Jackie Kennedy's hairdresser

Where do good hairdressers live? On another planet? I go to the hairdresser's every second YEAR. I don't have time to go there, I don't feel like it, I can't be bothered to go through the hassle all the time. But every once in a while, like now, when my hair gets to 2 meters, I have to go and ask for the impossible: layered with bangs. What is so hard to understand? I went to the hairdresser's today, a new guy in town. Everybody is like "Oh my God! Did you know that he could have been a world famous professional but he didn't want to leave Komló?", and I'm thinking, okay there is something seriously wrong with this dude to begin with, if he doesn't want to leave Komló but anyway let's give the rumors some credit and arrange for my hair to be cut.

I woke up in the morning, at 10. I washed my hair because it was in an ungodly state and I want to be nice at my first appointment with the new guy, right? I pull on my most alternative clothes, PURPLE chucks, leggings, a dress with psychedelic artwork on it, my grey sweater that has a crampon pattern with my mother's brooch and a Palestinian scarf, so that he can get the idea about my style, and I leave for the bus stop. Something bad is creeping on me mentally. I feel too good. I don't feel good about myself at all most of the time. The bus rolls into the stop and I look at my reflection in the window. I look fabulous. Like someone out of a fashion magazine with my huge waterfall of hair billowing behind me like some flag or whatever. I get on the bus. By the time I'm in downtown I'm hysterically clutching at my hair, it's long, it's thick, it's everything any other normal human being is dreaming about and I'm going to cut it. It almost feels like self-mutilation.

Anyway, I get there, describe my second thoughts about cutting my hair but expressing my intention to go through with it anyway because it did some good way back when I went to the hairdresser's 3, or was it 4, years ago. Then I say the magic words: LAYERED WITH BANGS. Needless to say in the end I didn't get ANY bangs. There's not even a part of my hair at the front that is shorter than any other part. Actually I laugh when I think about it now because it's so absurd it's ridiculous. Oh and I only got one layer. Wow. That's really layered. He also blow dried it in a way when your hair gets all bouncy and your head looks like it's 3 times bigger than it really is and you turn your neck 1.8 centimeters to the side and you can feel it bouncing. Bouncing. Around your head. So in the end I look like some chit off the road where the Desperate Housewives live. I was wearing purple shoes! And a bag made of green leatherette! A neat, bouncy housewife style is just what I was aiming for. Right.

But why is it that you can NEVER tell the hairdresser that something is wrong? Why can't you be all cool and composed and go "No way man. It looks like shit. Redo the thing. This is so not gonna happen. Got it?" No. Ha ha. No. You smile, you try to be really nice, and it's not because on the inside you are screaming and breaking things and stabbing knives into faceless forms. No, that comes later. It's because you are confused. You don't know what is happening at all because you never know when they are done and when the very last finishing touches take place, and you don't want to be rude and kind of hope that he's going to jump at you with a scissor and cut you the best bangs ever made while you're handing the money over. It doesn't happen. You pay the money, keep on smiling and you even THANK the person for dooming you to another 2 to 4 years of self loathing and ridicule. And you also lost a meter of hair and you didn't even get any bangs in exchange. You only realize what you just did and what has been done to you when you close the door behind you and it all rushes back to you and then come the things that happen on the inside. It is not fair, I tell you.

I leave. Thankfully it's a quiet neighbourhood so no one witnesses when at first I start laughing hysterically. I mean, hey! I look like a Desperate Housewife! How hilarious is that? Then I feel there's something wrong with my breathing, maybe it's just that I'm laughing the laugh of someone who just doesn't believe *it*. No. I'm hyperventilating and I still don't know if I should laugh or cry but I guess hyperventilating already decided for me. I caught a glimpse of myself in another window and now I almost feel sick. I'm wearing Janis Joplin's clothes but I went to Jackie Kennedy's hairdresser. Where could it have gone so horribly wrong?

I try to find a hidden place and a bench because in the beginning I imagined myself with my new alternative hair in a park in the midst of falling autumn leaves reading High Fidelity and listening to Thommy, my iPod. I make a few phone calls first, freaking out during the explanations of my absolutely fucked hair. Then I tie it in a ponytail. A ponytail. Have you seen me wearing any other hairstyle in class other than a ponytail? A ponytail is what I was trying to avoid from the beginning.

I switch on Thommy and put on some Cat Power but somehow even her voice is not as raw as it is on any other day. I mumble "Come on Cat, what's gotten into you today, too?" to myself and forcefully press down on the 'volume up' button and a moment later I note with satisfaction that my ears are close to bleeding. I take out the book but can't really concentrate on it, fortunately I've seen the movie so many times that I know the dialogues by heart and am vaguely aware of what is happening. The bench is entirely uncomfortable and the wind is starting to pick up. At one point it pushes a bunch of leaves into my face and clunks me on the head with a chestnut but I just can't take a hint, can I? I always have the urge to finish the chapter I'm in and I can't leave without doing so. I look at my cigarettes, all lined up in their box like soldiers, waiting to be sent out on a mission and their comrades under my feet who already did their job of putting another nail into my coffin and decide to go home.

I already know what will happen. My mother will not try to console me at all. She'll get mad at the guy because he got it all wrong and me because I was unable to explain what I wanted or tell him this isn't what I wanted at all, AGAIN. I can't wait for one of my friends to turn out to be a hairdresser. Because I'm starting to realize that's my only hope. Until then I have some 're-decorating' to do with a paper scissor and my mirror...

At least the weather was really nice.

Music makes my world go round

So it is 2 in the morning and I just finished putting together the playlist I would like to write about tonight. I know. I leave everything for the last minute but I had some hardships with this little flashplayer and finally it is how I want it.

Even though I study cinematography the title of my post is entirely true. A few weeks ago you would have found industrial metal and German punk on my iPod but right now the following songs make me tick, feel, breath - keep me alive to be honest.

Christmas is almost here and it is my favourite time of the year so the first song in my playlist is a Christmas track. It is Robert Downey covering a classic by Joni Mitchell. Can you imagine anything more blissful? With his soulful voice and the experience of all the hardships he had in his life, he makes this personal song by Mitchell his very own. You can practically taste the longing. He recorded this piece for an Ally McBeal Christmas album (A Very Ally Christmas), around the time his drug addiction reached its peak. Even if you do not know anything about his biography, he pretty much sums it up in this song. Heartbreaking and beautiful. Of course he also plays the piano. Backing vocals by Vonda Shepard.

The next song is by Elton John, from his real songwriter era. I simply want this song to be about my life. My connection to it is that simple. I want to try my luck in New York, experience every aspect of that city, be a part of it and be able to thank God for the people I find there. The tunes in this song are also timeless, the real genius of Elton shows here, something a lot of us forgot about a long time ago. I first heard it in a favourite movie of mine, 'Almost Famous'. I bought the soundtrack but unfortunately it does not include this song and way back then my English was not so good and the Internet was not this accessible and I stumbled upon it again just now - what a discovery. You may think this song is sad but really it is one of the most life-affirming pieces out there. :)

The next few songs are by a performer I can thank the Reading And Writing Skills lesson for. :) When we had to read a magazine from the American Corner I chose Rolling Stone and a Radiohead article, but on the next page there was this mysterious woman rolling around on a bed with a bulldog, smoking Marlboro Reds and I just had to find out about her. She is Chan (pronounced 'Shawn') Marshall, the woman behind 'Cat Power'. She is my greatest role model right now. I am not going to go into details about her biography because just like with the other two songs, her life is in her music. Just listen to her sometimes suicidal, sometimes easy going but always breathtakingly beautiful voice and riffs and you will get the idea. I included two early and two very new tracks.

I wrote a paragraph about Elliott Smith too, but it is entirely too personal, sorry. So please just listen to him and maybe you will be able to understand what I was going to say.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Google Books find

We had to find an interesting book in the Google Books search engine for today's class and I was relieved to see that they have Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' in the archives. I have not actually started reading it yet but I love Oscar Wilde and reading the summary of the book I think it sounds so unusal and interesting and also very clever.

You all must feel profoundly cheated because of the summary I inserted here in the morning. Yes, I stole it off Wikipedia but I was in a hurry. So moving on to interesting tidbits and my expectations. This book is considered one of the last gothic horror books ever written. I think Oscar Wilde and gothic horror in one sentence should make everybody curious. The book also has a strong Faustian theme and deals with some subtle homosexuality which caused controversy back in the day and I think it still does to some point. For those of you who like to be blinded by the stunning lights of Hollywood, the character of Dorian Gray was also included in the blockbuster, 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' and if you liked him there you might like to find out more about his background.

The novel tells the story of young Dorian Gray, who's beauty captures the artist who is painting his portrait. While wandering in said artist's garden he meets a friend of the painter's. This friend introduces Dorian to modern views of hedonism. Dorian is affected so much by this revelation that he wishes for his portrait to age instead of him. His wish is granted and this power pushes him into several acts of debauchery, while his portrait shows all the effects these acts had on Dorian's soul, each sin manifestating as a disfigurement or sign of aging.

Dark and mysterious, isn't it?

You can read the book here.

Movietalk

I am getting more and more into RDJ movies since I last wrote so here are some recommendations. Turns out I cannot really not recommend RDJ movies nowadays. :D I must have a pretty bad case of starstruck.

So this week I watched 'Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang', which is a hilarious comedy thriller. I just loved it. Val Kilmer plays a gay detective who is helping Robert Downey's unfortunate thief character getting out of trouble and solving numerous connected murders in the end. It is complete with punchlines like "Look, buddy. This isn't 'good cop, bad cop'. This is the fag and the New Yorker!" and cut off fingers, guns, girls etc. And all is well if it ends well. :) Quality entertainment if you want a good laugh.



The highpoint of my last week was 'Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus'. It is highly fictional but based on the biography of breakthrough photographer of '50s New York, Diane Arbus. The movie was also made by one of my most beloved directors, Steven Shainberg who worked on a favourite piece of mine: 'Secretary'. They were trying to capture an 'Alice in Wonderland' kind of atmosphere and they did an amazing job with that. I was glued to the screen from the beginning. Sadly it is a genuine independent movie, meaning it had absolutely no marketing at all and so when RDJ asked the audience at The Jonathan Ross Show in London (!) if they ever heard of the movie, absolutely noone put their hands up. I found it very sad when in reaction to that he said: "Thank God I did 'Iron Man'..." I enjoy blockbusters like 'Iron Man' but honestly there is no use in even comparing these two movies because Fur has so much more to say and is an amazing piece of visual art. By the way Arbus is played by Nicole Kidman, my favourite actress, she gives her best but that is no surprise. For 90% of the movie, Downey's acting is reduced to his eyes, voice and gestures by the mask he is wearing but he is still so captivating and such a powerful presence that one does not even realize he is not able to use his face. You know you love trailers. ;)



I also went to a houseparty on Friday with my ex-classmates. When the party started to get boring we decided to put in a movie called 'A Scanner Darkly'. It is based on a Philip K. Dick novel and it counts as a huge cult movie in my circle of friends. I did not have the fortune to see it before so I was very happy, especially knowing RDJ plays in it. :D I know what you all think but it WAS a coincidence. The movie is coated in a very innovative comic effect so everything looks like it was drawn but before they did that all the scenes were recorded in the traditional way. We watched it twice (!) because right when we finished it the first time some people arrived in the middle of the night who wanted to see it also and I had no problem with that. :D But I guess you either love or hate this movie and I do not guarantee it is the former. The rest of the cast include Keanu Reeves, Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder.



Here is one of my favourite scenes, it captures the atmosphere just right. :P



Last but not least I present you the trailer of an upcoming movie I am very excited about. It is a drama based on a true story, I think it will leave a huge impact on everyone who sees it and the trailer suggests the most oustanding performances of the year. I hope Robert will at least get nominated for an Oscar, he really deserves it now. Once he was nominated for his work in Chaplin but the Academy is not too keen on giving out Oscars to twentysomethings. Their loss.



If you have the time, I recommend you to check out the trailer in high quality on the movie's official site: The Soloist.

Frostyfrolic

We had a task today to find synonyms and we came up with an alternative name for Coldplay: Frostyfrolic. :D So I decided to make a post about the Coldplay concert in Budapest, that took place in Papp László Budapest Sportaréna on the 23rd of September.

We took the 2pm train to Budapest because I wanted a good place and I got my wish: I stood in the second row. I got there around 5pm, the gates opened at 6:30, the first concert (Albert Hammond Jr - guitarist of The Strokes) started at 8pm, Coldplay took the stage at 9pm and the concert ended at 11pm.

The stage show was as superb as the band. Chris said some nice words and they had amazing surprises throughout the night. For example the butterfly rain during 'Lovers In Japan' or that time they performed 'The Scientist' in the middle of the rows of seats at the very back of the arena. My favourite song is 'Fix You' so that was the most special track for me at the concert.

As some of you may have heard today, a really good friend of mine, my former english teacher gave me a lift on the way back home but sadly we had some problems with finding our way so I finally got home at 3am. :D But I found the journey very pleasant. :D Ed was a bit freaked about getting lost. :)

All in all, it was an amazing experience and now here are some pictures I took with my mobile:
Albert Hammond Jr., Chris greeting us, two kind of visuals, the butterfly storm, one of the various backgrounds, Chris throwing his towel into the audience, my ticket and the butterflies I collected.







And here is the brand new official video of 'Lost', one of the best songs off their latest album.

Lost!

First post, LOTS of movie-talk

Took me a long time to finally start my blog. I am watching 'Pushing Daisies' at the moment, an amazing surrealistic new TV series on Viasat 3 and also trying to predict what tomorrow's RWS test will include. No clue. I was also unable to get ahold of a copy of High Fidelity but I had such a horrible week last week: turns out I am not going to get away with my tonsils intact in the end. I took two doses of antibiotics but I am still ill, very much so. So surgery for me in the near future. :(

On to lighter topics: my sister and me did not miss this year's Moziünnep like we had in the past. We watched 5 movies in 3 days in Pécs Plaza, Cinema City.
Dark Knight - the new Batman movie, which is totally overrated but if you are a Gary Oldman fan (I am) then it is a real gem.
Deception - an interesting and exciting erotic thriller with Ewan McGregor. The plot is very good but sadly they messed up the ending.
Journey to the Center of the Earth - let me say just one thing: it is not as bad as they say it is. :D
Hellboy II - we have already seen this at home but my sister really wanted to watch it in a real movie theatre because it has amazing visuals. We both love comic adaptations and this is one of our favourites so we enjoyed it.
My Best Friend's Girl - now this is a movie worth watching in my opinion but I do not think it is for everybody. :D One of the main characters is played by Dane Cook, an American stand up comedy performer and I am a huge fan of him. His unique style can be undoubtedly felt throughout the movie, which includes a lot of rude expressions and sexual remarks beside a great deal of humour. I loved it. :)

I also watched 'Ironman' at home and developed a huge crush on Robert Downey Jr. I always respected and loved him for his work but I found out a lot of new things about him last week. For example he has an album out. In my opinion it is quite horrible, like a Phil Collins musical mixed with a mediocre lounge album. He also uses a lot of high notes in his songs even though his voice is at its best when he sings the deepest notes. Let me illustrate his real singing talent with this little snippet of the legendary TV series, Ally McBeal (a series I sadly hated with passion, thus missing this scene when it aired):



I took a little walk down Memory Lane and dug out some old videocassettes and found one of my favourite movies, 'Wonderboys' also including Robert as an eccentric gay publisher. I recommend it to everyone, absolutely funny but with quite a lot of meaning and a spectacular cast: Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand and of course RDJ.

The last "cinematic adventure", as Dane Cook likes to call watching a movie, I had was Zodiac, a thriller "surprisingly" starring Robert. :) It tells the story of a famous serial killer of the '70s in San Francisco and Mr Downey plays a journalist who is investigating the case but loses his job after he gets threathened by the killer and turns to various drugs and alcohol to ease his paranoia. The main character of the movie is Jake Gyllenhaal by the way. It is two and a half hours long, too long in my opinion: due to the absolute incompetence of the police, the movie has long periods where everything happens very slowly but at least we can say it is quite realistic, since it reflects the helplessness of the characters concerned.

I hope you find my little review issue helpful in choosing your next cinematic adventure. :)

P.s.: MCkey left me a comment about how he thinks Joe resembles Robert Downey Jr. so I decided to just stick a little picture here where he sports that authentic Joe-look. :D