Lust for life

Better Than Heaven

2009-02-10T21:17:00.001+01:00

There are some things that simply nothing can spoil for you and there are some bands that you want to see no matter what. And yesterday's Bloc party concert was definitely one of those situations. No wonder it was sold out.

Chaotic crowd, lack of air, sweaty strangers pressing against you, people jumping and ~~dancing~~ pushing around. Disturbing? I couldn't care less. We were all united by one wish - to see them live. And we were not disappointed.

The concert was spectacular and far beyond anything I imagined. Banquet, Like eating glass, Modern love, Song for Clay, Hunting for witches, One month off, Ares, Mercury and many more.

Soooo much energy, so much sunshine and such an excellent music! It was definitely one of my top 3 concerts ever. Completely surreal and I want to see them again.

And if you feel bad about wanting to go but not going, you shouldn't. I lied. You really should. I swear I felt love.

Naughty Haiku #3

2009-02-02T22:10:00.003+01:00

White flakes and silence.
Magic chaos everywhere.
Nature, bring it on!

Making plans for Friday evening?

2009-01-31T09:00:00.004+01:00

When: 6^th February (Friday)

Where: Open Cafe, Ljubljana

What: Your daily recommended intake of indie provided by Djane Cherry

Excuses: N/A

Can't say you didn't know.

London

2009-01-27T18:19:00.009+01:00

If I would get 1 Euro for every time I heard: "You really gotta see London", I could probably buy myself a nice dinner. Or in these days more likely just a sandwich and maybe a smoothie. But financial crisis has its advantages - it is now much cheaper to travel.

So I visited London. Partly because of the "you really gotta" recommendations but mostly just to shut them up. At the first glance London is rather vibrant dynamic city, excellent for everyone who likes shopping & partying & various cultural events. Shows, musicals, movies, stand - ups, performances. You name it, they got it.

However the city is also somewhat individualistic, fast-paced and occasionally quite chaotic. The drinking ~~habits~~ problems are really beyond my understanding and so is the drop-off-your-garbage-anywhere attitude. Of course there's only so much sightseeing and partying you can do in few days. Even if you miss your plane back and stay an extra day.

Overall I must say I liked it - especially The Camden town and The Borough Market. I thought the Cockney accent was rather cute, even though sometimes quite hard to understand. I even liked the funny toilet water handles and the fact they drive on the ~~wrong~~ left side of the road.

London indeed is lovely. However, it isn't Berlin...

Cosmetics with a concept

2009-01-21T17:25:00.008+01:00

You know I'm a Lush lady, not only because their products are natural and are not tested on animals, but also because I won't put on my skin anything I wouldn't put in to my mouth.

If you're not really sure what all the fuss is about, maybe it's time to reconsider the largest breathing organ of your body. And if you're thinking lungs then your biology teacher probably needs a new job.

It's freaking hard to find a good cosmetic shop that satisfies all the criteria. But I did, even if it was by pure coincidence.

OrCa is the place where you can shop cruelty free (well, except the fact they still endorse the plastic bags). Their products are organic, not tested on animals and in most of the cases also vegan.

Not a breaking news, I know, but what really makes them different is that they donate a part of their monthly profit to animal asylum Horjul.

They also have a special box for extra donations with some material on taking care of your pets. Now that's what I call putting the money where your mouth is. Very neat, very sweat.

Also the shop is quite cute and I got my eye on few more things so I'm definitely coming back.

P.S There is also a downside - the coconut body milk I bought smells soooo nice I keep on sniffing my hand and putting off the weirdo detector. Sigh.

I heart winter

2009-01-15T19:12:00.014+01:00

I love the winter, I love the snow, I even love the cold and other people's bitching about the traffic chaos.

Winter is the only season that really brings out the child in ~~you~~ me. It's fu**ing amazing! And if you dare to disagree, I will have to challenge you to a snowball fight (please note that I have Batman on my side):

Besides - it's the only season when you can get naturally chilled orange juice without extra effort ;). Priceless.

There's no place like homo

2009-01-10T22:20:00.004+01:00

Did you every wonder what really happened in the Wizard of Oz?

Well, here's one version of it =)

My darling Berlin

2009-01-08T14:34:00.001+01:00

Most of my friends know about my ~~obsession~~ amazement with Berlin and how I can go on and on and on about it. Somehow there is this unexplainable urge to visit Berlin at least once per year, if I want to keep my sanity. Since I started this new year near Berlin I'm positive it's gonna be an excellent one.

Of course the fascination with Berlin goes beyond admiring the pretty buildings, enjoying cheap shopping & food and experiencing cultural diversity. It's actually the only city that makes me feel it. Being completely sober that is.

So if everything goes well, I should go there at least three times until December. But all that going back really enhances the feeling of not wanting to leave the city at all. And I know that someday I will just answer that call and won't return home.

After all, home is where my suitcase is...

Just be

2008-12-23T11:40:00.003+01:00

In 2008 I took my own advice and made some changes. The result is fun, exciting and extremely creative year and I wouldn't change a thing.

So now what? The plan is to continue to be myself, have fun and do what I love most. And I couldn't share my life with fun, easy going, caring and creative people, if one of them wasn't me =).

Yup, "Life's not worth a dam till you can shout out I am what I am!"

Happy new year!

120 Days

2008-11-26T18:30:00.003+01:00

I found out about 12o Days while randomly surfing around for some new indie music. To me they sound very much like a modern mixture of Placebo and Joy Division and are there a must for my shopping list.

The Norwegian band consists of four people (whose names I cannot pronounce properly):

Jonas Dahl,
Arne Kvalvik,
Kjetil Ovesen, and
Ådne Meisfjord .

The band was formed in 2001 under name "The Beautiful People" - apparently they felt the name was a bit too ambitious so they changed it to 120 Days :). After two EP's they signed up to new record company - Norwegian independent label Smalltown Supersound.

The band is now working on the new material which will be followed by a tour - hopefully somewhere close :hint hint:

120 Days : Get away (nevermind the lame slide show)

120 Days: So this is suicide

120 Days: C-Musik

Liffe

2008-11-23T13:52:00.006+01:00

Once again the international film festival Liffe was taking place but this year I was somewhat less impressed with the program than usually. Anyway, I made my selection of movies due to my usual criteria:

the plot: if it sounds boring then what's the use?
the nationality: yes i do discriminate in favor of Northern European, Czech and Asian movies and will probably see them even if the plot seems a bit too plain.
the genre: strongly prefer dramas, extravagant movies, science fiction and dark comedies (the darker, the better).

Achilles to kame: Interesting and humorous story yet a bit too long for slightly disappointing ending. The text interventions in between different parts of the movie were completely redundant, breaking one of the main rules (text shouldn't repeat what is already said by the picture). Yet the crazy plot and interesting happening still deserves a 7.5.

Boy A - A stunning drama, unbelievably strong and touching story that got me from the very first minute (I cried like a baby). Excellent screenplay supported by skillful directing and outstanding acting of Andrew Garfield uncovers unforgiving side of the society. An absolute 10 and will definitely go to see it again.

Valu: Fresh comedy presenting chase of the supposedly dangerous wild bull in a small Indian village. It was nice to see a non-Bollywood movie with a specific kind of humor that doesn't always travel. Great refreshement that definitely deserves an 8.5.

Deti noci: I didn't like the script and even the good directing couldn't take away the bad taste of insufficient development of the main character. Of course the three "small breaks" we had to have due to the projector breakdown did kinda ruin the feeling but not as much as some girls discussing what might happen next. Could have easily lived without knowing that. I'd give it a 6.

Aruitemo aruitemo: An interesting drama about family ties and it's buried secrets, spiced up with that little touch of Japan. I loved the dialogues and subtle unspoken hints for the audience to wonder about. Solid movie that deserves a 9.

Kunsten å tenke negativt: Absolutely brilliant dark comedy served exactly the way I like them. That northern European humor surely has a very specific appeal and a way to tell the story. Bizarre, funny, entertaining. A definite 10 and a note to myself to get it on DVD.

Liffe is ending today and I'm already looking forward to see the movies I skipped during the festival. Overall impression - quite good =)

Wanted @ Ihanstok

2008-11-21T13:55:00.008+01:00

Yes, I'm with the band again and today we are peforming on the Ihanstok festival (a kind of slovenian version of Woodstock, only ~~much~~ smaller and shorter).

So if you have nothing to do today and you're up for some pop, rock, progressive and dark rock, Ihanstok is definitely a place to go.

We will be the first to peform at 20:00, following by some other Slovenian bands: Iscream, NKKR, World:Within and Nikki Louder.

Check it out!

NON Band

2008-11-14T09:30:00.002+01:00

Every now and then Myspace turns out to be actually quite useful tool for discovering cool Slovenian bands.

I've never heard about NON before but after listening to music on their Myspace profile it was almost love at first sight.

It is kinda electronic mixture of Depeche mode and Interpol. Their dark synthetic melodies are quite catchy too. Darkish. Naughty. Sexy.

So who are they anyway? According to their webpage NON consists of four guys who already did their share of touring abroad:

Boštjan Brcar - synt
Damjan Ćosić - bass
Gregor Vrečar – drums, percussion
Matjaž Moraus Zdešar – vocal, guitar, programming

When I asked them if they could send me some of their stuff I expected a CD with few songs. Well, I got their debut album: Not everything is made in china which btw has a really good potential to become one of my all favorite albums.

You can check them out live this Saturday @ AKD Izbruh in Kranj.

Naughty Haiku #2

2008-11-13T09:43:00.004+01:00

Gloomiest weather.
Motivates to stay in bed.
Work remains undone.

The bag theory

2008-11-03T20:39:00.009+01:00

Being more or less a typical woman I own my share of bags. Yes, I know how hard it is to resist buying a new one when you know you don't really need it. But it looks so great! And even though it's very similar to one or two of your other bags, you don't have that exact model yet. Shallow? Yes. Irrational? Very much so. Satisfying? Absolutely!

But I've realized that eventually you get used to a specific type of bags. So even though this new one has more pockets and my stuff should therefore be more organized and easier to find, that is not always the case. In fact my stuff ends up even messier than usually.

The problem of the bags with many pocket is quite similar to the problem with big bags:

I don't always put things where I predict I would
in order to find something I need to open all of the goddamn pockets or even repeat that procedure a couple of times
I'm never sure whether I lost my phone or just displaced it in one of the overstuffed pockets
when I'm looking for my Ipod or a pencil, I would need a flashlight to find it (a phone would do, but to find it...)
whenever I want to take my notebook with me I have to use my other bag.

So what can I do? My rational sense tells me to become more organized and remember which pocket I use for what. But my gut tells me to get the hell to the store and buy a medium size bag with two pockets which has proved to be the most suitable for my needs. Oh well, you just gotta love the trivial dilemmas of the modern world =).

Invitation

2008-10-29T14:00:00.003+01:00

What: Concert SLADKA: "Jezikavi disko"

Sladka is a project of Katarina Višnar (former band member of Uluru and Brain'n' Bubizz) focused on disco rhythems, pop melodies, funky guitars and naughty lyrics.

Who:

Katarina - electric quitar, rhythem, vocal
Tina - vocal
Veronika - vocal
Zvonka - vocal & Kaoss Pad

When: 6^th November @ 22:00

Where: Klub Gromka, Metelkova

After: Djane Cherry (moi) & Djane Najky

Come & join us!

Positive vibrations

2008-10-24T11:01:00.007+02:00

Disclaimer: This is one of those post that are written in deliriously happy state of mind. I strongly advise you to reconsider reading it if you already had your daily dosage of sugar rush.

I have been neglecting a part of my online life but all for a very good reason. The creative itch has kicked in and I finally started stratching. It is weird and exciting at the same time how everything falls into place once you smash down the ugly head of "must do" activities and start to do all the fun stuff you always wanted but just ~~couldn't~~ wouldn't find time. Like writing a novel, and a damn good one too :). It's not even nearly finished yet but I'm having soooo much fun writing it I don't really care.

So excuse me while I'm going to take the rest of the day off to enjoy this beautiful friday. Offline.

Good news only

2008-09-30T20:28:00.009+02:00

Even though it is only Tuesday, I officially proclaim this week a week of good news! Share 'em if you got 'em. Here's mine:

We've successfully elected a new Government
That Fair trade shop finally got my favorite coffee ~~after 3 months~~.
The concert is happening - one of my top three most wanted.

Bloc party in Vienna? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm sooooo going!

Post election...

2008-09-24T20:22:00.009+02:00

System crash. Disk cleaning required...

image source

How to see a crappy movie in style

2008-09-23T09:35:00.002+02:00

Step one: let yourself be convinced to see exactly this movie, even though you wanted to see another one.
Step two: Go to the cinema and buy the ticket instead of downloading the bastard from the web.
Step three: Wait for something interesting to happen until the movie ends.

It is important to see a crappy movie every now and then, just to remember to go with your feeling the next time. Besides that - I think I had an Abba overdose.

In desperate need of good movie asap!

Say the dirty word politics!

2008-09-19T19:43:00.004+02:00

It's that time of the year when we get to decide how we want to spend the next four years. And I totally understand how some people are not interested in politics and can't be bothered with something as insignificant as electing the Government of the country they live in. The right to decide is overrated anyway.

I also understand how hard it is for some to have an opinion. After all there are more important things in life, like walking a pet, taking a trip or cleaning the apartment. Why would anyone want to think about this drift towards totalitarian regime when they can sit comfortably on their sofa, have a pint and enjoy a nice reality show or a cheesy movie. Ignorance is a bliss.

But there are people who do have an opinion and don't mind noticing the reality we live in. And this Sunday we are going to take that 10 minutes to spell it out. Enough is enough! Ironically left is the only right way to go now and my choice are the Social democrats. Something's got to change and I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit down and wait for the others to decide for me.

I've got the right to vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

I feel Sziget

2008-08-20T22:25:00.005+02:00

1. The Preparation
Erase from my mind:

healthy,
quiet,
clean.

2. The Companions:

3. Activities:

concerts,
beer & Palinka sessions,
Yoga,
a movie,
creative workshops,
logical games (sometimes breaking it really means that),
shopping,
gossiping,
reading,
napping,
photo taking.

4. Music Highlights :

5. Disappointment:

MGMT

6. Missing in action:

Burek,
Soup,
Some peoples' cleaning habits.

7. A Special Thnx to:

Apis & Doriana for saving a place for our tents.
Zewa for providing the luxury toilet conditions for my fancy ass.
Slovenian railways for the priceless experience of getting to know different kinds of trains, delays and for giving us a unique chance of exploring the Slovenian countryside.

For more info see below:

Venice

2008-08-11T11:08:00.000+02:00

Venice is one of those "must see" cities, like London, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna and Berlin. I finally got to go there and I must say it is lovely and quite romantic. Being there makes you wanna sit by the canal, sip your delicious latte macchiatto and listen to melodic Italian conversations which are far too fast to figure out what the hell are they talking about anyway.

I seemed to have arrived just in time for demonstration of public transport workers but luckily I still caught my bus to the airport :).

And now for something completely different.

B for back from Belfast

2008-08-08T16:26:00.005+02:00

Just came back from Northern Ireland and obviously brought back Irish weather with me. It's perfectly natural to get that post-holiday "I wanna go back" feeling but I really do. Ireland isn't beautiful - it's fucking amazing!

First of all, people are really nice and I mean nice, not just polite. I love that "darling" and "love" they add to each sentence although when I come to think of it that would probably sound rather strange in Slovenian. The accent is quite strong though and sometimes doesn't even sound like English at all.

First thing you notice in Ireland (besides the rain) are endless green pastures, lavender fields, woods, loots of sheep, cows and water. Not to mention that wonderful misty "Sherlock Holmes" feeling. Unfortunately my camera broke down on the second day so I didn't manage to make any decent photos apart from the ones in Venice.

Northern coast is simply wonderful. Dunluce Castle and Giant's Causeway are definitely the places to visit and Downhill is just the place from my dreams. I think I might move there someday. Contrary to my belief Ireland wasn't all that expensive and I did manage to do some serious shopping. I must admit I could never keep up with the Irish drinking habits. However it was lovely to be able to tryout different beers and have my share of Guinness.

Belfast is famous for many things but mostly for being the city where they built the Titanic. Yeah, well maybe that's not really something to be so happy about but apparently that company still exists and is quite successful too.

Besides sightseeing, shopping and partying I read more books than in the past year, saw few good movies and a play and went ice-skating. And yeah, about that one thing I've never done before - I think singing off-tune at the karaoke night was quite enough. The only real question is - why the hell did I get back ;)

Is you on holiday?

2008-07-28T22:57:00.008+02:00

I tried to remember the last time I had two weeks of vacation. I mean real vacation, not the ones when you work at nicer places. I couldn't remember, so it's either never or about the freaking time to have one already! I wanted to wait another week but my body said "no" to my workaholic schedule. So a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

For the next few weeks I'll be on my vacation mode. Which means:

no internet, no phone (OK, I might cheat on the internet part a bit),
no work related stuff whatsoever,
have a good time,
visit old friends (and maybe make some new ones),
do something I've never done before (suggestions welcome),
go to a few concerts,
take photos (Japanese tourists style),
relax a lot.

This year I'm not doing any sun bathing. Intentionally. I guess that shouldn't be too difficult considering where I'm going.

Have a hint:

Now excuse me while I get my tired ass to that beer-relax-enjoy land :)