Can you save a penny by reading blogs? Može li se uštedjeti čitajući blogove? ( New paintings and one review / Nove slike i jedna recenzija)

Can you save a penny by reading blogs? I think one can save quite a few pennies by reading blogs...and I'm not talking about discounts or giveaways a blog reader might benefit from. I admit that the penny I'm talking about is more methaphorical. I'm actually referring to that that famous ‘a penny for your thoughts’ saying. For isn’t blogging (and hence blog reading) often all about reading what other people have on their mind? Do you want to know what is on my mind?  Hemingway and gender identity/roles, Jung and his poetic passage about love, Dracula and some newer works in the genre (one of them is this one).  Two documentaries on fashion that I saw and forgot to write about. What to cook for lunch today? What should I paint today? Naturally, I’m also thinking about what I should post today…on this as well as on my other blog.  Sometimes it is hard to decide how much to share. How many words should an ideal blog post have? How to know when an article is too long? How many words are enough? Is 1000 words too much? Is 100 words not enough? I might believe that I have an answer to these questions, but really sometimes I don’t because it may depend on the context. So, there you go. Those are some things that I have on my mind right now.

Možeš li uštedjeti čitajući blogove? Zapravo mislim da može, ali ne da mi se sada razmišljati o darivanjima i popustimo, zapravo onaj ušteđeni novčić na koji mislim je metaforičke prirode. Baš sam razmišljala o jednoj engleskoj izreci koja bi se dala prevesti kao "novčić za tvoje misli". Pa onda bloganjem možemo uštedjeti dosta novčića, jer ako razmislimo,  zar nije bloganje (i čitanje blogova) usmjereno upravo na to,  ne radi li se često o tome da čitamo što je drugima na pameti? Želite li znači o čemu ja razmišljam? Hemingway-u i rodnom identitetu i ulogama, Jungu i njegovim poetičnim riječima o ljubavi, Draculi i nekim novim djelima u ovom žarnu (jedno od njih je i ovo). Dva dokumentarca o modi koje sam gledala i o kojima sam zaborvila pisati. Što spremiti za ručak danas? Što naslikati? Naravno mislim i o onome što bi trebala danas objaviti...na ovom i na drugom blogu. Ponekad je teško odlučiti koliko toga podijeliti. Koliko bi riječi idealna objava trebala imati? Kako znati kada je članak predug? Koliko riječi je dovoljno? Je li tisuću previše? Je li sto premalo? Mogu vjerovati da imam odgovor na ova pitanja, ali doista ponekad nemam jer to može ovisi o kontekstu. Tako da to bi bilo to. To su neke stvari o kojima sada razmišljam. 

 

As far as this post goes, I made up my mind.  I will be sharing two of my new paintings. What I will be talking about is fashion- as well as some other things. First things first. A short review of one documentary. As some of you might know, I quite enjoyed watching documentaries (nature, travel and history documentaries have always fascinated me). Anyhow, there are two documentaries that I watched recently. First of them is Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue, by Richard Macer. My feelings are quite mixed about this one. I had to double check to make sure it was a BBC production because it, quite frankly, wasn’t up to their standards. As much as I was interested in the topic, at times this documentary was actually dull.  When I tried watching it for the first time, I actually gave up but later on I decided to give it another change. I’m glad I did, because some part of it were rather interesting. For example, I quite enjoyed the interviews with the staff of British Vogue (especially the interview with legendary Lucinda Chambers), but I think that was mostly because of the staff’s answers. The questions themselves could have been better prepared- I think that the documentary maker missed a good opportunity here.  British Vogue has had a long and interesting history and I feel like he should have focused more on it. Moreover, fashion industry is a billion-dollar industry in UK. I think the general public (and residents of UK) would benefit from learning something more about it. It is an important economical fact, if nothing else.

Što se tiče ove objave, odlučila sam da ću podijelit dvije nove slike, a ono o čemu ću govoriti će biti moda- kao i neke druge stvari, pa krenimo s kratkim ogledom jednoga dokumentarca. Kao što neki od vas znaju, ljubitelj sam dokumentaraca ( posebno onih o povijesti, putovanjima i prirodi). Uglavnom, u zadnje vrijeme sam pogledala dva dokumentarca o modi. Prvi od njih je Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue, djelo Richarda Macera. Moj dojam o ovome dokumentarcu je podijeljen. Morala sam dvaput provjeriti da se radi o produkciji BBC-a jer mi se jednostavno učinilo da nije na njihovoj razini. Koliko god da me tema zanimala, bilo je trenutaka kada mi je ovaj dokumentarac bio dosadan za gledati. Kada sam ga prvi put gledala, odustala sam ali kasnije sam mu odlučila dati još jednu šansu i nije mi žao jer su neki dijelovi bili jako zanimljivi. Na primjer, uživala sam u razgovorima s osobljem Britanskoga Vogua, (pogotovo intervju s legendarnom Lucindom Chambers) ali mislim da je to bilo najviše zbog samih odgovora osoblja, a što se tiče pitanja mogla su biti i bolje pripremljena.  Mislim da je tvorac dokumentarca ovdje propustio dobru priliku. Britanski Vogue ima dugu i zanimljivu povijest i mislim da se mogao više usmjeriti na to. Uz to, modna industrija donosi milijarde Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu. Mislim da bi javnost (pogotovo stanovnici Ujedinjenoga Kraljevstva) mogli imati neke koriste od toga da nauče nešto o tome. Čak i da nije ništa drugo, to je važna ekonomska činjenica. 

There was some controversy regarding this documentary and supposedly the editor-in-chief of British Vogue (that is Alexandra Shulman) wasn’t happy with it. I can’t say that I blame her. I had some issues with this documentary myself.  Unfortunately, the documentary- maker Richard Macer made some really bad editing and filming choices (IMO). He shot at weird ankles, you always had this feeling that he was trying to make it look like he was ‘unveiling’ some secrets. I suppose it was all too much ‘melodramatic’ for my taste, at one point it reminded me of reality television- and I’m not a fan of reality shows. The music used (the soundtrack) was depressive and repetitive. During the documentary, Macer often talked about himself, about how he feels at a certain moment. I don’t think this was a good choice and it didn’t seem very professional. The title of the documentary isn’t ‘How Macer felt during filming….’. I know that Macer is not familiar with the fashion industry and I understand that he probably felt out of place, but nobody wants to hear somebody complain...and he just keep going on and on about it (unless I'm mistaken he did get pay to film this so what is with all the complaining?). For example, at one point in the documentary Macer says that he wonders whether someone else would have been a better choice for making this one. Perphaps he is right! My personal view (after watching Absolutely Fashion) is that the staff of British Vogue was quite collaborative (they sure seemed that way), the problem is that Macer didn’t make the most out of the opportunity he was given.  Don’t get me wrong, the documentary wasn’t all bad. Some parts of it were quite good. I just don’t think that the documentary maker had its heart in it and it shows. ( here is a link to a BBC trailer if you want to have a look). So, tell me...Did you see Absolutely Fashion? Did you like it? If you didn't see it, would be interested in seeing it? Don't let my review stand in your way, the documentary  is watchable (and enjoyable to an extent), but it is far from perfect.

Bile su neke kontroverze u vezi ovoga dokumentarca i navodno se glavnoj urednici Britanskoga Vogua (to bi bila Alexandra Shulman) nije svidio, ali iskreno mislim da je ne možemo kriviti za to. I meni se puno toga u ovom dokumentarac nije svidjelo. Nažalost, Richard Macer je napravio dosta loših izbora što se tiče snimanja i montaže (po mome mišljenju). Snimao je pod čudnim kutovima, uvijek je tu bio taj osjećaj da pokušava razotkriti neku tajnu. Za mene je to sve iskreno bilo malo previše malo dramatično, čak me na trenutke podsjetilo na reality televiziju- a ja stvarno ne volim reality emisije. Glazba koja je upotrijebljena (soundtrack) je depresivna i ponavlja se. Tijekom dokumentarca Macer je često govorio o sebi, o tome kako se osjeća u određenom trenutku. Mislim da to nije bio dobar izbor i nije izgledalo profesionalno. Naslov dokumentarca nije kako se on osjećao tijekom snimanja i zna se što je bila tema i na što se trebalo usredotočiti...Meni je jasno da on nije upoznat s modnom industrijom i da se nije mogao osjećati kao riba u vodi u njoj, ali nitko ne želi slušati nekoga kako se žali i žali o nečemu (mislim da je bio plaćen za svoj rad, tako da...ne razumijem čemu sve to kukanje).  Na primjer, u jednom trenutku u dokumentarcu on se pita bi li netko drugi možda bio bolji izbor za snimanje ovoga dokumetarca. Možda je i u pravu! Moje osobno viđenje (nakon što sam ga pogledala Absolutely Fashion) je da je osoblje Vogua bilo voljno surađivati, tako se u svakom slučaju činiti, ali da Macer nije htio ili nije znao iskoristiti priliku koja mu je dana. Nemojte me krivo shvatiti, dokumentarac nije grozan. Neki dijelovi su popričićno dobri. Jednostavno mislim da tvorcu i nije bilo toliko do njega i to se vidi (evo poveznica na BBC pa pogledajte najavu ako želite). Što se vama čini? Jeste li gledali ovaj dokumetarac? Je li vam se svidio? Ako ga niste vidjeli, biste li ga željeli pogledati? Nemojte da vas moja recenzija odvrati. Dokumetarac je gledljiv (a donekle se može u njemu i uživati...) ali nikakonije savršen.

 

Do you by any chance remember my artcle Why is fashion often a dirty word? I still don't have an answer to that one. My work is not related to fashion and I don't plan to work in a fashion industry (any time soon), but I really don't understand why people have this need to make fashion seem superficial and bad. Truth be told, there is a dark side to the fashion industry, but then again there is a dark side to any industry. I don't see why people find it so hard to realize that creativity is also a part of fashion- and is in fact what draws many people towards fashion. Fashion doesn't have to be superficial. What is with this fear of fashion? Is it a fear of being judged? I think that many people react negativelly on mere mentioning of clothes. I don't see any sense in that kind of behaviour. I know I have said it a thousand time on my blog, but fashion can be a fun. In the end, it is never about clothes, it is about us. Clothes are just a means to an end. Bricks. We all need bricks if we want to build a house.  We need clothes to be comfortable. For some people, clothes serves other purpuses besides the main one (the protection against the elements)? How is this a bad thing?

Sjećate li se možda moga članka Zašto je često moda prljava riječ? Još nemam odgovor na to pitanje. Ne radim u modi i nemam namjeru raditi u modnoj industriji, ali zaista ne vidim zašto ljudi imaju tu potrebu da modu proglase nečim površnim i lošim. Istina, postoji i tamna strana modne industrije, ali postoji tamna strana svega. Ne znam zašto je ljudima teško shvatiti da osobe koje rade u modu često to čine jer žele raditi nešto kreativno. Moda ne mora biti nešto površno. Čemu taj neki strah od mode? Je li to strah od osuđivanja? Mislim da dosta ljudi na sam spomen odjeće reagira negativno. Mislim da nema smisla tako se ponašati. Znam da sam to na blogu ponovila sto puta, ali moda može biti i zabavna. Na kraju, ne radi se o odjeći. Radi se o nama. Odjeća je samo sredstvo.  Cigle. Trebamo cigle ako želimo sagraditi kuću. Odjeća nam treba da nam bude udobno. Za neke ljude, odjeća služi i drugim svrhama osim zaštite od elemenata. Zašto je to loša stvar?

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