Back with a Vengeance.

It's been a million years since i last wrote. I'd love to say the reason for this has been a decadent, extended vacation in the tropics, as plentiful in cocktails as it is lacking in computers. But no. Quite the opposite, to be honest. I've been AWOL because the amount of work i've been doing lately has been verging on the incredible. Having said that, it's all been awesome, but what with all these events, projects and plans, there's been precious little time for anything else. Like blogging. Or sleeping, for that matter.

So here's what's happened during all the blog silence. A running theme has been me, spending a lot of time on the floor (and no, it's not all because of drunken blundering). Yours truly attended a JV-course and got certified to work as security. Said course consisted of two weekends of early (mostly hungover) wake-ups and a lot of time being handcuffed, strangled, or pinned to the cold concrete floor of Nosturi by people who were all bigger than me (and seemed nowhere near as hungover).

Photo courtesy of Hopponen

The other reason a big chunk of the last months has been spent on me hitting the ground is Roller Derby. The difference is that for this i've been sober, and the people responsible for flooring me have all been girls on wheels. Which, to be honest, is a lot more fun. Thanks for all the bruises, battering and good times go out to all the lovely ladies (and dudes!) at Helsinki Roller Derby.

Photo of November's Freshmeat by Dagger

The most recent thing that floored me, however, occurred this past weekend, and has little to do with sobriety. I'm talking about Femmagaala. In the myriad of work projects i've been meddling in these past few months, this one manifested itself last Saturday in the form of a raucous party at Henry's Pub. Complete with lipstick on mirrors, artists not being able to get in at the door, and a mean gig from Pertti Kurikan nimipäivät, this was the most hazardous, backwards and kickassest awards party i've seen in a good while, as the footage below depicts. 

The party was awesome, the aftermath almost as much so: pneumonia and doctor's orders to stay in bed and dope up on some serious meds. Speaking of which; said meds are making me happily delirious and wildly dizzy. Hey, it might not be a vacation in the tropics, but passing out on the floor of the bathroom in a chemically-induced swoon is quite the trip in itself.

  

Christmas Shopping at TOKYO

It's that time of year again. People become hordes of cattle rammed through shopping centres, grannies sharpen their elbows to make up for their small size and delicate build, and you hear 'last christmas' thrice an hour, which is enough to send a mass of people (already at the very end of their tether) straight over the edge, into yuletide massacre mayhem. All in the name of Christmas shopping. Ho ho ho.

 

Luckily, it doesn't all have to be shopping centres (or grannies or carols, for that matter. not that i have anything against either). Which is why last Friday i trammed it through the frosty afternoon to Arabia and TOKYO's Christmas sale, in the hopes of finding presents for my nearest and dearest. 

These necklaces are made using a picture or photo, and you can get them with your own pictures, which is kinda nice. As would be giving one of these to your best friend with that pic of her passed out on the floor next to a puddle of vomit.<3

An advent calendar you can happily hang on your wall. None of that Disney-themed plastic crap with fake chocolate in it for me this year!

 

How can you not love these? A perfect gift for anyone. Especially your Grandma. And her sharp elbows. Nutty Tarts, i'm a big fan of your work. 

After all those christmas parties, going for the brown-paper-bag-over-your-head look might start seeming like a pretty bright idea.

 Lots of cool prints, too. I almost bought one daintily titled "Up Your Butt in 80 Ways".

 And pretty cards, too. Couldn't find the ones with the elf flipping the bird, tho. (a pic of which can be found from last year's post on this topic).

And then i saw this. The tentacled bunny had me enraptured from the get-go. It's like The Mad Hatter and Cthulhu made babies. Tea-drinking, totally looney, world-destroying demi-god, semi-lapine babies. Set me back 35 euros, which is not bad at all. And it goes nicely with the print i bought last year, of two girls having a macabre tea party wearing masks, seen behind the rabbit in the above pic. Similarly to last year, i sort of ended up buying lovely things for myself, and failing at getting presents for others. I guess i can always resort to baking, wrapping and lovingly giving out gingerbread vaginas.

Which is what i might do right now, accompanied by the four hour xmas playlist (!!!) i put together on Spotify last night at two in the morning, and an industrial-size mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Have a rockin' weekend y'all!

i heart in November.

Oh my, it's been a while, hasn't it. I'm gonna go ahead and say that a month worth of blog silence has much to do with the fact that i find myself currently juggling four different job projects (and nothing to do with the fact that my leisure time occasionally renders me incapable of typing and forces me to put aside days solely for recovery purposes). It keeps a girl busy, i tells ya. In any case, here we are, with the most lovable things of November.

1. TOKYO Christmas Sale. Takes place next weekend. Wondrous things, creative talent, a small way of supporting your local artists. I've been delighted with my findings in the past, which have included some neat Ex Libris stickers (with pics of bird fetuses), cupcake magnets and undies with pubes printed on ("Look what Santa got you this year!").
2. My birthday, fast-approaching. Okay, it's in December, but the anticipation is at least 54.3% of the fun. Even more so because it's (once again) an excuse to beard up (wonder if that's ever gonna catch on, like 'suit up' did? Probably not.) Be that as it may, the theme is facial hair. Oh yes. I'm looking forward to seeing the stuff of legend; the obscure, elusive but ever-so-enchanting eyelash-beard. On at least three guests.
3. The Sleep Cycle app for the iPhone. The app measures your sleep patterns, tells you when you hit a deep sleep phase and lets you know how much shuteye you're averaging per night. Yeah, i didn't think this was gonna be interesting data either, but it's actually pretty cool comparing a sober, good night's sleep to the fitful, haggard tossing and turning of drunken slumber. 
4. Jeavestone. Saw this band at Semifinal last Thursday. Prog rock featuring a melodica, flute and some serious stage presence, among other things (like cool stage names and seriously sweet merchandise).They had a Thursday night crowd hot, sweaty and sporting a semi. 
5. Megazone. It's been close to a decade since i've last fired laser beams at people in dark rooms full of smoke and ultraviolet lighting. Which would explain why i've forgotten how awesome it is. Why discuss things with your work colleagues when you can stalk them in a dark alley and hide in the shadows, cackling, after shooting them in the back three times in a row? Rather satisfying.
6. Delay Trees at Bar Loose on November 24th with Black Twig. Make my November Wednesday, why don't you?
7. Roller Derby. I think this is something you hear from all roller girls, but i just dig the shit out of Derby. Seriously. Watch out Old Meat, the Fresh Meat are almost done with their training period, and they're coming out to play with the big girls. Oh yes.
8. Poetry. Yeah, saying you write poems is still kinda like saying you cry every time you have a wank, while simultaneously slitting your wrists. Whatever. I wrote a poem this week. It was about the irony of writing poetry. How postmodern and clever of me.
9. Arttu Harkki's cake. I was watching Neljän tähden illallinen (As i do. P.s. How good is this show?), and the chocolate cake he made looked delicious. Haven't tried it out yet myself, but the recipe is super simple. Think i might give it a whirl in the near future.
10. The Ugly Lamp. I spotted this curious porcelain seal at Urban Outfitters when i was in New York. It was half price (it's a blue porcelain seal, who the hell is gonna buy one of those?), and without stopping to think about transport (how the hell am i gonna fit that into my suitcase?) or electrical currents (this won't plug into my socket at all!), for twenty bucks, i made it mine. The Ugly Lamp came through victorious through both the transport and electrical conundrums, and now sits on my desk, where i admire it daily. And others shake their heads disapprovingly. 

Musiikki & Media: American Kitsch

Music and media professionals from Finland and abroad have once again made the annual pilgrimage to the hippest, most happening music city (err...) in this neck of the woods, otherwise known as Tampere. An extended weekend of seminars, talks, networking, gigs and generally approved intoxication in the form of Musiikki & Media 2010 kicked off last night.

As M&M first-timers, we rock up to Tampere in good time, decide to get the lay of the land and grab some lunch. I persuade Aleksi into checking out Classic American Diner, a place i've wanted to visit for ages. Now, i'll admit right here that i have a serious thing for all things kitsch and Americana. Which is why i can happily overlook the superficial, plastic pseudo-nostalgia of this 'roadside diner' situated in the middle of a shopping center in Tampere, and love it despite all its goriness. And the spicy veggie burger, fries and mint chocolate milkshake i had weren't too bad either.

 

 

the mint-chocolate milkshake

Later last night, we decide to delve deeper into the depths of this Americana experience, and go check out some rockabilly at Klubi. Turns out it was an awesome idea, cause they have a three band lineup of rockabilly ranging from the toe-tapping, bass-slapping gusto of Relentless to the sombre, cinematic melancholy of Last Calls, topped off with Fatboy from Sweden. Contrary to the diner experience, there was nothing pseudo or plastic about the music. 

Relentless

Last Calls

Last Calls

We wander home in the early hours, in good spirits, and decide that Tampere is, indeed, a great city.

Having by now almost recovered physically from the after-effects of yesterday's Americana trip, i can only guess what's gonna happen tonight. If we're feeling adventurous, we might ditch Uusi Fantasia, Jätkäjätkät, The Capital Beat, Iiris, Neufvoin and a whole host of other bands for another nostalgia trip, this time to the teenage era, and go check out revamped pre-teen idols Jimi Constantine (formerly Pääkallo, of Technicolor fame) and Jonna Geagea (formerly Kosonen, of Nylon Beat stardom) instead. Trippy indeed.