Donnie Darko (2001)

28 days 6 hours 12 minutes and 42 seconds from now the world will end

To me it's brilliant. To me it's beautiful. To me ... it could be me. But it's not for everyone.

The story isn't really like anything you've seen but then again not *that* revolutionary. Young distressed man starts seeing an imaginary 6 feet bunny - Frank. When starting to take instructions from said rabbit he does some violent acts and it all gets a bit twisted as the mentioned time of the world's end draws near.

The black humour of it is wonderfully brilliant. Sharp and crisp and interesting dialogue.

My step dad has emotional problems (Gretchen)
Oh - so do I, what kind of problems does he have (Donnie)
He stabbed my mum four times in the chest (G.)

Another passage on the history of Smurfette is interesting as well

First of all Papa Smurf didn't create her, Gargamel did
She was sent in to the village as Gargemels evil spy
But the overwelming goodness of the smurf way transformed her

Unless I am overinterpreting it has a slight twist of existentialism in it too.

Every living creature dies alone

And if we die alone can there be a God?

It also touches themes like - "If you know this was your last day, what would you do differently". And of course the normality - abnormality dualism
Donnie to Frank - in his giant bunny suit:

Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit? (D.D)
Why are you wearing that stupid man suit? (Frank)

There's also a tour into the themes of education - about the liberal English teacher teaching the student's about Graham Greene and his "The Destructors". This is all in contrast to the gym teacher and her traditional schooling / creation of model citizens with the help of Patrick Swayze's pedophilic life style coach.


Grading it - as a theatrical experience and a movie experience it can't be more than a 6. Nothing breaks new ground, but the theme and story appeals me so I'll give it an 8.

You're weird (G)
Sorry (D.D)
That was a compliment (G)

Cormac McCarthy - The Road (2006)

The theme and story is very easily compressed in to two words post-apocalyptic and survival. The world we meet is covered by an ever grey sky with an acidic atmosphere, a result of an untold disaster, one that left very little life left on our beloved planet. Cannibalic tribes roam the world and our narrator and his son sets off to seek the warmth of the southern coast of what once was America. escaping the coming winter.

The language is written in a very straightforward way. The book isn't divided in tochapters and the story is told in dialogue and describing texts. However simple it may seem the story is a gripping and moving one. The son on one side is not aware of the world before the catastrophe and only knows of that world from his fathers stories about those days. He doubts many of the things his father says. The narrator/father on the other hand is focused on one thing and one thing alone - to get to the Sea by all means necessary and to all ends.

The unconditional love between the father and son is a central theme, as is the ever present question wether life is worth living and how much of a life they live. With the constant hunt for food and the need to feed we are of course made aware of our fragile lifestyle. Where we as humans have domesticised ourselves and removed what was once instinct in us - to find food and survive. Something the inhabitants in this place has gone back to. Set as another theme is the doubt in God and the disbelief in prophets. More symbolically I'd say personally that his disbelief is aimed at the religious system and that faith itself should be brought back on the agenda instead of customs and traditions

Det finns ingen Gud och vi är hans profeter.
There is no God, and we are his prophets

And of course some existentialism to fuel the fire

Varje dag är en lögn, sa han.
Men du är på väg att dö. Det är ingen lögn
Every day is a lie, he said. But you are dying / about to die That's no lie

To sum the book up I can say that it is a book that will stay on mine and in your mind for a time. A book that might get you thinking and not taking things for granted and with a little luck it might even get you to appreciate day-to-day marvels and luxuries that you have been taking for granted. If not for anything else - take this as a week's resort in to a Pulitzer Prize awarded work. Escape in to a world with such rich language that it sometimes stuns me with in it's descriptions

Världen skulle snart befolkas av människor som åt barn inför ögonen på deras föräldrar och städerna behärskas av ligor av svärtade plundrare som plöjde genom ruinerna och krälade fram ur spillrorna med vitlysande tänder och ögon, bärande på brända och anonyma konservburkar i nätkassar som shoppare i helvetets lagerhus.
Det mjuka svarta pudret blåste fram över gatorna likt bläckfiskbläck som ringlade ut sig över en havsbotten och kölden smög sig ner och mörkret föll tiidigt och roffarna som drog fram genom de branta skrevornamed sina facklor trampade silkeslena hål i drivorna av aska som slöt sig bakom dem tyst som ögon.
(A translation of my own back in to the original language wouldn't make it justice. And I find it quite a shame that I didn't read it in English right from the start.)

---

First things ... last.
The reason I got in to reading McCarthy at all was because of the splendid filmatization of his work No Country for Old Men which was rewarded rightfully with four Academy Award wins. The same destiny is apparantly set for this book and it's a work in progress. interestingly indeed, Viggo Mortensen Is the narrator from what I can read. Screen date is set as late November this year.


And if I were to rate it on the standardized 1-10 scale. It's a 9. The times I have resorted to tears are, unfortunately, easily counted on one hand's fingers. But if I would, I would have shed one after parting with these two characters that kept me company for the time our journey together lasted. But that's ok. Or as the narrator says in his own created creed that he repeats to his son.

We're going to be okay, arent we Papa? (son)
Yes. We are.
And nothing bad is going to happen to us. (son)
That's right.
Because we're carrying the fire. (son)
Yes. Because we're carrying the fire.

Opposition

I'm on a train .. a train of thoughts

Opposite me on the same table sits a girl
Almondy eyes framed with rich eyebrows
She's giving me a shy glance over her laptop,
I return the favour from my side

The sweet scent of spring in the air, or is it perfume?

In a perfect world in a perfect time I act
In that world I converse or introduce

But in this world, looks and glance is all
But all I need for now, I smile she smiles
She leaves, I stay

And all is as it was ... but then again it isn't

But for what it's worth - here's a tip for a great new catch from the mp3-river that flows all over and about the net. Dashboard Confessionals. Quite the emo little rock-crew.

If it is born in flames then we should let it burn
Burn as brightly as we can
And if it's gotta end then let it end in flames
Let it burn all the way down

Dashboard Confessional - Currents

Camus is my Homeboy

(This post is an unintended but logical continuation of Thrown into existance.
And all appearances of cigarettes in my mouth is purely put there for artistic purposes to pose as a tough guy to the camera... I might have failed )

Me and my homie havin' a smoke, doin' some talkin, chillin' u know

Finished reading Camus' Myth of Sisyphus and it is an inspiring work indeed. Vital to life on this planet I'd say. A must read for the nihil seekers as well as the pessimists without goals. And a good torch to light the way for a wanderer like myself.

Camus starts it all up with the statement:

There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide. Deciding whether or not life is worth living is to answer the fundamental question in philosophy. All other questions follow from that.

Or in other words:

Does the realization of the meaninglessness and absurdity of life require suicide?

With this Camus sets off to discuss the topic in a couple of essays, debating on the absurd, freedom, the arts and of course Sisyphus. The man who defied the (Greek) Gods by choosing life over death. By doingso he was sentenced to do an endless, useless, seemingly meaningless task - but in finding meaning in the task he continues to defy the gods and the weight of the punishment fails to stop him. He knows his cliff is his and he controls his destiny. He is his own master. One could saySisyphus was happy.

Franz Stuck's depiction of Sisyphus

Camus goes on to reject religion and their promises of happiness later - life is now. He is no fan of totalitairianisms like Communism either, something Sartre was a fan of and the other extremes on the right. Systems which put the success of the politics ahead of the individual can never be accepted. (This is also where Camus and Sartre part their ways)

Camus don’t reject the torments and hurts of life, on the contrary you need salt to feel the sweet - there’s no black without white. Life shouldn't be reduced and simplified, one shouldn't rely on hope but instead face the present.

Camus abruptly cuts off all the exits of hope. Man, each one of us, dies. Unlike all else in creation, we know we die. We do not live forever. We must therefore live and live fully the life that we have.

He sums up the characteristics in a man that has understood his share in life. He knows he is in a prison and accepts the limits. Camus calls him l’ homme absurde. Living without nostalgia and death as his only enemy. His hope is for life, not for the future or for the past. Life is full of possibilities. These he accepts. These form his joy.

---

Just a brief general write-up on existentialism and the existentialist. The “school” is not a typical philosophical one since it doesn’t set up a full set of rules covering all aspects of life. But more a general train of thoughts with some basic ideas.

Six basic themes of Existentialism:

1. Man is conscious subject rather than a thing to be predicted or manipulated.

2. Anxiety -- a generalized uneasiness. The dread of the nothingness of human existence. This dark picture of human life leads existentialists to reject ideas such as happiness and a sense of well being.

3. Absurdity -- Each of us is simply here, having been thrown into this time and place, but why now?

4. Nothingness -- "I am my own existence, but my existence is nothingness."

5. Death -- The only certainty of life which hangs over existentialist head at each moment of life.

6. Alienation -- apart from the existentialists own conscious being, everything else is "otherness", from which he or she estranged.

And among the persons associated with existentialism, most of them has under some part of their life denied beeing a part of the movement. Camus, Sartre and Heidegger all did it. And two other central personas - Kierkegaard and Nietzsche - were too early to be grouped among the other existentialists. Corbett suggests reading the works of the thinkers associated with existentialism is the best way to define their way rather than setting up a frame or some rules.

One always dies too soon - or too late. And yet one's whole life is complete at that moment, with a line drawn neatly under it, ready for the summing up. You are - your life, and nothing else.”

We are alone, with no excuses. That is the idea I shall try to convey when I say that man is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, yet, in other respects is free; because, once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.

Jean-Paul Sartre

I know of only one duty, and that is to love

Albert again

All is Good

Dostoevsky

Ich bin ein Skandinavier.

Vad bjuder oss uppriktigt Afrika?
Vad visa kan Amerika?
Vad Asien? Vad allt Europa?
Jag trotsar öppet alltihopa.
Men Skandinavien - det är alladar!
Blott Sverige svenska krusbär har.

Carl Jonas Love Almqvist - Om svenska rim (1838)

He might twist it slightly more patriotic than I should. But yet, how wonderful it is to be a Scandinavian. How much you appreciate light after darkness. How much the suns warms your skin after being clad in furs for six months. How soft the soil is under you bare feet after a winter in boots. How life seems to jumpstart from our hibernated winter mode.

I have had the first taste of summer -08. Rosy cheeks and smiling faces wherever you go. And if you by chance decided to go to the Swedish West Coast this weekend, and if you by chance would happen to know a friendly hospitable family there then I guess you are doubly blessed.
Spent a fantastic weekend, hmmm overdoing the superlatives slightly, in Gothenburg and Utby.
The weekend couldn't have started in a worse way - spent Friday night in the office until 2 AM and got back to the hotel to grab some four hours of sleep before I dragged my zombie body in a comatose matter to the awaiting Gothenburg train Saturday morning. Where I had some good three hours of drewling on the seat. But fear not reader it is all uphill from here.
Met up with my old live-in to join him in a quest for a spring jacket. A jacket he decided to buy in the Boomerang store, the same store I have come to despite after seeing the print on the plastic bag he got:


Nevertheless, a simple insult to my lifestyle like that didn't bring me down and instead I placed myself on the bus north. Headed for Uddevalla, Torp and an awaiting committee of the aforementioned family and son-in-law ready prepared with a full plate of barbeque served warm and to be eaten on the go (and in respect to my grey year a non-alcoholic Carlsberg). We set off for Orust and Ellös for a trip in the "archipelago" (some would just say "coast") and a fantastic evening by boat around the sites and sights out there with a short stop on Käringön (made "famous" in SMHI's Sjörapporter for the measuring station "Måseskär")

Bohuslandic idyll

A picnic, a car ride, a good talk on entrepreneurship in the manly trio and Saturday was all.
Sunday came off, if possible, even better with sea-kayaking, this years first swim, watching sea birds mate and date at open sea, a great dine and once more I found myself back in Gothenburg 24h later. Met up with my partner in crime CJ for a fruitful walk-and-talk in Slottsskogen and got to see both his apartment and live-in for the first time unfortunately not I didn't get to see the penguines as promised. To round it off the train ride back home held a good few hours of talk on sewing and knitting, eating and drinking with miss Värnamo.

All along the watchtower ... The Observatory, Slottsskogen

Well ... S U M M E R is here indeed dear friends.
Less talk wore walk, get up get out get on with it!

While there's still time.

We are facing global warming - people rush up to the top of Kilimanjaro while the snow still shines white from the summit of it. Different theories exist to what the name means but some says it is Swahili for White Hill or Shining Hill and well if the current path is continued they will have to come up with a different name for Africa's highest point.

Satellite photos from 1993 and 2000 shows alarming signs of what is going on.

Some scientists believe the snow cap of Mount Kilimanjaro will be gone in two decades. Researchers say the ice fields on Africa’s highest mountain shrank by 80 percent in the past century. (A snow cap formed some 11,000 years ago)

Same source as images

---

But this is nothing compared to what global morale is doing with Amsterdam. The City is buying the windows that used to hold the (in-)famous Red Light booths and are instead replacing them by fashion stores and boutiques. By this, destroying (or cleaning up) a 400-year-old tradition. All subventioned by the City, the tenants will only have to pay for electricity and water and the City covers up the rent.

Red light district, A'dam

"Luckily" we got to see that one in time. Let's hope we'll make it in time to climb Kilimanjaro as well. A task not as easily undertaken but far from impossible.

Infernal Sunshine on a Spotted Mind

*spoilers ahead*

If you haven't seen the movie your perception of the movie might get seriously distorted by reading this post.

Yesterday I had the privilege to take part of Mr Kaufman's movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind. Featuring Mr Carrey and Miss Winslet. A movie I had long looked forward to see and hence read up a good bit on in preparation to this. And this is where it gets bad. But first:

The story - if not known - is based on a romance between said two actors. And a clinic that can erase memories of a person. Something first Winslet decides to do and after that Carrey. But to their surprise they end up meeting each other again (... or do they re-remember meeting?) and fight to erase the memories. I figure it takes the loss of someone to know what they really meant.

The preparations - as I said, I had read up a great deal about this movie in a few reviews and on imdb. This is all in all bad especially on a movie like this. And the fact that I cheated and saw it semi-asleep on my little 2.4" screen might have help blurring my experience of it.

The thing is, I would very much want to erase all my memories of the movie and see it all over on a fresh start. I will keep a note of that for the day when these clinics arise. And when I do I will find that the cheerful romance between the introvert Carrey and the extrovert Winslet is a wonderful one and one that would ache and soothe my heart at the same time.

This comes to my attention when the credits come rolling to the voice of Beck and the wonderful tune Everybody's gotta learn sometimes (originally by The Korgis) Instead I find myself listening and watching the clip over and over trying to rebuild the feel I was thinking I was about to get.

The "review" wouldn't be complete without the random quotes now, would it?

Why do I fall in love with every woman I see who shows me the least bit of attention?

Carrey

I'm just a fucked-up girl who's lookin' for my own peace of mind

Winslet

I could die right now. I'm just... happy. I've never felt that before.
I'm just exactly where I want to be

Carrey

I guess everybody's gotta learn sometimes
everybody's gotta learn sometimes
everybody's gotta learn sometimes

Alternation of Generations

2004.xx.yy-2008.04.15

Thanks Partner. We had our share of good times and bad times. We saw some ups and a few downs. But age got to you too. Last few days you didn't even have the strenght to gather the signals from the net. And I saw this as the only way out.


I just want to keep this sms as a "best of" or what you might call it:

It means a lot to hear that from you. You see right through me, I don't need to keep a mask in front of you. I know I don't make it easy on myself. I know where you are and I appreciate you beeing there. I wont't forget that.

The "worst of"-s can luckily not be seen since it had the wonderful function not to store outgoing sms'es.

Well now it is time to move on and in to Finnish territory in the arms of Nokia. My current staff of cellular helpers consists of these three musketeers:

In order of appearance: 6111 1650 3110

...with all their faults and flaws. The oldest one, the 6111 - well it has a habit of dying on me if treated with anything but silk gloves.
The 1-month-old 1650 had the major flaw of not even getting powered on after a week of use so that one is off to service and might come back one day. And newest one in the clan is today's catch 3110. Hopefully a more solid product from the line. Speaking to its advantage is a good decent large enough keypad and a speedy internet access.

From now on I'll just refer to them as my Nokia 10 871 ...

Coverboy

Cover of the first Life magazine back in 1936

Oh how wonderful the life is in a glossy magazine. And how I love to be told what to buy, what to do, what to see, which band to listen to, what trends I should enslave myself to and of course what I should think.

I gladly spend the 59:- to get in to the world of the Swedish male lifestyle mags Café or King. Skip through the tens of pages with ads until I get to a 8-page-interview with Jackie Arklöv or a single page on Dave Gahan. Persons in whom's fates I am interested for complely different reasons. I love one, hate one. Draw your own conclusion's who's who.

I don't have a problem at all to get in to the world of digital photography in Digital Camera at a cheap price of 89:- and most importantly getting a CD with Photoshop techniques on the side, not that I ever go through that one. But I am taught how to best photograph passing cars on a Formula 1 court if I ever get to one.

Today's catch in the pond over at Pressbyrån is Världens Historia with a large one on Mao and his massacres along with Inked - yepp that back of mine is gone gett inked up fast enough. Getting that mag really shows how dedicated I am! And of course I bump in to my friend Rocky (the Comic not the Boxer) on my way out. That one is though worthy of his own review. That's just a straight on masterpiece. But on a sidenote, yes Rocky is a comic but it makes a magazine since it sports some articles and reviews.


What's the great thing about them then? Well accessibility slips off the tongue. It is a very inviting way to present facts and news. Of course the facts are limited and the objectivity ain't really there like in journalistic media - but I want the subjectivity. I am presented to an idea. If Café says beige khakis are the shit 2037 I can choose whether to wear them or not 2037 but I know that if I w o u l d I would be slightly more modern.
And I do know how inconsistant this is with my love for Fight Club and the reference to Khaki is intended

You're not the car you drive
You're not the contents of your wallet.
YOU ARE NOT YOUR FUCKING KHAKIS

Tyler Durden

But please: reread the adress you typed in to get there ... contra-dikt-ory. Yeppp. That's me!


I can from time to time indulge myself in mags on topics I have no relation to whatsoever. I gladly spend a good 30 minutes skipping through my mum's Ellé magazines. Not really sure what to do with the information and if I just wanted to watch beautiful seminaked girls I'd go for Playboy or porn instead. But it is something more to it. You get a glimpse of a culture and lifestyles. I can see people wanting something to define them. I can see 57 year-old-men wanting to let the world know how they take a big interest in cigars or the huntsmen showing off with the new number of Guns&Ammo (Nilecity and the "Tidsstudiemannen" reference intended)


I was gonna host a top-ten-at-the-moment-list of great mags but I have name-dropped most of them I read. To add to that list is of course Fighter Magazine and the old favourite Illustrerad Vetenskap to which my brother still subscribes.


And oh ... if you read this far you might want to know what sparked this all. To no one's surprise it is once more DN and their article "Magasin med makt" of today's paper about this evenings episode of "Bildmagasinens historia, Kunskapskanalen 22.00"

Grundtemat i de flesta går att koka ner till:
"Så här bör du leva",
underförstått med tillägget:
"för att bli en lycklig människa".

And well ... I guess am happy then!

Hypnosis

Stare in to the picture
Relax yourself
You are feeling sleepy
Your body is heavy
Your eyelids can hardly stay up
Your arms hang lose on your side
You will soon fall asleep
You are now in my complete control
But when I snap my fingers you wake up

You will now start by ending world poverty.

You will on a trip to Africa sort out the situation in Darfur

You shall help Dalai Lama reclaim his position in Tibet

You shall stop global warming

Love More - Love All - Love Life!

*snap*

There you are, welcome to a new world:
Your World - My World - Our World!

(Sorry Johan about the color-coding,
but it really adds hippieness to a post like this ;) )

A Blast from the Past

Strömstad 2003.05.03

The picture as a motif isn't very fancy. But as a timestamp, a flashback it is quite interesting. As the caption says it is close to five years old. In fact the oldest digital image I have from my own cameras*
An analyze of it is quite interesting:

i: Aftonbladet is something I haven't read since four years.
ii: I still drank beer enough to cause holes like that on the jeans
iii: the cell phones were slightly uglier and bigger
iv: not easy to tell just from the image, it requires some Adamology, but the family owning the cabin ain't my family anymore.
v: the wallpapers - you can really tell the image is old :)

So 2003. How far ago is that in other terms then.

March 20 - Land troops from US, UK, Australia and Poland invade Iraq

September 12 - Johnny Cash dies of a neuro-disease

September 14 - Sweden rejects adopting the Euro in a referendum

Wiki, 2003 writeup

But I was luckily unaware of the fact that Per Gessle and his "Här kommer känslorna på eeeeen och samma gång" were going to bother us for the whole summer, and that Miio's remake of "När vi två blir en" was released.



*Oldest image from any digital camera would be this one:

Falkenberg, Gone fishing 2002.07.16 (sepia tone added)

My oldest picture from any camera is this one.
Scanned image from an analogue camera:

Hultsfred 2001.06.14 (sepia tone added)

A festival where we got to see the acts below, with Fireside, Kent, Looptroop & Weezer as favourite experiences of these:

Hawaii
LIMP BIZKIT [US],
MANIC STREET PREACHERS [UK],
WEEZER [US]
KENT
HÅKAN HELLSTRÖM
SAHARA HOTNIGHTS

Pampas
SOULFLY [BRA/US]
ASH [UK]
THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES,
LOOPTROOP
TIMBUKTU

Teaterladan
FIRESIDE,
LISA MISKOVSKY,
RANDY
ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT [US]

The bands we skipped, missed, or hadn't learned to love yet would be:

Hawaii
IGGY POP [US]
BACKYARD BABIES
ULF LUNDELL
THE HELLACOPTERS
BRODER DANIEL,

Pampas
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE [US]
FAITHLESS [UK]
DROPKICK MURPHYS [US]
THE HIVES

Stora Dansbanan
ED HARCOURT [UK]
DANKO JONES [CAN]
THE SHINS [US]
DAVID & THE CITIZENS

---

That's it for todays class in Adamology.
Hope you enjoyed at least some of it ;)
Tests will be handed out the 17th of May 12:00 PM. Welcome!

/Peace

True Romance

And I can't wait to get on the road again.
Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again

Once again Willie Nelson fronts the post. And this time the third line holds more true than ever. No offence Bruno and Värnamo

The Wanderer

Hard evidence for those doubting the autheticity

Who names their sons Bruno anyways ... no offence

And who the f* is Bruno ... well, as the sign says translated:

The Värnamo son who became
one of the world's most famous furniture designers

Sun sets over the Designhotellet

The Designhotellet that holds a lot of the furniture's made by Bruno. And the very same hotel that by a random German tourist guide was listed as one of Sweden's most seeable hotels.

Värnamo city. It feels like a time travel to the 70's, in color shape and design. With stores like "Inges El" and seen here "Café 18". But it do make Karlskoga's city center feel like a fresh breeze of modernity and hope. Gotta say that the Latte served at Stig's Café was great though and the sun shone ever so bright over the heart of the Gnosjö-region.

I met an angel

I've actually met two of them, my wonderful hostess as well. Thanks for the housing and tour.

Well ... it's colorfull

This image is just random. Taken from some sort of model at the Textilakademien where the hostess spends her days sewing, weaving and knitting.

Where to from here?

What I really love about a day trip like this is the snapshot it brings me. A day spent in a new town with someone who knows it makes me get to know it much faster. Had the same experience on my one day trip over to Helsingborg to meet Karl. I wouldn't have gotten that close to any of those places if I hadn't had some first hand information and guidance.

And yeah ... about the Romance, the True one , great film, not completely water proof story but it is 1993 and it is Quentin Tarantino, what's there not to love about it.

---

And speaking about snapshots. Couldn't help sharing this one taken from Växjö though

Take a seat!

You want to take my soul away...

Cover art

Like Ninjas? Zombies? Wolverine? Want to see Wolverine fight ninjas and zombies? Then this is the book for you! Wolverine returns to Japan only to get caught in the middle of an ancient war between gods and demons! Can Logan tip the balance for good – and save his soul, Japan and the world?

Extract from the Marvel catalogue

Hell yeah, he can!

I bought the series of 5 Wolverine episodes, the Soultaker in Amsterdam - somehow that makes the comic something more. Not like saying, yeah I bought a comic down at my local COOP-store, threw it in the basket along with shaving foam and toilet paper. No this is serious business, spent a good long 30 minutes to pick and choose from the shelves in Henk's comic store*. Even though I almost knew on forehand I was going to go for some Wolverine-action.

It is set in modern Japan as the tag line says, but still flirts with ancient Japanese culture and tales with the classical demons and artefacts belonging to cults and sects.

Loved the art in it, great paper quality and glossy fine pages. But I can't help but getting the feel that these type of comics are slightly too short for my liking, and this is after all a five magazine collection. Compared to other media I revel in, this is "over" in just an hour or two. Though it might be unfair to compare it to a novel or say a whole season of 24, that would keep me busy for a week or two. But still ... the feeling is still there. Sure I get to see Wolverine turn the living dead in to ... well ... dead. But I want more depth, more more more. This just feels like I've been scratching on Mr Logan's surface.

Comic Art, random page.

Well, summing it up. It is still Wolverine. It is still good action and glossy pages with great detailed artwork. Still lovin' it.

*And this is just awesome, a 4 minute 30 clip called "Tour d'Henk" of the very same Comic & Manga store (in Dutch, but with theme by Johnny Cash). And I've heard they store som Hentai as well for those interested. Not sure what to do with the Hentai-semi-nude-Japanese-action-dolls they sold though. Someone enlightened on the topic might want to enlighten me.

** And for the Apoptygma fans out there, hi Zarah, the title of this post is of course an extract from their song with the same name, namely Soultaker from the 2000 album Welcome to Earth.

*** And for all of you readers out there, hi the four of you, this is actually the 100th post. Hooray for me!

This one's for you Mark!

Or well perhaps it should be:
"This one's from you Mark".
I'll go crazy and try some quoting:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.

I'll hold this in mind for the weekend's Amsterdam trip.

What a wee little part of a person's life are his acts and his words!
His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself

Luckily for you, I do at least try increasing that part by these ramblings and rants. But it is and have always been a concern of mine. What if she didn't know what I felt. What if he didn't know how much I valued his friendship. Of course the lady ahead of me in the line on ICA don't have to know how pissed I got when she took an extra minute. Ooops ... this writing just caused a little Déjà vu and seeing how I posted the same rant on January 10's Question Existing I'll stop it there.
And wrap it all up with a picture of the man himself -kickin' it!

Mr Twain

Now what was the point then. Well the point I was about to get to would be that I look forward to a weekend of exploring and discovering. And if I die living a dream it's a hell lot better than to live dreaming. Once more there's someone out there who has put this into more visual display. And once more it's my asofterworld-crew.

T-shirt design out of strip #234

Today's strip, #294