen it on stage twice before. But what I saw on Saturday I hadn't even expected in my darest dreams... Absolute perfetion in sound and vision, spectacular lights and the playlist which totally met my needs and expectations. I'm fully pleased and satisfied now. Don't need sex anymore ! ;-)) LOL

Therion was like a dessert after the main course. The Swedes also showed top class. Nothing to add. I love such metal.. choirs.. climate.. beauty... symphony... atmosphere...patos mixed with power...and those guitarrrs... yammie !! ;-)))

 

 

Africa vs. Europe; poverty, famine and diseases vs. money and greed; a lonely warrior vs. a bunch of the dodgy and ruthless ones...

nothing to add...

just one conclusion: if the few ones in the world weren't so greedy, the rest of it would be a much better place to live..

Why don't we look at Africa? Why do we let it die? And we pretend to have no idea about it...

 

I'm deeply moved now. Have just stopped crying.

 

 

I went ice skating this afternoon. Wow, that was fun! :) I used to train fast ice-skating as a teenager, but now it happens very rarely that I put on the skates. They closed the skating rink in my town as there was no one to take care about, what a pity. They make one, though, on a main market, but it's so full of people and the artificial ice gets easily damaged and rough,  that I hate going there, especially, that I always take my daughter with and I don't want her to get hurt. And thus I have to wait till it gets freezing cold for a few days and the nearby pond gets frozen and good enough to skate on. What's more, there must be a weekend, otherwise it's too dark in the late afternoon or evening or we're just too tired .So you can imagine that such a combination of circumstances doesn't happen very often :) due to the greenhouse effect and other stuff. But today the day has come and so we went . It was so nice to see my girls rosy cheeks and smiling face as well as recall my old days of dashing with the wind ;)

 

"And the wind did moan, and the wind did howl... la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la , lee.."

(Nick Cave- Henry Lee)

Directed by Robert Redford. It tells a story of golf and golf players, especially one  player ( Matt Damon) who survives hard moments, which result in  his lack of enthusiasm and will to live. Then there comes a "guardian angel" - the title Bagger Vance (Will Smith) , who turns up out of the blue and becomes the background  essential character..

 It's interesting that all Redford's movies are somehow connceted. They follow a similar scheme of winding  the wildlife or animal nature  with human problems and adventures. They involve miraculous landscapes, complicated human relationships, some elements of tragedy and most of all ,numerous  wise and  deep thoughts outspoken in crucial moments .

I simply love this one :

 

 

It looks so simple and obvious..

That's why people drink, huh ?

 You Speak My Language - Morphine
(Sandman)
All around the world everywhere I go
No one understands me no one knows
What I'm trying to say
Everywhere I go no one understands me
They look at me when I talk to them
And they scratch their head
They go what's he trying to say
But you you speak my language (x2)
Yea yes
All around the world everywhere I go
No one understands me no one knows
What I'm trying to say
Even in my home town
My friends make me write it down
They look at me when I talk to them
And they shrug their shoulders
They go what's he talking about
But you you speak my language (x2)
Yes

I'm not very into French cinematography. Most French movies I saw I found boring, insipid, blurred or overintelectualized...

But having watched this one, directed by Francois Ozon, I have a totally different opinion. A story of an English crime fiction author, who seeks inspiration in a French countryside villa with a pool made me stunned...

Perfectly constructed and superbly acted, it includes clash of personalities , great subtlety, distorted reflections, and the thing quite unusual in movies- showing someone enjoying their own company...

The swimming pool is a symbol of transformation, adaptation and change...

Have just come back from the south of Poland ( Wroclaw, Opole) . On Friday I went to Wroclaw to attend the concert of an industrial rock band - Laibach. Great show did they give! Anyone, who is familiar with the band knows what to expect:  strong sound combined with politically-based video projections and a great visual show, which is the manifestation against totalitarism. Through wide usage of nazi symbols and military uniforms the band shows their  fear for any form of total power in the world. Very strong feelings, hard rythm and visual pictures...

 

for further information check : http://www.laibach.nsk.si/

a nice clip to watch and listen :  http://www.rathergood.com/laibach/

 

After the concert - a two-day-long party with friends . A really nice weekend ;)

It's my birthday today. My mood resembles a sinusoide. I'm young at heart, but the calendar is mercyless.

So don't know if I should be happy or sad about the day... Gonna listen to music and have some liquor tonight...

In Poland we have a custom to sing "100 Years" ( a song to wish a hundred years of life-expectancy) for Happy Birthday, but I hope and wish to live a bit longer , if not much :) I still feel as if I were in my twenties...Thanks to music and my job, I guess . Well, happy Birthday to me, then ! Cheers everybody! :)