How I feel about everything that’s coming up right now. I get really tired of wading. But good thing there’s moments like these, where my boyfriend will play me music while I show off my new feathered capelet. Better to be a half-wit bird than a gill-less fish, I say!
Monday was back to school for me, and I’ve somehow taken it upon myself to worry about not working hard enough, and therefore not working hard enough. I guess I’m not that used to it, really, and I never know where to start. I’ll give myself an ulcer at this rate. Won’t bother sharing the details of, you know, all that thesis and internship crap. Unless, of course, something really cool happens.
But at least it’s my last year there! AND I learned the fishtail braid! Lots to be happy about!
Scans of my favorite parts of Monki magazine. What a delightful little surprise to find it waiting in my mailbox! Like many others, when I signed up for the magazine a few months ago I thought I’d never actually see it in the flesh. But they’re really making it happen, four issues a year with some surprisingly lovely photos (the above editorial blew me away) and the usual Monki quirks (which are kind of cute for the sake of being cute, if that makes sense). Sure, I think I’m too old for this and some of the gimmicks are over-the-top and silly and almost sickeningly sweet, but hey! I’m kind of a sucker for it all, and I do honestly believe the people over at Monki are onto much more interesting things than they’re willing to let on right now!
My boyfriend just released this video he made for one of the many hidden gems on his label: the beautiful and wondrously impetuous Islaja’s (néée Merja Kokkonen) new single “Pymeyttä kohti”. Her fourth album, "Keraaminen Pää is full haunting melodies and calculated beats which are sometimes simple and sometimes shocking in nature. I guess it’s a must-hear, and I’m not very good at describing music unfortunately (and I am terribly tired, as always)! But do watch the video, which is absolutely stunning, and check out Islaja’s music here and here!
(Oh, and the photos were taken by me, and you can see rest of the [small] set on my flickr!)
My brother took my camera cable with him to Spain, so I haven’t been in the mood to take photos knowing I can’t upload them. Instead, while waiting for school to start again, I’ve made this mix that is supposed to encapsulate this WHOLE summer in 8 tracks! I must admit, I haven’t discovered much “new” music this year, let alone listen to any of it, so I cheated and put in some of my personal favorite summer hits. You’ll find crazy old Franco Battiato in both his electronic shire music phase as well as the weirdo hodge-podge mess he came up with in the 80’s, plus quite a few Krautrock faves (inspired by this book), and some of the more upbeat oldies that were on repeat on Radio Asia (which listened to a LOT while cooking and doing other shenanigans in the kitchen, a.k.a my Finnish office).
P.S. How does everyone do to keep up with fashion week? A few years ago I decided it was too much work to stay up to date with all the collections, which resulted in me abandoning interest in fashion week, which resulted in me feeling sad for being out of the loop and not understanding what’s gone on in the last 3 years. Maybe the fact that it felt like too much work means that I wasn’t that interested to begin with? Still…
Or at least my summer vacation is! I got back from Finland a couple of days ago and, well, let’s just say it’s been interesting: recent developments include my brother trying to leave to Spain, but realizing at the airport that he forgot his passport (twice!), as well as my unexpected reunion with a girl from my first and only summer camp, 15 years later and in the most random of countries.
But anyway, this summer was the best and one of the nicest things that happened was going to our friends’ Laura and Antti’s house out in the Finnish countryside. Their home is beautiful and warm, and they live sandwiched between the lake and the beach, with stretches of fields and forests in between. I got to hang out a lot with their cat Sirkku and their little boy Nuutti, and even though I was bit by a bunch of (moose?) flies, I was completely bowled over by the quiet charm of their daily lives, as well as by the amount of fruit and vegetables they grow! Also, Laura and Antti make fantastic music, you can check it out here and here, and if you’re lucky you might catch them on tour this year!
