Fairytalesque

I love Metargatan and Blecktornsstigen and would love to live there. These are pics from an early morning walk I took last week.

Today is a Monday with Nightrider on in the back and a very sleepy Glenn off at work. I have a thousand and one little chores to attend to but for a little while longer I'm still in the state of coffee.

Yesterday was a lovely 1st of Advent. A clean house, the electric Advent candle holder on and the Christmas star in place, warm glögg on the stove and freshly baked saffron biscotti in abundance. I played Karol some favourite Flexis, we googled the nine circles of hell and late a very tired Glenn returned home from work.

I hope you'll have a good week!

An ellaglenndary day

Today it's been ten months with my liebling and it keeps getting better. Here we are, me taking photos and Glenn Tractor:ing tracks in the back. We are indeed true to ourselves.

Speaking of which, Friday the 4th of December the Flexi-Wave II is happening at El Mundo, Erstagatan 21. You're very welcome to rejoice with us to the tunes of melancholic angry stupid happy heartfelt synthetic tunes of the living room studio 80's. We're not talking Kylie, my dears.

Toutes les animaux de m'appartement

This is some of my apartment wildlife. Then I've not included pictures, cupboard china, earrings and containers - I drew the line.

The bookmark bird, pimped out with mobile phone playing cards.

The white reindeer, waiting for the company of a string shelf and origami diamond lights. One day, but not this day.

Grizzly lamp!

My china origami crane that I found in Tokyo.

Magnetic gifts from beloved Berlinians Anja and Til, from separate occasions. The crocodile is actually a toy.

I don't count the smoking baby as a beast, but would like to include my childhood miniature rabbit candle holder to the theme.

My great grandmother's bottle opener, on top of my childhood Disney cookbook.

A birthday flamingo from Louise and Steven.

My fly pin. Worn out from coming with me everywhere. A treasure.

A birthday gift for my sister, that she passed on to me.
She still doesn't like it.

My owl necklace. Terrible photo, beautiful necklace.

And the owl ring. Much too blingy for me. What was I thinking?

How many animals have you got at home?
I challenge you!

Snow Whites

The colours of these remind me of the colours of Snow White, the Spanish 60's women on kitsch paintings - they are quite Snow White sexy, aren't they? - and the big Flamenco needlepoint embroideries of that time. A faded autumn beauty.

I can't google up the Flamenco needlepoint pattern that my mother made years ago. And a nighttime one with wolves, snow and a horse sled. They hung outside my childhood bedroom (now they are in her new flat). I used to fantasize about the stories they tell when I was little.

Charles Roka - Gypsy Girl III
I love her smile, she looks so friendly and beautiful.

A bunch of various Snow Whites:

Mark Ryden - Snow White
Very Natalie Portman in Léon creepy:esque.

Annie Leibovits - Rachel Weisz as Snow White
Very classic Disney.
I prefer the Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella pic though.

Gorowek - Sexy Snow White

Tom Bagshaw - Snow White
The mannerisms of the girls in the Bagshaw and Gorowek pics are reminiscent of the mannerisms of the girls in Gypsy girl vintage paintings, I think.

And last - Disney.

I don't even like this film.

(The images link to their original locations.)

Dots

These pics are from the Långholmen walk I took a few weeks ago.
I was so delighted finding these buoys that I had a big Yayoi Kusama moment, feeling as though I had stumbled upon a great treasure of colourful dots.

Speaking of which, Glenn and I have come up with a name for our music project, both DJ:ing and making music: Colouroïd.
Do you like it?

We wouldn't be the first ones calling ourselves that, there is for example the Colouroid Colour System. The name reminds me of Polaroïd. For us it's the Influenced version of "corduroy".

Yesterday was such a great day. I didn't get much work done, rather the opposite, but I was so happy not being sad.
And the Lill-Sulan news is cheer lovely.

Today is more undefined, I haven't got grips of it yet. Outside it's raining and in here it's dark. I spent the morning in bed making diamonds.

PS. Found this piece of greatness at HANNANONIEN.
This is so inspiring. For the longest time I've been looking for a nice way to dress up my giant pilates ball that is my desk chair.

I like the effect it has on people, the first time they see it most say:
"I could never sit on that!" Then they have to try, especially when Influenced.

As much as I love my ball it's no beauty, and I'm contemplating clothes of different kinds. Preferably something that's easy to wash. Unfortunately I'm no whiz with needle and thread nor sticks and yarn, so this beautiful lamp might not be for me.

Or maybe it's just the thing that will make me want to try my hand at crocheting again. I'm dreaming of a big kitchen some time in the future, with my great grandmother's kitchen set - sofa, table (now it's my desk) and chairs. Wouldn't such a lamp be just the thing? I'd stray away from white though I think, I like my light tender and warm.

PS2. ah-yi posted this beautiful video on printing and book binding. Oh.

No more

...is Jessica's magnificent belly with us, - 'cos she had her baby!

This baby has traveled the world - Japan, Finland, Denmark, around Sweden and perhaps places I can't think of right now. Maybe that's why she didn't want to come say hi, she was already hitting it first class.

Grattis grattis Jessica, Kalle & Lill-Sulan, hugs and kisses to you all!

Lill-Sulan, I can't wait to see you, come and tell me about everything.

Sad

Today me and my family have been cleaning out my mother's cellar storage, going through my late father's stuff and all the things he never went through from his late father. I managed to escape sorting all his school papers. Today. I can't even bare to look at pictures of him so.

This evening I'm sad and tired. I find it hard to relax. I would love to bury myself in something, work, a book, anything, but I can't concentrate. Glenn is asleep, gently snoring in the background.
I guess I'll fold laundry and watch TV. I hate this mood.

My world

I'm thinking a lot about the future and inspiration. Not on an existential level, it's more about clearing your head and defining your ideas. I'm in a very good place, and always when it's like this the ideas come popping. Millions of them. Good, bad, unattainable, realistic, completely insane. There are a lot more ideas than time and energy and they are all lovely and promising, at first. What to choose.

My yesterday's vintage shopping, a walk through town with the Glenn followed by galettes, red wine and Mad Men. I'm a happy, happy girl.

Flexterday eve...

What an evening! What Flexi! What a crowd!
What a lovely Glenn!
Thanks to your DJ tutoring it could be done. Thank you dear.

I've been trying to upload some really poor photos of mine, but Blogger evens them out to mediocracy. This pic was a bright red, for instance, you couldn't see any of the table pattern. I took it to show off my girly shopping - Strongbow, Törley, nail polish to match my lipstick and a ribbon for my fiddeling. Somehow I get a kick out of this, stereotypical girly behaviour. I'm not sure what I mean by this. I don't feel like a girly girl? Or I like - or dislike - stereotypes? Or girly stereotypes in particular?

BMX and I agree that songs with topics beat songs about love. Like 08/15 - "1000 gelbe tennisbälle" or Ruth - "Polaroïd/roman/photo". Where are the songs about curling, minigolf or torball?
The latter would make a mean video.

My mini origami diamond necklace was a mini success. I got a spontaneous order, so now I best keep practicing my folding and attaching.

Thank you everybody for coming! You make me a happy girl.

PS. Here and here for the eager to know: Two pages about Flexipop.

Flexiliebling, let's go Flexi Tonight

Tonight is the night!

I know, it's a small bar and a Wednesday and a family affair as friends go but dear oh dear, what a difference to my last two days. I've been trying to burn a number of DVD:s for two days. ! Yes. Things like this don't make you feel very pro, do they.

At times I've been so sad, just wishing I could quit doing it or making someone else do it. But they were Very Important DVD:s for the Nordic tango documentary that had to leave the house as quickly as possible. And there is no one else. There is me.

So imagine my joy today - non stop music! Nothing but crappy great weird lovely synthy poppy tunes. I gotta make a play list and get my way around the Tractor equipment that Glenn has set up for me in the hallway - The Music Room.

I'm thinking Törley, cerise nails, dinner at Snottys and then --- joy and nonsense and friends and love. I also have an idea of making me an origami diamond necklace, if there's time for it. With such a thing around your neck you can be dressed in a cheap black tisha and be none the worse for it.

I thought I'd share with you my latest side project. It started innocently and unexpectedly - as it always does - with the folding of an origami diamond and then developed into this slightly larger thing of completely covering a string of lights into paper and diamonds.

I love folding the paper diamonds, because before you go 3D you must create the outlines of a star on your piece of paper. What a beautiful process. Here is the recipe.

I'm thinking something to go over my desk together with the String shelf Glenn's re-painting for me. I'm slightly succumbed by white right now. I don't think that's ever happened to me before. I think it goes back to something very childish and unintellectual - yes, my childhood's winters again. I would love to swap the city greyness outside my window for a clear blue sky and the sharp glitter of snow, like tiny shards of diamond hurting your eyes.

So I'm turning my flat into a winter forest.

I hope your Wednesday will be great!
Think of me tonight, if you can, please.

Flexiwave mit Ella und Glenn

Wednesday Glenn and I are throwing a Flexiwave mit Ella und Glenn evening at Snottys, Skånegatan 90. It will be grand I tell you.

Glenn is an experienced DJ and I'm in fear of The Technology and in love with the homemade, heartfelt, synth dark, fun loving sound of the flexi and its' brothers and sisters.

Check it out:

"An exclusive night full of flexi-pop, new-wave & minimal-wave. Brought to you by your loved dj-couple Glenn (Cynthia Stern) & Ella. This is our debut performance so be sure don't miss this event since it's going to be in the history books one day."

As Glenn has insightfully put it on the Facebook.

Will you come, pretty please?
Come let's mingle in the dusky corridor that is Snotty.

PS. A crystalline birth: did you know the origin of disco? The truth of icy blue diamond clad white disco suits, the darkness shattered by a synthetic aurora borealis and twinkly stars, the mist that engulfs you on the dance floor and the distant thunder of base like the thunder of great ice blocks separating, their bodies hidden by bottomless dark waters?

Check out disko.gl or even better, read a bout the Disko Troop at Disko Bay here.

I'm being silly, watching dear Floyd cook (drink beer) at Disko Bay at Greenland. The thought is nice though.
Disco, Mary Shelley:style, kinda.

Oh, and disco in Swedish is spelled disko. So there.

After Life interrupted

"Where is Shrimp? Our fluffy darling Shrimp disappeared Friday evening September 25th. He's only 4 months old. The fur... "

Sneaking off into the cold during a lengthy film rendering session can be a lovely thing and an hours walk at Långholmen do wonders. That's what I did last Friday, leaving the snugness of Filmcentrum Stockholm and going out for a camera and Ella tête-à-tête. My cameras never disappoint, and I'm trying to improve my mastership. One day. I need my slow pace.

I loved feeling this chill nestling its' way up my bones. It's a chill of my childhood when there was snow and ski trips and toboggans and a family that is now reduced to three out of five. Oh I can't take thinking about it, it makes me so sad. I try consoling myself by the aspect of time, human condition and so on, but it doesn't help. It only increases the feeling of sadness.

This weekend Glenn and I began watching After Life, a film I've never seen but only heard great things about. I was quite unprepared for the greyness, monotonicity and bureaucratic side of it, not to say that made it worse. What I had imagined I'm not sure, perhaps something white and glossy or my childhood's Christian heaven that keeps haunting me, complete with clouds, mist, St Peter, iron gates and a never ending dark space, ready to succumb and swallow.

However, we stopped in the middle and kinda drifted off. I was so deeply moved by these memories, especially the egglike little lady who was in a constant nine years old.

Memories isn't easy, especially the loss of them. When a person dies what do you actually lose? This is a question I've pondered at length, but that I'm not sure I'll get into here. I'm kinda saving myself for a future movie script. I think memories and the death of a memory would be a great topic for a film. Though hard to write, on both a personal and skills level.

My point is, I started as I assume everybody who watches this film does, pondering what memory I would choose for my after life, and I do think it would be one of the ski trips me and my family did on the fields behind our house. Märsta that I come from is a bundle of 60's ugliness (not the good 60's, but the mediocre mass produced 60's, I'm not even talking Bredäng charm or nothing) surrounded by farms and fields. The fields themselves are surrounded by ditches that you need to somehow - jump or climb - cross to continue and get into the woods.

Oh the open sky, the skiing overalls, the family that is long since gone. Our dog, an enormous strong New Foundland. The sound of snow, the cars disappearing in the distance. The sense of speed and recognition. The tree trunk where we'd stop for hot cocoa and cheese and prickig korv sandwiches. I can barely write this, it's too hard.

I just might have to watch this film to the very end. And one day write my script. I already began once, too soon after my father's death, and it turned into mush. "Private but not personal" or "art but not therapy" I believe in.