You know, I have these phases, in which I explore a work of one artist. It can be addictive and annoying to people around me, because- let’s face it- not everybody likes to watch one actor’s full filmography, or listen certain albums and songs over and over again. Oh well.

I’m in my Jeff Bridges phase right now. I don’t know how it started, probably after his Oscar win, but the real reason that I’ve been sick and had to rest, and what’s better than watching the movies in your collection (or, in this case, my husband’s collection).

I really liked Bridges before, but I haven’t seen many of his films. Well, that’s something that needed to be changed.

Jeff Bridges was never really a huge movie star, despite being a good actor and getting a few Oscar nominations early in his career. Plus, it’s not that he was unpleasant to look at. In his 20s and especially 30s, he was reasonably attractive: at 6′ 2” and slim, he made many women swoon after him, despite the fact that, definitely, he was never what is called “conventionally handsome”. But there’s something incredibly sweet and charming and almost innocent about him, something in his eyes, maybe, and those are one of the rare things, things that make people look like good beings.

Later, he gained weight and embraced The Dude in him- and became even more awesome than he was before. And he kept sweetness and innocence in his eyes. Truly a rare gift.

Older, chubby Jeff was even more loved and appreciated among fans- and critics liked him too: even if reviews of a movie were bad, most of them praised his acting skills. We all know I am not crazy about the Oscars, but I am happy he won this year.

Unforgettable

Some of the memorable performances I like the most.

First, often forgotten “American Heart”. The movie is not for everybody, but I liked it, and Jeff was amazing, so the fact nobody knows about this movie makes me a bit angry. In case you want to know, this is where one of the most popular Jeff’s images comes from.

There is also “The Fisher King” and again, it’s not for everybody, and it’s made in a distinctive style, and I liked it and I loved Jeff’s performance. Some focus on Robin Williams, but to me, Jeff’s portrayal was the key. It was subtle (while not appearing as such), and complex. There’s a scene early in the movie, when he hears a terrible news on TV. The focus is on his face, and his eyes are terrified, and he speaks with us with just his eyes; and we can read all the fear and all the shock and all the emotions in them. Simply unforgettable.

And of course, there is Dude, legendary Dude- and don’t say you didn’t expect this. He virtually lived the Dude and I am sure this one doesn’t need an explanation. But as much as I love “The Big Lebowski” and Jeff as the Dude, there is one performance and one movie I like more.

“Starman” stole my heart, so to speak, with its innocence and unforgettable characters. The story of a gentle alien who clones himself into a young widow’s husband is not original, and the film itself has a B-movie touch. But this is a fairytale, a road movie fairytale, and it’s so touching, poignant and nostalgic that it makes you forget about all the imperfections in the film.

It’s about the characters, and Jeff and Karen Allen made such a strong and believable couple, one of the best I’ve seen. But more than anything, this movie owes its quality to Jeff’s acting. He is simply incredible here, no other words to describe it. His take on alien who is adjusting to his new body and new environment is so believable, it’s impossible to even imagine there’s anything but an alien in the body that resembles young Jeff Bridges. He really deserved his Oscar nomination and, while there are many other great roles, and more legendary ones (read: The Dude), this is definitely my favourite.

While watching this film, you can only admire his acting… And then forget about the acting and you connect to the characters strongly, and in the end the movie gives you hope and fills you with sweet nostalgia and even makes you remember some dear moments you thought you forgot a long time ago. Definitely my favourite Jeff’s film.

Random (but important) bits

Jeff Bridges’ official site is the most original official site I’ve seen, full of doodles, amazing photographs and random stuff. Truly unique.

The Dude’s “Yeah, well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man” gotta be one of the strongest inspirational quotes in movie history.

I never payed attention before, but now I see there are tons of Jeff fans in Serbia. Female fans, if you know what I mean. I knew he was loved as an actor, but I had no idea so many Serbian girls and women had a thing for him. Yes, even now, and he’s in his 60s.

He is Jeff and this website has a special love for all Jeffs that rule. Edit: I just found out his full name is Jeffrey Leon. I’m shocked and amazed!

Links

JeffBridges.com – Dude’s website.

Jeff and Karen Allen singing “All I Have To Do Is Dream” from “Starman”.
- Some people say it’s the most embarrassing music video ever made (and it’s not like I don’t see their point), but I think it’s sweet.

The Top 10 Jeff Bridges Performances – A very good list, even without some memorable performances. But generally I agree with the list (top places especially).

5 For the Day: Jeff Bridges – One of the most beautiful things ever written about Jeff Bridges.

In short: No, I did not abandon my site. You may all relax. All three of you, my regular visitors!

I just turned around and it’s April 16th already! So, what’s up, you may ask? Not much (as usual). I got sick and I was feeling crappy. My throat hurt and I sounded like a 60 year old guy on crack (not my usual high pitch voice- yes, in case you didn’t know, my voice is like that, well, not all the time, but I can reach some reeally high notes, especially when talking to hamsters or other animals. Yes, I talk to animals. And no, I don’t expect them to talk back, not in human language at least. Stream of consciousness paragraph ends… Now).

I am feeling better now, but I still need a few days to get into shape.

Now, about the news.

I got a new hamster. Yes, that’s right, I have a hamster again! I wanted to buy a male, because they tend to be tame and bite less than females, but I got a female instead! Her name is Polina (as you might guess, she was supposed to be Pol, read as Paul), and she is long haired Syrian. She doesn’t bite, but she is still a bit scared of me. Oh well. At least she lets me hold her a bit. I didn’t know females can be that visibly longaired!

Once again, I am sorry for not posting that long. I don’t like when I don’t update often. I do have some ideas for posts, mainly rants about crappy movies (when you’re ill you get to watch many of them), but I just didn’t have time (or energy) to update. Hope you understand!

PS- It’s nice to notice Jefflion is getting more hits, even if I don’t update. “More” means “around 15″, but I don’t complain!

Here’s what my stats have to say about searches:

Top Searches: eddie vedder, how to know if a guy is a virgin, mira buva, how to tell if a guy really lost his virginity, download mask paint shop pro.

So yeah, Eddie still rulez (apparently), even after he transformed himself into Dude Lebowski.

In no particular order, really…

1. Action movies (and romance movies for that matter).
2. Political correctness.
3. Chick lit.
4. Certain words.
5. Money.
6. Shopping.
7. Cultural elitism.
8. Politicians.
9. Liam Gallagher’s voice.
10. Writer’s block.

Your turn.

So…

I’m having some Internet problems. Being a junkie, it’s not fun.
^^^
Hey, this could actually be a nice short story, don’t you think?

I was planning a post on great male voices (I stole the idea from Mariana), but I had to refresh my connection so many times, and start that post from scratch, that I finally gave up.

$%@#$ !!!

The last week wasn’t fun- I was sick. I had problems with my sinuses, which gave me headaches. I was sneezing the whole day, I was sleepy all the time and generally felt like shit. I am feeling better now, but I am still sleepy and sick. Which means I’m in a crappy mood, of course.

Good movie time?

Somehow, I managed to watch not one, but two great movies (and one average) and to appreciate their greatness (despite the headache). Two of those actually made my top 10 lists of the decade. (Speaking of which: You do realize, don’t you, that 2010 is the last year of the decade, not the first of a new decade? But 2000 had so many great movies that I included them on the list).

What’s up with all this movie talk? The Oscar season, of course! As you know Bob, I am not into globalization, Hollywood “glamour” and a all that crap… But I watch it anyway. Not that I believe it means something, of course. (After “Shakeaspeare in Love”, at least).

Her husband looks like… (read below)

I had less luck with books. The local library doesn’t have anything meaningful that I haven’t read before. So I ended up with- gasp!- chick lit. Yes, I know, I know. In my defense, I caught a cold and I feel like crap, you know. But you’re right: those books didn’t help.

One was particularly ridiculous, written in first person POV. On page 35 or something, she wrote: “There was my husband. He really looked like Jude Law”. No kidding. I stopped reading. It was way too much. How come this crap gets published? On the other hand, I’ve seen worse. (Read: Twilight). So yeah.

Women often complain about not being treated as equals. And when I say “equals”, I do mean “fully human”- in all what it means to be, first and foremost, a human being.

In my opinion, it has a lot to do with buying- or refusing- gender roles. So we must look at those who are considered, in a way, to be “borderline cases”: the tomboys.

Tomboys are feminine. Yes, they are. Just because they don’t buy gender roles and double standards when it comes to behavior, attitude, clothes and hobbies of choice doesn’t mean they’re not fully female. Just because they don’t like wearing dresses (and don’t know anything about fashion) doesn’t mean they’re not feminine. And yes, sometimes it’s all what it takes to be considered a “tomboy” or “unfeminine”.

Also, sometimes, it looks like being considered a woman, a feminine woman, means not being human above all else. Yes, it’s the sad truth.

There are all those adorable little girls who hate playing with dolls and prefer their bicycles and tree climbing. There are also girly girls, proud of their pink dresses, dreaming about their mothers’ high heel shoes. (Yes, I know it’s a bad generalization but it’s made for the sake of simplicity). While the first group is rightfully labeled “tomboys”, it’s not an indicator of that’s going to happen to those girls once they grow up.

There’s a moment in every girl’s life, when she’s around 11 years of age, when she decides- subconsciously- whether she wants to play “the game” or not.

Those who decide to play it must stick to their decision for their whole lives. Yes, they will be considered “normal” and yes, they will get (male) attention and be recognized as true women. However, that comes with a price. The game you must play IS the price. Slowly, you begin to fake your manners and pay attention on things you never cared about before, and before you know, the price you’re paying is the fact society sees you as a female first, human second. In other words, your humanity is questioned. The problem is when you start doing this yourself, when you start seeing yourself more as a woman than as a human being. That’s bad.

On the other hand, there are girls who never learn how to play the game. The choice you made here is not conscious- you don’t know what you’re doing. You simply fail to change. Not in a way you don’t want to grow up- you do, and you become more mature, you are not a child anymore. However, you never properly learn the game (your gender role): you simply refuse or, more often, you don’t realize there’s a game to play, because you were comfortable about who you were, or you were asocial enough not to realize the consequences. Note that this could happen to all those sorts of girls: a 6 year old tomboy and girly girl both have a chance to go either way when they’re 11 or 12. You can never tell.

Why am I writing this? Because I am an adult tomboy, a woman who doesn’t know how to play the game? Because I hate Carrie Bradshaw type of behaviour? Well, yes and yes, but that’s not the point. I truly believe all human beings should be seen as human first- any other label, identification or identity comes second. It’s the only good way to go. And ironically, while tomboy (“non-feminine”) women suffer for not being seen as fully feminine, attractive or wanted, “girly girl” women often have to face a worse discrimination- they’re not seen as fully and equally human.