The art of war

♫ Sabaton – Karolinens Bön

I've been a slightly lazy blogger, and slightly busy in real life as well. And if I was going to write about what special I've been doing lately, you might have a déjà vu after reading "I went to see Dreamtale live" for the fourth time. *giggles*

The theme of this post is warfare as a source of inspiration for artistic endeavours. Personally, I have very contradictory feelings when it comes to war and military related imagery. I'm quite sure most people can say they hate war and wish we could leave in peace and so on, and so do I. I'm also pacifist to the point of not being enthusiastic to try firearms if I ever got a chance (I'm talking about perfectly legal hobbies here). If I was a man, I would refuse to take military service, opting for civil service instead.

However, I cannot deny that warfare is a huge part of history, inspiration for stories, and probably even a remarkable part of human nature. It doesn't matter whether we are watching Star Wars, playing a sink ship game or reading some fantasy novel; war, battle or fight is often a part of the whole thing, not necessarily everything though. And why wouldn't it be? Two (or more) quarrelsome parties disputing in violent ways is often more interesting than peaceful conciliation. I also enjoy my regular dose of warfare whenever I've watching, reading or playing something.

This blog post is about real history though, not fictional wars. I've never been a fan of war movies or books, and I have been lucky enough to graduate from a Finnish comprehensive school, high school and university without having to read or watch The Unknown Soldier. I only had to watch a few scenes of the film in the Finnish film history lectures I had to take (which were probably the most horrifying compulsory lectures in university). And well, I can say I hate live action war films with a passion!

Some time ago I came across this DVD on sale, only for 5 €. Since I had seen it in a movie theater after its release and enjoyed it, I knew it would be worth my money. Yesterday we finally had a proper movie night and watched it, and well, it was still good.

Waltz with Bashir is Ari Folman's animated documentary film, released in 2008. It depicts Folman himself trying to complete a puzzle of his memories and recollections of his time as a soldier in the Lebanon War in the 80s. And it really is a documentary film, not a drama or an action piece "based on true events" – this means it doesn't have a real dramatic arc but consists of both interview and action footage like television documents. I think I once read how some professionals in the field wondered why Folman wanted to make this kind of film using animation, but I think the choice was perfect (not only because I wouldn't have watched it otherwise). The visual style of the movie is very interesting, and I think it portrays the soldiers' feelings very well: what it is like to be utterly scared, or to have a feeling of being on a vacation even at the front.

If there is a hole in your history knowledge and you don't quite know who were fighting in Lebanon and why, the movie won't leave you much wiser. It concentrates on the veterans' feelings, fears, memories and traumas rather than politics. I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in historical wars too, but first and foremost to those who haven't enjoyed other war movies like me.

And I guess the movie's success implies it is a good one; the front cover of the DVD states it was nominated for an Academy Award for the best foreign language film and it won the Golden Globe award of the same category. (Being an Israeli film, the main language is Hebrew.) One fangirl also had trouble sitting still back then in the movie theater when OMD's Enola Gay started playing in one scene. It's also a good war related piece of art!

I won't include everything I enjoy of this theme into one single blog entry, so I will move onto music now. Ever heard of Sabaton, a Swedish heavy / power metal band whose lyrical themes revolve almost solely around historical wars? Not only are the lyrics interesting, but their musical style combined with the frontman Joakim Brodén's strong voice makes their songs very enjoyable. (Most of their songs are in English but I also really like the Swedish versions of their new songs; somehow I think Swedish suits metal music.)


Primo Victoria is about the Invasion of Normandy, and the song which got me into Sabaton in the first place.


A Lifetime of War is from their newest album Carolus Rex which was released a few weeks ago. The lyrics are a good reminder of how insane warfare actually is.

I truly suggest checking out more of their songs or videos if you got interested. I guess I will stop here, though I might write more about the theme in the future, I already have something on mind. Until the next time anyway, so long!

P.S: Anyone else experiencing problems with Blogger loading CSS stylings? My blog background and linked fonts suddenly stopped loading, sucks!

Now, how old are you, where is your harbour?

♫ Týr – Gandvkæþi Tróndar

"Have many things to do, open the door.
Yes, I live so true, without my lover
But tell me if the sky is blue, how old are you?"

...a year older as of today. Getting to the numbers where it no longer feels great to age, yet I don't feel desperate yet.

Last weekend I visited my parents. They gave me a birthday present in advance; a bottle of sparkling wine, some glasses and a bottle opener... They're contributing to my alcoholism, hmm?

I have a bottle of white wine and sparkling wine, yet "no one" to share them with, I think... My friends seem to be so picky! (Not that I wouldn't be, miss No-red-wine-or-beer-thank-you.)

My cupboard isn't that exciting with all those pints and such, yet I actually like the cupboard itself a lot. Behold the pretty handle!

The song which I quoted in the headline and afterwards is Miko Mission's hit from the 80's. I was going to link it from Youtube, but then I couldn't find my favourite version, thus... Go find one to listen to by yourself.

Besides my birthday, it's also a national failure day today. No wonder... Oh well, my day was nice enough, yet the weather wasn't that nice; it was blowing hard and uhhuh...

"And the wind, and the wind I know it's cold..."

A bit of an Emilie Autumnism. I don't like wind. Not at all.

This song, Tsumetai Kaze by Penicillin, is one of my favourite of their songs, and it means "cold wind". The video is perhaps a bit strange, but also very nice in a way. Enjoy!

I was going to write a more deep post today, but I've been working on this entry for a while now and I feel like playing or relaxing or something. Thank god it's Friday tomorrow! So long!

A bit o' this and that

♫ Twilightning – Enslaved to the Mind

Firstly, I want to wish the new readers warmly welcome aboard!

As the days get colder and I can no longer ignore the fact it's autumn now, I also begin to notice all the little things I need to purchase, rather as soon as possible. However, I've had these "asap" needs for quite a while now. I've been looking for a new autumn/spring jacket for a few years. I've noticed how I seriously need to buy a bit of this and that, from the very top to the very bottom (on both y and z axes)...

Well, I've managed to find something I need. I truly hate lingerie shopping (+ tights and stockings) for a simple reason; most brands don't even have my size. That doesn't apply to stockings however – they're annoying simply because I would need new ones so often.

I won't be showing off the lingerie pieces I managed to find, because well... No. However, my attention was caught by a discount accessory with a price tag of 1 €. I took it, and later when I checked the receipt it had obviously cost only 0,50 €.

Imagine seeing a tone of green? Maybe it's not just your imagination. It's an interesting hue altogether.

A bit later I found an interesting bag – I had been looking for something like this to complete my corporate looks. I'm not yet sure if I should say it's compact or cramped – it's a bit tricky to cram my keys, cell phone, wallet, bus card, headphones, bottle of water and some lunch box into it. Yet I've managed.

Unfortunately enough, I also popped to a newly-opened shoe store nearby and ended up buying a pair of shoes. *gasp* On the other hand I needed something like these too, as a slightly similar pair I have had begun to fall into pieces. I'm trying to complete my corp goth looks with these as well, yet – no matter how lame it is – I'm often in such a terrible hurry in the morning by the time I notice I should be on my way to the bus stop already that I don't have the time to tie any shoe laces!

*sigh* I'm also looking forward to receiving a parcel from H&M with a few basic everyday need items + a dress I bought just for fun (still for the corporate looks). Lately, I've been more into dresses than skirts. Anyway, I have no idea when I'll actually get those – their estimated arrival times keep changing so often. I wished I'd get the dress by my birthday (the 13th) but that seems unlikely now. I will put off celebrating until the 22th, but it seems I won't get it by that day either.

Enough with all the shopping. I had great fun at the 80's party on Saturday. Wonderful music and awesome company. If one of the best party songs was on Youtube, I'd link it here, but unfortunately it isn't there. Instead, I'll link something else, which I had listened to before the party but never really fallen for it, but goddamnit, it sounded much better on the dance floor.

Ken Laszlo – Hey Hey Guy

I also found yet another slightly 80's themed party in the city – something I could be looking forward to, although I'm not sure if I'm going. Ah, but just the possibility of partying like it was the 80's keeps me happy. So long!

My body's burning like a flame that's blue

♫ Dreamtale – Wings of Icaros

A quick update before I tend to other things. Currently I'm quite enthusiastic, looking forward to Saturday – yet another 80's party waiting for me.

Yet some troubles cast a shadow over my enthusiasm. Last week I got to hear that my dog will not recover. It made me upset since I had wished for her to live a long and healthy life as she was doing very well – she had proper nourishment, physical exercise and such. Everything was so fine until the pyometra. And although that was taken care of with the surgery, the unfortunate (consequent?) (hemolytic) anaemia is incurable. Thus, she'll be living on drug therapy for the rest of her life – and it's impossible to say how long it could possibly be, her condition could turn worse in a week or then she could keep going for years still. She's twelve, yet otherwise healthy – if you can possibly call an anaemic dog healthy.

Last weekend I popped to a sales event (again?) and found a truly good special offer; Grimas eye shadows for 3 €. I decided to buy three shades (and the shade options were quite limited) and I'm not sure if I can find good use for any of those.

The shades look strange in the photo, but basically they're reddish orange, bluish grey and well... purple, I guess – the shade looks quite warm in the image, yet it's cooler on the skin. I think the two darker shades are too dark for me – or then I'm just used to wearing pink, pink, pink... Or then I simply cannot make myself up properly. I think I look mean or too dramatic if my eyes are surrounded by merely dark shades. Or maybe I should just practise? The orange shade is energetic and basically nice, yet probably not the best choice for my skin tone. It would suit my blue eyes, being the complementary colour and all... I could probably use it together with my usual pink.

A useless peek-a-boo photo. Okay, I'm showing off my everyday (everynight, partynight) make-up. I guess I use pink since it stands out from my uneven skin tone and it's fresh in a way. Yet I could try some other shades... Suggestions and good tips on how to apply dark eye shadow nicely are appreciated. (Yes, I know the internet is full of make-up tutorials, but not all of those are good.)

While I'm still waiting for the 80's night on Saturday, I could announce that I recently entered a time machine and arrived in the 21st century. In other words, I got a new mobile phone, having used an old Nokia phone for years, years, years...

So yeah, Sony-Ericsson after an 11-year-long marriage with Nokia. And oh my, a smartphone. Now I can stalk my friends on Facebook 24/7 have many useful applications and and...

...and, well, sink into the deep sea of social media. A piece of homework I got from work, I guess. I had got to hear that without any real experience of mobile internet features, mobile social media features etc. I could barely be a credible designer in an advertising agency in 2011. However, I'm not the type to enter every social media service as I don't think I'm that interesting. I'm not using Twitter, because I don't think anyone would give a damn. I don't update my Facebook status daily because I don't have something to say that often! However, now my work mate has made me join the worst – Foursquare. Alright – I cannot deny it, it's a service with many good features. During the few weeks I've been using it I've already found some nice places and got a beer for half the regular price. However, I'm not particularly comfortable checking myself into everyday places and letting the world know that at 17.23 on Tuesday, I was grocery-shopping! Yet I do that. I've ended up having sort of a competition with my dear work mate. However, I'm not sharing all my updates on Facebook. I'm not that desperate.

Finally, I'll post a video of my newest 80's love – an italo disco song Slice me nice by Fancy. Enjoy ~ so long!

Fangirls never die

♫ Silent Circle – Touch in the night

Ah, what a feeling – one of my dreams came true last night.

On Friday I didn't feel too good – I had caught a flu and thus had a sore throat. However, I'm not easily bedridden by such, and I went to work normally and so on. After work I went to see if I could still get pre-tickets to an 80's themed party held to celebrate the 25-year-old Sokos Hotel Ilves in the city. Fortunately I got the tickets, and then I spent the evening with:

Almost, at least. A true pirate like me cures a flu with a hot rum toddy. The problem is that I cannot really down anything hot. Yeah, a little detail of me; I don't drink coffee, tea or hot chocolate. And to be precise, I couldn't drink the whole toddy either. Hot and warm drinks make me feel like throwing up.

And then I prepared myself to finally see my everlasting music love live – that being Dingo! I've been their fan since I was twelve, and although there have been times when I haven't listened to them much, they still hold a very special place in my heart. Basically, of all bands I've ever listened to, I know their discography best, and their history altogether I suppose. However, I hadn't seen them live – and on the other hand I still think the band performing these days is not the "real" Dingo, it's Neumann performing their songs. Anyway, it only takes Neumann's original voice and some talented mucisians to make it sound like old Dingo.

Yeah, I knew each song they played by heart. And exhausted my poor throat by singing along too. How could have I possibly remained silent?

I took some photos, but they're all very poor, so I won't fill my blog with those. On the other hand I didn't go there to take pics but to enjoy the gig and had I wanted some good-quality documents, I would have taken my SLR camera with me.

I had a lovely night. ♥ Dingo, good food in a local Japanese restaurant, 80's music, White Russians, dancing and good good company! And yesss, I have another 80's party to look forward to! And since an 80's party without a memorable song is a rare occasion to me, I shall embed the video of such a song which will remind me of that night. Ladies and gentlemen, Silent Circle! So long!

I maimed the Funnybones

♫ Ultravox – Man Of Two Worlds

So I joined the skeleton gang and purchased a pair of Kreepsville skeleton hand hair pins. Ha! I don't care much if they're somewhat popular among certain scenes at the moment – however, they're bizarre and piratey enough to my taste.

Since those were not the only thing I purchased at the same time, I shall probably continue about this later...Right now I'm either too busy or too lazy to take many photos, especially any good ones. And the following picture, which shows off the pins though, also demonstrates why I shouldn't be photographing random items...

So yeah, I look like an exhausted graphic designer and funnily enough, that's basically what I am at the moment. I suggest you don't ask what I'm drawing there, although I can say it's related to my thesis work. :D (It may not seem credible, and I'm afraid it won't seem credible to the examiner either.)

Although I didn't create this blog for personal ranting, I feel like stating that... uh, I'm so very exhausted. And have been for a while too. My thesis work is making me wither. It's been busy at work too – I'd say it's just good, but this is the worst time for me now. On Wednesday I was at work for eleven hours! (And I have to point out it was a client who'd screwed up things...) It may be almost normal for some people – I guess my father's weekend shifts are always at least that long. But probably not equally hectic all along. The thesis work stress is making me particularly vulnerable to any other kind of stress, which I could endure rather well otherwise.

Enough with that. Who is familiar with the Funnybones I mentioned in the headline? It's an awesome cartoon! I used to love it when I was a kid! The opening theme is epic! :D That'd be something all goth parents should make their children watch.

Although I'm busy and almost screwed, I'm going to an 80's party tomorrow. It is, after all, my favourite event in the city, and I guess I need and probably deserve a few hours off this stress. It'd be easier to enjoy it if the worst stress was already over, but well... It cannot be helped now. Though, if everything goes well, I may have something nice to look forward to after most of the deadlines... And finally, one good and danceable song from the 80's – something that I'd wish to hear at the party! Divine – You think you're a man!

A-B-C~!

♫ Sonata Arctica – Still loving you

I seem to have got a few new readers! *gasp* Welcome aboard.

I got (or stole?) the idea to write sort of... the alphabet of my life? I guess it also works as some sort of an introduction of what my life is like, considering that I haven't yet written enough to let possible readers in on all aspects of my life. Maybe rather many of the things mentioned here will be covered better in the future. And well, every now and then it was difficult to come up with good things for each letter, but... Oh well. A long blog entry will follow.

Animations
I have always loved watching animations. I prefer 2D to 3D, but basically pretty much anything goes or at least awakens my interest. And why did I say "watching animations"? Because I'm not too fond of making them. Damnit, they require patience which I don't have! I've made a few, and although I lack the patience, I've found myself taking one optional course in traditional animation at school... And even better, I've found myself making an animation for a commission! It was an insane task, but turned out nicely enough (I didn't make it alone though, but with a friend) and thanks to that project, I got to see a circus show for the first time in my life. Oh well, my favourite animations comprise such titles as Howl's Moving Castle, Mulan, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Thumbelina, Waltz with Bashir...

Blackmore's Night
I must immediately point out that I haven't lifted up every favourite artist of mine here in this alphabet listing, but only a few ones (maybe when the letters haven't meant anything else to me). Blackmore's Night represents such epic, fabulous, fairytale-like aesthetics that I like in music. Their music takes me far away – to other countries or worlds and to centuries past, anywhere. I particularly like to listen to them when I'm roleplaying.
Blackmore's Night – Under A Violet Moon [Spotify]

Computers & cameras
I'm a geek to some degree. And proud of it! Basically, I love my computer(s), my screens and each efficient component I have. I'm geek enough not to buy anything but custom-made computers, desktops of course. And I could barely live without two screens, although I have to settle for one at work. I love my Adobe software, and my Wacom tablet, and just... the good stuff I have! And I had to include cameras in the letter C because P for photography was already taken by other things, and somehow my computers and cameras go well together. I could say I have several cameras, but I haven't used my compact film cameras for years, so they don't count. But I have two digital cameras, a compact and a SLR one. Both by Canon! Umm... maybe I'll take photos of my computer later, though I'm not sure if it is that interesting...

Dancing
I haven't gone in for dancing since before teenage, when I used to go in for some basic disco dance for a few years. And I don't have ambitions when it comes to dancing – it's just what I enjoy when I'm partying. I don't need alcohol as much as I need a good dancefloor and some good music - preferably 80's synthpop or something they play at goth clubs.

Edgar Allan Poe
He'd be my favourite author. I've been a fan since I was fourteen. I like both his poems and short stories. The Raven is simply brilliant!

Fairyland
Hmm, how should I explain this concept... Well, sure I would like to live in a fairyland, but basically what I mean is creating an artificial fairyland – maybe this is the madness I'm talking about in my blog description. Seeing bizarre things all around you and trying to make your life even more senseless.

Graphic design
Love, hatred and frustration. A great interest, and a great source of blood, sweat and tears. Basically what I've been studying for years and what I do for a living.

Hakuei
He is a Japanese singer, songwriter and a bit of this and that from a model to an actor and from a producer to a comic artist. First and foremost a singer after all. The vocalist of my favourite bands Penicillin and Machine. His music and other projects have been a great source of inspiration for me for years.

Individualism
After years and years spent suffering from an identity crisis at teenage, I've finally found the real me, whom I consider strongly individual and I'm rather proud of that. I don't need to belong to any "group" or "scene" in order to be accepted and have friends. I tend to say that I'm not what I look like and I don't look like what I am.
Part of the whole individualism thing is having a somewhat unique name. I only have one first name, and as far as I know, I only share the same name with three other people. I don't know their last names, but if I google with my name, I can only get search results that really do point at me. It took me long to learn to appreciate that, I never liked being called with my real name. I've never considered my real name embarrassing, stupid or too old-fashioned, but back then when I didn't like it I just thought it was too long. Nowadays the most irritating aspect is the fact that barely anyone can spell it correctly. And now, that'd be the so-called individual me..:

Japan
I guess Japan gets to be mentioned here, because it was a great interest for me for several years. It still is, but I don't listen to Japanese music, watch anime, read manga or do anything like that as much as I did. I haven't even had the time to continue studying Japanese on my own. However, the culture, both old and modern, fascinate me, and I still do want to visit the country!

Knowledge?
A tough letter too. I'm not obsessed with knowledge and I don't even keep gathering it like mad. However, sometimes it's nice to know a bit about the things going on around you. I could also have chosen "kissing" or something, but... No.

Ludwig Revolution
One of my favourite manga series, basically revamping old fairytales. By Kaori Yuki, a very, very talented manga-ka! I've also heard that Hakuei was a source of inspiration behind the character Ludwig!

Music
Ooh yeah. (=a song by one of my favourite bands, Machine) Music. It's worth a letter although I'm not obsessed with music. I don't listen to music everywhere – not even always at home. I do not have an mp3 player or iPod or anything like that. I just carry my headphones to work and listen to Spotify there if I bother, for example, if I have some long-term task to concentrate on. Either way, various things from 80's synthpop to sort of battle metal excite me and keep me going!

Nature
Environmental values are rather important to me. I'm not an environmental activist, but I do value nature, want to protect and preserve it. I also appreciate animals of all kinds and want to respect each creature's right to live. (Photo © me.)

October
I was born on October 13th and I think there's something suitably epic about the date. After all, every now and then my birthday is on Friday the 13th and October is a nice autumn month.

Parapsychology, Pirates
Now this letter was a tough one! Pirates, parapsychology... Oh, and Penicillin, but it was mentioned with Hakuei. I've already written a long blog entry about my love of pirates. I shall, eventually, write about parapsychology as well. I've been interested in ghostly incidents since I was fourteen. I'm somewhat sceptic – not in such a way that I'd question the stories I read/hear, but I do believe most poorly-documented ghost stories are not paranormal at all. However, I do not like the word "paranormal" – I'd rather believe ghosts are a totally natural phenomenon, only such that scientist haven't yet been able to explain.

Quality
I prefer everything of high-quality. Especially when it comes to expensive things such as computers, cameras or other electronics... Not that it wouldn't be nice to have clothes and accessories of high quality as well. I'd rather pay for quality than go for a very good bargain.

Roleplaying
Now this is a hobby I've been obsessed with since I was fourteen. Creating stories and sort of living them through is just... amazing. Maybe I'm hooked. I spend a lot of time thinking about RP-related issues, from plotting to well... anything. Reminiscing awesome RP scenes. However, at the moment I only go in for rping in a MMORPG world.

Style
I couldn't possibly mention all the interesting things separately and although I'm currently a bit obsessed with steampunk, I didn't want to reserve S merely for that. I may not follow trends, but I really do like clothes and accessories and several things contribute to my own style. Steampunk, pirates, goths, Japanese youth fashion, comics, times past... Oh, and graphic design.

Typography
I guess it's enough to say that I'm a typography nazi.

Ultravox and other 80's synthpop bands
Though Ultravox's Hymn is an awesome song! The video can be a bit confusing.

Vegetarianism
I've been a pescovegetarian since I was thirteen. Now it's a self-evident lifestyle for me. I feel healthy, light, good... My diet produces less greenhouse gases and I don't support intensive production of red meat or chicken. However, I don't preach. I accept other people's diets as well as long as I don't need to hear the old lame joke "I've made a deal with the bunny – I won't eat its food and it won't eat mine".

Weekends
At the moment I work at the normal office hours, thus, weekends are the time when I can sleep – and even better, stay up until early morning.

Xmas
...okay this was a tough letter, but at least I can honestly say that I enjoy the magic of Christmas spirit.

Yami no Matsuei
One of my favourite anime and manga series. One of the few manga series that I actually have purchased.

Z-z-Z sleeping
Self-explanatory! Though I like sleeping in the morning, not going to bed early...