Tools

I have now been given the tools: a copy of 'Norstedts engelska ordbok' and a viewing of 'Karl-Bertil Jonssons julafton'. The information provided within these two elements could, by all means, alter my life my as I know it. If you've read these first two sentences and are wondering what the hell I'm talking about, let me explain.

Ordbok. It's a dictionary, one language to another. This one happens to be Swedish to English and vice versa. It's thick and full of exactly everything I want to learn. And I've given it Bible status. Now, if someone would happen to ask, "Do you even own a Bible?" I can answer with an enthusiastic "Yes!"

'Karl Bertil Jonssons julafton' translates to Karl-Bertil Jonsson's Christmas Eve. Made in 1974, it's a classic Swedish animated short. I saw it on, obviously, Christmas Eve and it filled my soul with amazingly warm feelings in a way that a "kids" cartoon hasn't done in far too many years. The plot is a Robin Hood-esque steal from the rich and give to the poor scheme; at least that's what I got out of it. I know I was missing a lot of the content because of the language barrier and I'm not sure if it was Nilla whispering the translation into my ear or the hearty laugh coming from her father during it all but I just seemed to "get it" at that moment. The words didn't all make sense. I drank too much earlier that afternoon. We were three people in the smallest room of the house.

Inside and Out

Make it happen

If you're at work I suggest you fake sick. Shut it down and go home. The rest of this "work" week is shot if you happen to ask me. I put in two days at the lab: pollen counting and some data entry. Btw, temp jobs that require unsupervised data entry and offer an internet connection: tops. But as I was saying, you deserve some time off and away if you aren't already. Take it easy; take a look back.

For me this was a year of fixing. I looked at my life, where it's been and decided where I wanted it to go. I said a thousand goodbyes, some permanent but most just for the time being. I continued to fall in love, deeper than ever before. Most importantly I said I was going to make changes and I made them. I decided to separate myself from those who talked but never acted. I said goodbye to some of the sources of life's unnecessary drama.

I'm headed south, back to Motala. This will be my first Swedish Christmas and first away from home. New traditions await. Yes, I miss my family and friends. What a silly question.


God Jul, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

Busybee

Sometimes good things fall into your lap. And in my lap was an offer to work a temp job! Gift-giving, traveling, paying one's rent, eating, beering: these all require some cash. (I wanted to type 'cashola' but I didn't. Wait, I just did.) So, anywho, I'm working as a research assistant to a biology Ph.D student here. He's finishing up a project that deals with the amount of pollen that certain types of bees accumulate during their routines. I really don't know any of the proper terminology for this. If I did I'd use it. Luckily, he didn't really need a biology student; he just needed someone who had a super open schedule and the ability to peer into fancy binoculars and count pollen. That's right. The bees gathered it and now I'm counting it (tax free).




Now, I count the pollen and then enter it into tables. I'm assuming that the numbers eventually will be crunched, calculated, clustered and finally concluded upon. I'm not involved in that part. But what I want to be involved in is The Wild Machine. That's right, The Wild Machine (as I've named it) sits to the left of my workstation. The Wild Machine is not to be turned on. The Wild Machine is not to be stared at for an extended amount of time. And by all means The Wild Machine is not to be taunted. So, how wild do you really want to get?

Such spirit through the year

It's coming, quickly. Before you know it you'll be sipping hot cocoa with your grandmother and saying, "It's, um, really nice" as you hold up the turtle neck you just opened. Remember, it's the thought that counts. In no time at all you'll be stuck in a line longer than you've ever imagined possible proudly holding what you've picked out for that special someone. As the sweat drips from your pits and the small child's scream pierces your eardrums you'll fetch your credit card. Ouch. But it's worth it. It's the giving, not the receiving, that's important at this time of year. It just feels so good to give.

So I'm giving what I can. And even though I didn't fight any angry mobs of shoppers or really spend much money on this I did put forth quite a bit of time in compiling what I feel is one of the better mixes you'll come across this, or any, year.

A Hallelujah Chorus: Mike Downey's Holiday Tendency, 2005

1. Snowflake - eric Metronome
2. One Christmas Catalogue - Captain Sensible
3. Listen the Snow is Falling - Yoko Ono
4. I Took Some Time for Christmas - Belle & Sebastian
5. Lady December - Concretes
6. Snowflake Music - Mark Mothersbaugh
7. Christmas Time is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
8. Handjobs for the Holidays - Broken Social Scene
9. Last Christmas - Erlend Øye
10. O Holy Blanket - The City on Film
11. Santa Claws - Vermont
12. I Was Born on Christmas Day - Saint Etienne

Download this mix in its entirety as a zip file (45.3 MB)

And on a side note, this was my 100th post! Thanks to everyone who has been following along with me. Please stick around for the next 100.

Smoke machine

+ Some of the most relaxing moments in my life have been spent with a cigarette in my mouth. At one point it was exactly what I needed to officially chill out: A smoke and a beer while sitting on the back steps of my apartment. You wouldn't have found anyone happier.

+ Last night a woman lit up at the bus stop and I almost gagged when her smoke blew into my face.

+ Safe to say, I've quit smoking for good this time. Since my move I haven't had one ciggie. And one of the main reasons for not giving in is the no smoking law here in Sweden. You can't smoke in any public places, including pubs. The only problem with this: I've been smelling a lot more farts in the bars. I dare you to go sniff around in a city that has a smoking ban.

+ Gross, but true. But these laws are going to save so many lives. I have nothing against smokers; it's just that what you're doing, in public, is 100% harming others. Let's use the term "innocent bystanders".

+ This comes up because Chicago just made a major decision to ban smoking nearly everywhere except pubs. It's pretty weak to only go part way like that in my opinion. But read on. In 2008 that smoking ban will include drinking establishments as well.

+ To everyone that is going to complain about a smoking ban in bars: please don't. Ultimately you'll save yourself and other's health in the process of not smoking as much, or around as many people. And you can still fart as much as you like in public. There's not a law against that, yet.

You've been an audience

Saturday I opened for the Constantines who proved to be super nice and humble guys nearing the end of their 9 week tour around North America and Europe. We talked about laundry, hockey and fear of the dark. And then they played their songs.

Constantines @ Debaser. Dec. 3rd, Stockholm, Sweden

Everything you've ever said, on tape

Just the other day while browsing my usual links Missives was kind enough to lead me over to the Live Music Archive on the Internet Archives. After glancing over the monstrous list I checked out some other archives offered and one in particular caught my eye: Naropa Audio Archives.

Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado is home to the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. The archive consists of plenty of lectures and workshops hosted by big names like Burroughs, Ginsberg, Sam and Ann Charters and Michael McClure. Ever wished you could have William S. Burroughs as your creative writing teacher? You can listen to his classes here. That said, obviously, if you're interested in the Beat Generation and want to get a bit further involved check this stuff out. It seems like a treasure trove of free information.

I'm off to Stockholm early tomorrow. The plan is to browse through town before my show at Debaser with Constantines. Hmm, this is going to be interesting! Expect a full report on Monday.