Countdown...

no, not to Christmas :) Despite the fact that it's my favourite festival and every year I'm glad when it finally comes, for me it's too early to think about right now; I mean, how is it possible to feel this very special atmosphere of Christimas in the third week of November?
No, what I'm really looking forward to at the moment, is something much more mundane- the premieres of some movies which have caught my attention.
The first to come is "Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"-(sadly) the last part of Bilbo Baggins adventures, which I'm going to see during this extremely long Christmas break. I'm so excited! And I promise to share my impressions on the film; after watching the trailer, I'm almost sure they'll be positive.
Another must-see for me is "The Imitation Game", stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightely. This movie presents a story of Alan Turing, a British mathematician who helped to break the Enigma code during the Second World War.
And of course, new, special Christmas episode of "Sherlock"- 90 minutes with the genius in a funny hat, his loyal friend John Watson and their enthralling adventures- which is premiered in 2 months
Did I mention patience is definitely not one of my strengths? I think I should probably study more to occupy my mind with something, because this waiting is killing me :)

Music vs. studying

When I was younger, in primary shool and later in junior high, I  just couldn't stand music playing in the background while I was preparing for a test or writing an essay; all I needed was absolute silence. However, later my attitude has changed; in fact, I'm not able to focus on what I'm reading or writing when all I hear is the sound of my clock (signum temporis, I would say :) We're used to sounds literally attacking us everyhere so the silence makes us feel strange and uneasy). 

The question is, what kind of music is the best to listen to while studying? I can only answer on my own behalf; for me, it's relaxing music, which I 'discovered' last year. 

'Relaxing music' is a vast genre, which contains instrumental music, nature sounds, traditional music (e.g.Chinese, Indian, Irish), etc. It's great, because every time I can choose something new, depending on my mood. It helps me to focus on the task or the book I read, because there are no lyrics, just pure, harmonic sounds. This kind of music also help me to calm down and relax after 4 days spent at university. 

I strongly recommend it to everyone. Of course, I like different music genres too, I would be bored to death or fall asleep otherwise, because honestly, relaxing music is not very lively, just the opposite. When it comes to studying, though, I belive there is nothing better:) 

Hello again :)

Maybe it'a a cliché but time really passes so fast. After wonderful 3 months it's time to start my second year at the university and despite all of the exams I'm going to take in a few months and a heap of books at my desk after just 2 days I must admit that I am excited.

 It will be a very challenging year for me because in January I'm going to France as an Erasmus student. I wonder what it will be like to study abroad.  For sure, I'll have an exceptional opportunity to improve my language skills (or, speaking straight from the shoulder, I'll be forced to communicate in French to survive) which is the main reason I can't wait to go. But for now, I should focus on my exams here, in Poland, which I have to take earlier(because of my depart). Wish me luck :)

TV- entertaining or not?

Today, I want to share with you some reflections on TV and its entertaining role.

As a child, I used to spend several hours in front of a screen, which was nothing exceptional that time, I think. There were so many cartoons and tales worth watching then! My favourite ones were those produced  in the Czech Republic, simple, with basic graphics, which stimulated my imagination. Nowadays,although the variety of tales for children on TV is even greater, they're so detailed and colourful that the youngest are just passive viewers; well, I don't want to say these programmes are void of educational values, but I've got an impression they're not as stimulating&thought-provoking as in the past.

The quality of TV programmes is getting lower and lower in general. At home, I have quite a lot of channels, but there's nothing interesting to watch, really. Maybe I'm a demanding viewer, but come on, who wants to watch some stupid TV series repeating again and again or films which might not be so stupid, but you can't stand even thinking about them as they have been on so many times before... Honestly, I rarely watch TV (I don't have a TV set in Poznań) and when I need some entertainment on Friday evening, I can choose : never-ending commercials/serials for idiots/some weird films I do not want to watch. What do we pay for?!

To sum up: Thanks God I have acces to the Internet.

Looking forward to holidays(or not)

I've been so busy recently, because, as every student know, the exam session is getting closer and closer. I don't know whose idea it was to make poor young people to cram in May and June, when the weather outside enourages us to do just the opposite, but, to be honest, I can't come up with any better solution, so just ignore my complaining :) I just want to add that I  WANT to study, inasmuch as we have quite a lot to learn, including literature and history of France; I really do. Just give me some more time, please... I'm fed up with all homeworks, tests, ect. It may seem that it doesn't take a lot of time to prepare for the courses, but surprisingly I always have something to do. At the moment I'm a frustrated, tired, desponded person; when my dad told me yesterday that in a month there are holidays, I said I wasn't able to think about such distant future. I hope you're more optimistic than me ;)

Elementary, my dear Watson

Today, as you may guess from the title, I'm going to write about someone who has been for years among my favourite book (and film) characters- Sherlock Holmes, created by sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the nineteenth century. He is a genius detective who lives at 221B, Baker Street in London with his friend, dr John Watson.

If I wanted to write even a short description of each story and film adaptation that was inspired by their adventures, I would have to spend hours in front of the computer, so I've decided to confine to the last TV series "Sherlock" which, as my family and friends know very well, I just adore(I've seen all the 9 episodes several times which makes me feel it's nearly an obsession).

It's totally different from every film about Sherlock Holmes produced previously, because it's set in modern London- with skyscrapers, mobile phones, computers, etc. Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a 'consulting detective' (he cooperates with the police) and a 'high-functionning sociopath' as he describes himself. In the first episode, John Watson(Martin Freeman), who has just come back from Afghanistan, becomes his flatmate and this is when an adventure begins. Their characters and dispositions are completely different which is a source of many hilarious situations (for example, when dr Watson opens a fridge to find a human head inside and he express his surprise, Sherlock asks him for tea). 

I do like the way the themes from the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle are used here. For example, the title of each episode is a slightly changed  title of the original case(for instance, instead of "The empty house" there's "The empty hearse"). What may be surprising is that, although in general one episode presents one crime, there are the elements of many others which are mentioned or shortly presented from time to time. It's hard to explain it, you must watch to understand what I mean. 

What else can I add... Action-packed, with great music which suits perfectly to each scene and humorous, it's really worth watching. Of course, I could write much more about this interesting and well-made BBC series, but it's not intention to describe episode after episode, scene after scene. I just want to encourage you all to watch it- even if you feel that detective stories are not your cup of tea, I believe you will like it, as much as I do :)

A special day

Today is the day of canonization of 2 great popes- John Paul II and John XXIII- a celebration not only for the Christan Church, but also for confessors of other religions who feel their lives were influenced by these 2 exceptional people. I've just watched the transmission of the solemn Mass from Vatican and I'm really moved. I can't express how proud and happy I am because our compatriot is offically Saint John Paul II. For the Poles He was (and still is) a role model, an example of a person who is truly close to God, who gives hope, who was taking care of a family and young people and who shows that everyone can be saint.
I don't forget about Pope John XXIII who organised the Second Vatical Council and started the dialogue with other religions, showing the respect for them, but for me, as a Pole, Saint John Paul II will be always closer.  I must confess that every time I think about his life, I want my faith to be as strong and unshakable as his and to be a good person.
I'm so grateful to God for these two great people who changed for sure the Catolic Church and lives of millions of people all over the world, who gave us the example of humility and piety.