Visited Veca and Sneca with my parents on 9th. Their father has developed a cataract (sp?) on his right eye and it seems to be a big problem. I thought the surgery was routine for that. Wasn't a bad evening all in all. We decided to write a letter to those two danish/polish brothers, collectively. I took that home and then on 11th Tejka came and wanted to add a few bits to the letter, mostly because she's getting enamored with the Jasper or whatever the younger one was, retroactively. We poked fun at each other in this addendum, specially with her english (she wrote that I'm "making sheet", which was supposed to mean "bullshitting").
In the afternoon went with Lazar into a nearby village, with that guy from police, to run an educational movie about traffic. The guy had a brief lecture. I remember having to climb somewhere up the rafters to find some switch or outlet... whatever, as the technique goes. We had the 16mm sound projector from the police HQ.
Peasants were causing lots of traffic accidents these years, because they are traditionally used to pedestrian speeds - horsecart was the standard even when the current generation was growing up. Now they have tractors, but there are also new, faster, roads on which the nominal speed is limited to 80 kmh, with occasional speeder doing a 120 at times. And they had only kerosene lanterns at best, and the catadiopters, when they had them, would often be covered with mud or hay. And on bicycles, they would just suddenly turn left or appear from a sideroad, having no care in the world. So the traffic secretariat was doing what it could to educate them, to save their own lives and those of others. In elementary, we had a full course of traffic education, even with model crossroadses (yes!) painted (in perhaps 3:1 ratio) on the parking at the little market near ruža), some kids dressed as traffic cops. By age of 13 we knew all the traffic signs.
There was a weird accident at school this week. I was supposed to come to biology cabinet to take something to the class, probably some educational prop, a model or a bigger chart, so when the bell rang I went there, but it was locked. Okay, I assumed she may have a class somewhere, but if she didn't forget, I can wait and she'll come up. After a couple of minutes, the door opens, and she gives me the thing. I see Marko Bozon in the background, sitting on the teacher's desk. Wow. We knew there were rumours... and the biology professor wasn't much of a girl, she was in her deep forties (so was he, or so they both looked) and was also above 80kg, which gave her an, ahem, rather wide stature. As they'd say nowadays, big tits don't count if you're fat... [Twenty-some years later I sat in the same staff room with his wife, who taught geography in MPSŠC, sometimes next to her during meetings, and I found a new understanding for the guy, all is forgiven.].
DC-99 is all in preparations for the training course that we'll organize in a couple of weeks. Same stuff as I went through twice in Novi, with the same guys, just that we're hosting it this time. The trouble is the lab, of course, there's never enough lab capacity when you do something like that.
Today my folks were in Belgrade, and I had to go to school, so in the afternoon I was alone. Slept a lot until Dragana came. Slavka was supposed to come too, but she fucked up ("shat up the thing"). Just sat and chatted and she complained how she has no male friends, just boyfriend candidates. Told her she's safe from my side, I'd never be one for with her one never knows when is she just kidding and when is it for real. She brought a wig just to try it out - looks great. No photos or I lost the negative, who'll know.
On 15th we worked a lot in DC-99 - planed one floorboard which stuck out (soaked water from soil, probably), pasted the photos (from photo material ads etc) on the wall paneling (up to 1m it was lesonit, which is a 5mm thick mix of wood particles, glue and whatnot - solid enough if it doesn't have to suffer friction, then the ends get frizzed, our back shed had a quasi wall made of that; one side is smooth). We cleaned up, painted the few bits of furniture that needed it (the ending slat above the paneling, the shop window framing, the lab bench), took out the garbage. Made some shots for documentation (don't have them).
There's a story which I didn't write down at the time, but this entry mentions "wallpainters' leftovers". While preparing for the big makeover for the club's space, we had some plans to make it look like we felt - so, the walls should be in some bright orange shade, the doorframes dark red, etc... pretty much like any of us wanted his own room to look. Then all of a sudden Furcula becomes a member, straight from nowhere. I've seen him around the school, he was an ugly hunk of a guy, with an oversize skull and a serious underbite. He didn't smoke, but could put a cigarette in his lips and lift it to touch his nose, no hands, no practice. And somehow, after being only twice on a club meeting, he goes to Narodna Tehnika and gets the approval (and money) to hire some room painters - and we come to the club freshly painted in some dull greenish shade, just two notches away from what the army would use. And then he's there for just one more meeting and never reappears (well, for about 40 years, that is).
The plausible story behind this is that while we were the culture hopefuls in the city, something that could become a fulcrum of some future development and, hey, at least the kids aren't on the street getting drunk, we were also under suspicion of being unduly avantgarde (and had the guts to call ourselves such a ridiculous name). And this guy was probably already then canvassed to be udbaš, and perhaps we were his first task, who knows. (well he does, but he's still on my very short list of guys with whom I don't talk)
Of course we were pissed off, extremely, but got the hint to not make too many waves. Today, also, I had one of the two semi-external guys show a movie called "Rape of the flag" aka "Fetish", and an unfinished one where a photographer tries to make his model put up a serious face, so he shows him a picture of Che Guevara, to which he laughs even more; shows him other stuff... yes, a book from Marx, more laughter. Tries more stuff, then shows him the Constitution. The guy faints (played by this guy himself, in a tailcoat). The photographer (DC, in shorts, yes Dragana's shortest fling) just picks up his gear and leaves. Then we went to the political school (a set of 2-3 classrooms on the 2nd floor in an old building in the middle of the main street, where party courses were held, but any organization with sufficient standing could get it for various lectures, meetings etc, so we're getting it for this movie course), then to the club. I then went on to develop the shots from yesterday, and he left to catch a bus.
This was also the day when my first jeans were finally washed, for the first time. I somehow got a superstition that washing would hurt them, and who knows when will I get the next pair, so I delayed this as long as I could. Still, six months is a lot.
On 15th I visited the choir rehearsal, with camera and Skule, this time as a lights guy, because the color tape is just about 15DIN, very low sensitivity, so yes, a 500W flood was needed. Slavko did his part - I needed perhaps 15 seconds, which will be chopped into 2-3 parts of 4 seconds max. And, ah, yes, I did have Skule peeking through the door at the rehearsal scene. Slavko kept calling me "režiser" (movie or other dramatic art director) ever since.
On 16th we went to theatre again, with school, "Ta ko bi se jedio na muške" (well who'd be angry with the males - but in XIX century dialect of Banat), composed of a few shorts by Kosta Trifković. Now such an old text combined with a highly experimental technique made for an excellent show, we laughed our asses off. First and foremost, this is theatre in theatre - a wireframe set of slats marked the virtual wall in the middle of the scene; the rest of the space contained all the things that usually happen behind the curtains - guy waving a big sheet when someone opens a window, to make wind; someone snapping a slat on a sheet of metal when a gun was fired (missing sync badly); actresses dressing and undressing. The second big part of it was that the actors were behaving as if on the first reading rehearsal (despite being in full costume), so they'd read everything flatly, including the didaskalia, so it was "here was what he says in the letter opens the letter and reads it my dear father unfortunately I have to tell you". The phrase "come back, you went through a wall" has become a catchphrase for a few months, used whenever someone said something wrong or made a wrong move.
I arrived to the theatre with Dragana (and there's a curious remark about "that apartment in Lesnina is taken by/from some french ambassador" - which does mean they just moved in there, from ruža - I somehow thought it was the previous year... but I honestly can't remember what could french ambassador have to do with it), but was arrested by D.M. and Višnja on arrival, because they needed a walking wardrober.
On 18th Slavka and Oli Boj were fighting, and at some point the first was supine on a desk, the other over her, also supine, and says "we'll need one more person here to increase the weight", and spreads her legs just the right way... Baki was in position but he blushed and moved aside, while Jolpaz got in a position for long jump.
On 19th the DC-99 appeared in force on the annual conference of Narodna Tehnika, with four cameras (three in use, one spare), the Bolex camera plus a couple of photo cameras, flash, floodlights. We worked a bit too fast, so who knows how it will turn out (did OK, in the end, though the negatives were thin). In the afternoon Lazar came for the keys, he needed the projector to show "Vuk sa Prokletija" movie at school (so that would be the big 16mm projector, probably the one from the police, as club didn't have one).
The shitty dry winter... we have a košava combined with lots of dust in the air. So on 21st I dropped by Veca and Sneca just to check whether they'd go, and then went on to Dom on my own. Met mostly the guys from ruža - Eči, Gradivoj, Patak and a few others. They were mostly drunk, so I walked away. Met three nice girls, all smallish but well rounded, and one greeted me by name. Wow! Wish I remembered who they were. Well, danced with that one and she said we were acquainted two weeks ago, though most of her gang were drunk at the time. Didn't hear much, just enjoyed the touch of the... well, firm tits pressed below my ribs, and everything. Too bad her butt was out of reach, too far low... smallish, really, up to my chin. The other two obviously didn't like me so they dragged her away to the other dance hall, which doesn't have much of an atmosphere (if you don't count the smoke), which I don't really like. (That's what they call the duvet hall, because once upon a time there was a duvet maker who had a workshop in the space where the stage is; the floor is slightly slanted so it's more a theatrical hall, and they do bring rows of seats when needed; it only looked awful when lights are on.) Then I managed to stay with some Belgrader girl who was really great, and seemed to be willing, but had some guy with her (brother, perhaps) who was the epitome of the Belgrader disdain for all things below their level, which includes folks from other cities, and he wouldn't leave for longer than ten seconds. So I eventually got out of the mood and went home.
On 20th stayed at DC-99 until 15:30, there was a lot of work to be done, and by the time I got home, I got intercepted by dad and Tejka in the car, him mad as a bobcat. I know, the old sin, I overstayed the time I said I'd be back. Happens annually. Just shut up and wait for it to pass. It helped that Tejka just kept blabbering, she made up with Pišta for purely atmospheric reasons, and he just needed to remember the curves and when he said that she knew what'll happen and so it did. Frankly, I listened on half ear.
On 22nd bought the "All things must pass" double album by George Harrison. Not too bad, only a year after the UK release, and I was so pissed off that it was not a triple album (changed my mind in 1999 when I had it... it's junk, leftovers). The inner sides of the sleeve were... mnyah, just orange and green with the titles etc, no design at all. But the sound should be great, once the radio is fixed, it completely lacked bass this time.
On the way to school I carefully adjusted my step to avoid walking with Milica and Savka, and then additionally to avoid the two Smetovački cousins of Zova, even though they are considered to be good looking and interesting otherwise - for some reason I didn't like them. Then someone called me by name. Thought it could be Biljana but that's not her voice. Turned around, saw nothing but then there goes D.M. from across the street, running, catching her breath. We didn't stop chatting until we reached school. She's got a new tape recorder - perhaps I'll just bring the Harrison so she can copy it, eh?
On chemistry, almost the whole class used a kvisko, which was this professors one-time free pass. Everyone had one, and then could use it on the day he'd feel indisposed or just not ready for questioning. [The name came from the mascot of kviskoteka (and now I'm amazed that it existed so early on - it was very popular in the eighties), where each contestant had one, and it could be used at will to double the points earned in any part of the quiz.] I didn't use mine, and I guessed right - seeing as most of the class was "indisposed", specially all of those whom he wanted to question, he just moved to the next lesson. So they used theirs for nothing.
The big seminar of DC-99 was held around 26th and 27th, and it was mostly in afternoons and evenings (two days) so I didn't go with the gang to Belgrade to watch "Porgy and Bess" with Mi Čang (Miroslav Čangalović, probably the most famous opera singer at the time, at least he was often on TV). There was some guy from television who bragged with his camera, 1:6 zoom, in-prism measuring, well aided focusing, and a sound projector (super 8)... well many things there that I saw for the first time. Mouth watering. Among the lecturers there was an old new guy, i.e. he looked a bit older, but we saw him for the first time. Talked about editing, with an often repeated gesture where he'd clip the imaginary tape with two pairs of fingers acting as scissors, then move that bit of tape to the side, then manipulate the other pieces of tape likewise - a very plastic picture of what actually goes on in editing. Memorable.
30-XII-2020 - 16-VI-2024