Another year over

I can't believe that Christmas came and went already! And I'm a year older again, since I celebrated my birthdayt on the 10th of December. I have so much to do! I want to draw and play music and read books and meet new people... And yes, I say this every year. We all promise that this year is going to be better than the last one. And sometimes it turns out to be so. And sometimes not. You can never tell, you just have to live every moment like it's your last and try to have fun while you still can. Merry christmas and a happy new year everyone!

xxx
Evan

En voi uskoa että joulu tuli ja meni jo! Ja minäkin olen taas vuoden vanhempi, elikkä vietin tuossa 10. päivä synttäreitä. Olisi niin paljon tekemistä! Haluan piirtää ja tehdä musiikkia ja lukea kirjoja ja tavata uusia ihmisiä... Ja kyllä, sanon näin joka vuosi. Joka vuosi lupaamme että uudesta vuodesta tulee parempi kuin edellisestä. Ja joskus siitä tulkeekin. Kun taas joskus ei. Koskaan ei voi tietää, täytyy vain elää jokainen hetki kuin se olisi viimeisesi ja yrittää nauttia elämästä kun vielä voi. Hyvää joulua ja onnellista uuttavuotta kaikille!

xxx
 Evan

 Here are some pictures again. And the traditional christmas Tardis!

Quote of the day and other stuff

Quote of the day:

“If you really want to hurt your parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way to make life more bearable.”
- Kurt Vonnegut


I finally got around to read the goddamn Slaughterhouse 5 (I've been about to read it for like 4 years... It's such a short book, I can't understand why it took me so long... Especially since I'm a fan of Vonnegut anyway)!
I think I'll just post something short here like:

What makes me happy today:
It's christmas soon! I really like christmas, even though it's somehow "fashionable" nowdays to not like it and rant about how it destroys the world and is stressful and blah blah blah. I say it's not stressfull if you do not make it out to be so. I just like to buy/make gifts to my family and friends and eat good food (not necessarily traditional christmas-food people! You can eat pizza if you want to!) and dress nicely and not really make a fuss about anything.
Also, my birthday is on the 10th of December... I have a developing age crisis :P

What makes me sad today:
That Patrick motherfucking Wolf is coming to Finland on the 6th of December (yes, the same day as the independence day of Finland). BUT I can't go and see him. Seriously, life is unfair.
Plus I can't go and see Paul McCartney either (I think he's here in December as well) because I don't have any money and the tickets are crazy expencive. Why god, why?

Listening to Billie Holiday

Lately I've been drawing lots of blue stuff, I don't know why... I've also developed my style into new directions.
I haven't written that many melodies but I have tons of unused lyrics just waiting for the inspiration to strike.
I really want to record one particular song I wrote last year, that is really of current interest... I'll have to look into it. This summer I had a recording session with a producer who really liked my voice. We recorded about 10 of my songs in a day, and I still have to hear from him, as he has yet to master them. I hope he'll send them to me during the year 2011...
     It's funny, sometimes I'm convinced that I might actually be okay, that my song are actually pretty good and I can write, I'll be able to earn a living this way... But then most of the time I'm in total despair, because I know I'll never be anything. I remember when I was younger and talked to someone about wanting to become a musician, but being afraid that no one will ever like me. They said: "Just think about for example Muse and Britney Spears. They're completely different but they still have people who listen to them" And I said that I didn't want to be Muse or Britney Spears, I wanted to be The Beatles, Mozart, Freddie Mercury.
At least I've somehow overcome my legend-complex and just try to do things in this short life that make me happy and that I'm passionate about. And I try to be good towards other people and even myself, even if  it's sometimes hard.
The thing is I have to do this, I have to write and I have to sing and I cannot possibly imagine doing anything else, I don't want to do anything else. I have to sing. Or else I'll die. And this sounds overdramatic and childish but I know it's true. If I can't tour and sing and do art I'll wither away and die. I cannot possibly adapt to another kind of life. School bores me, life bores me. But still I know I'll have to finish my education, it's important. I know this sounds like stupid Teen Angst, but I swear it's not really angst, it's a thought that gives me strenght. I hope everyone who reads this have found or will find the path that they want to take in life and do what they want and what they've dreamed.


Peace & Love


- Evan



Viime aikoina olen kehittänyt piirrustyyliäni uuteen suuntaan. Olen myös piirtänyt aika paljon sinisiä juttuja. 
Olen säveltänyt aika vähän mutta kirjoittanut sitäkin enemmän, minulla on hirveästi käyttämättömiä sanoituksia jotka vain odottavat inspiraatiota jolloin yhdistäisin ne melodiaan. Minulla on yksi biisi viimevuodelta jonka haluaisin todella äänittää, sillä se on aika ajankohtainen tänä vuonna. Täytyy katsoa koska on aikaa.
Syyslomalla minulla oli pieni äänityssessio erään tuottajan kanssa joka tykkäsi äänestäni. Nauhoitimme about 10 biisiä yhden päivän aikana. En ole vielä kuullut hänestä, hänen pitää vielä masteroida ja vähän säätää soundien kanssa. Toivon vain että saisin ne biisit takaisin vielä tänä vuonna...
   Se on outoa, joskus olen ihan vakuuttunut siitä että olenkin ihan ok, biisini ovat ihan hyviä ja osaan kirjoittaa, tienaan vielä elantoni tällä keinolla and all that shit... Mutta suurimman  osana ajasta olen ihan epätoivoissani koska tiedän etten koskaan tule olemaan yhtään mitään. Muistan kun olin nuorempi ja puhuin jollekin siitä että haluaisin olla muusikko, mutta pelkäsin ettei kukaan pitäisi minusta kuitenkaan. Tämä henkilö sanoi: "Mietipä vaikka Musea ja Britney Spearsia. Ne ovat ihan erilaisia, mutta molemmilla on oma kuulijakuntansa" johon minä nuorena ja epätoivoisena vastasin etten halua olla Muse tai Britney Spears vaan The Beatles, Mozart, Freddie Mercury...
Ainakin olen nykyään jotenkin päässyt tämän legenda-kompleksin yli ja yritän vain tämän lyhyen elämän aikana tehdä asioita jotka tekevät minut onnelliseksi ja joita rakastan. Yritän kohdella muita ihmisiä hyvin, ja samoin itseäni, vaikka se onkin välillä vaikeaa.
    Juttu on nyt vain se että minun on pakko tehdä tätä, minun täytyy kirjoittaa ja laulaa enkä voi mitenkään kuvitella toisenlaista elämää, en tahdo kuvitella toisenlaista elämää. Minun täytyy laulaa! Jos en voi laulaa, kuolen. Tai niin minusta joskus tuntuu. Koulu kyllästyttää minua, elämä kyllästyttää minua. Mutta tiedän että minun on käytävä koulu loppuun, se on järkevää. Tämä kaikki kuulostaa typerältä Teini Angstilta (isoilla kirjaimilla ja erikseen) mutta ei tämä oikeastaan edes ole masentavaa, vaan antaa minulle voimaa. Toivon että kaikki lukijani löytävät tai ovat löytäneet oman tiensä elämässä, niin kliseiseltä kuin se kuulostaakin. Eläkää! Tehkää sitä mitä haluatte!

xxx

- Evan

Sleepwalking back again

Long time no posting! I realized I haven't posted any pictures of my trip in London ! (Which was last summer)
It was amazing, we -me and my mom- stayed in a rented room we found via airbnb. The woman who hosted us was absolutely wonderful and really helpful. She had two cats called Georgie and Mikey who were also very lovely. Especially Mikey who was quite a character. He was on a diet so he constantly tried to get us to give him more food and oh how he tried! I've never ever met a cat like him in my life. He was so acting out and purring and rolling on the floor just so we'd give him treats. I swear, this cat had brains, he planned things! A sneaky little thing... <3 His brother Georgie was his complete opposite! He was very shy and mostly liked to be on his own or with our host, he was generally quite shy with strangers and we didn't see him that often. But they were both adorable anyway...

Hei vaan kaikki ihmiset pitkästä aikaa! 
En ole kirjoittanut pitkään aikaan, enkä ole edes kirjoittanut Lontoon matkastani viime kesältä! Vuokrasimme äitini kanssa huoneen airbnb:n kautta (niin paljon halvempaa ja hauskempaa kuin hotellit, ottakaapa selvää!). Meidän "host" oli aivan mahtava ihminen ja oli ihanaa kun pystyi kysymään paikalliselta jos jokin asia askarrutti. Hänellä oli myös kaksi kissaa, Georgie ja Mikey, jotka olivat todella ihania! Mikey on tuo vähän pulleampi, hän olikin laihdutuskuurilla ja siksi kerjäsi tavallista innokkaammin ruokaa meiltä vierailta. En ole koskaan eläissäni nähnyt kissaa joka pistää pystyyn sellaisen shown kuin Mikey. Se kiehnäsi ja pyöri ja kehräsi ja vaikka mitä ja puski ja näykki- vain jotta saisi ruokaa! Vaikka kyllä se sitten vähitellen luovutti :D Georgie taas oli tosi ujo, kuulemman osaksi siksi että se ei vieläkään ollut antanut anteeksi eläinlääkärikäyntiä ja rokotusta.

 

Mikey is the slightly chubby one :D

 Then of course we had to see Hard Rock Café! So many legends... And honestly they had the best veggie burgers ever!

Hard Rock Caféssa oli tietty pakko käydä!

 I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes fan so of course we had to visit Baker Street as well! It was a special day for a geek like me with lots of references to the books. I just have to tell you this though: When I flipped through the letters that had arrived to the 221b appartment (You can actually send letters and ask help from "Holmes", much like the letters you can send to "Juliet" in Verona to ask lovelife advice... Except that you won't get an answer from Baker Street. They just gather all the letters into a book that the visiters can read) I found this one letter that was hilarious! It was from a girl from USA and it went something like this.

"Dear mister Sherlock Holmes, I know that you're already dead so I can't see the point in writing to you, but I have to, so that I can improve my English grade. This is stupid."
I couldn't stop laughing! But then again, I've propably been just as stupid in some cases so no hard feelings...

Kävimme myös Baker Streetillä eli paikassa jossa Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doylen kirjoissa ja novelleissa asui. Olen kova Holmes-fani (en tosin uuden elokuvan, se on elokuvana oikein mainio ja viihdyttävä mutta Holmesin hahmoilla ja elokuvan hahmoilla ei oikein muuta yhteistä ole kuin nimi) joten oli hauskaa käydä siellä, vaikka vähän ahdistava turistirysä olikin. En ollut tiennyt että sinne voi lähettää kirjeitäkin, kuten oikealle Holmesille konsanaan, tosin vastausta on turha odottaa. Kirjeet kootaan kyllä kansioon ja vierailijat saavat lukea niitä. Eräs kirje herätti sen lukijoissa suurta hilpeyttä: Amerikkalainen tyttö oli kirjoittanut Holmesille, omien sanojensa mukaan parantaakseen äidinkielen arvosanaansa ja kirjeen kirjoittaminen tuntui hänen mielestään typerältä, sillä kyllähän hän tiesi että Holmes oli jo kuollut kauan sitten. Sille tuli kyllä naurettua, niin minun kuin japanilaisten turistienkin. No, kaikille sattuu virheitä ja ajatuskatkoksia...

 

As a huge fan of The Beatles (and many other British bands) London was a perfect place. I wasted so much money in band T-shirts and CD's... Yes I still buy CD's, it just feels much more "authentic"... I don't like to buy virtual stuff, it feels weird. I want to hold the records I own and study the covers.

Beatles-fanina ja yleisestikin brittimusiikin ystävänä Lontoo luonnollisestikin oli allekirjoittaneelle unelmakaupunki. Niin paljon rahaa tuhlattu bändipaitoihin ja levyihin... Kyllä, levyihin, tykkään paljon enemmän ostaa konkreettisia asioita, se on niin paljon tunnelmallisempaa jotenkin... merkityksellisempää.

 Then one day something awesome happened. I noticed that during the 2 weeks that we were in London the LONDON FILM AND COMIC CONVENTION took place in, naturally, London! As a huge science fiction, comic, and movie geek I was so excited (so was my mom for that matter, she's been a geek all her life too). And so we got to meet some of our favourite actors ever and buy lots of cheap but awesome comic books. And we saw so many great cosplayers and met friendly people and I could go on and on forever... I managed to throw together a quick Amy Pond cosplay from which I got lots of compliments... And people even photographed me o_O Here are a few pictures of some really great cosplayers (I'll add pictures of the real characters incase you won't recognize them):

Jonkun kumman onnenpotkun takia olin kaupungissa samaan aikaan kuin siellä järjestettiin jokavuotinen (?) London film and comic convention ja se jos mikä oli mahtavaa! Olen aina ollut suuri scifi- sarjakuva- elokuva- ja musiikkinörtti joten olin aivan onnessani. Tapasin todella mukavia ihmisiä ja sainpa heitettyä kasaan nopean cosplayn itsekin. Sain paljon kohteliaisuuksia asustani mikä oli hieman hämmentävää kun vertaa siihen vaivaan minkä jotkut muut olivat nähneet asujensa eteen: (liitän mukaan referenssin koska kaikki lukijoistani eivät välttämättä tunne kyseisiä hahmoja):

                                                   Harley Quinn & The Joker from Batman

 

River & The Doctor from Doctor Who

                                        




    
                                      The "Johnny Depp" Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland                       
    

                 
                          




                      The 10th and the 9th Doctor from Doctor Who (plus an adorable baby 10)

 

                                    Various well-known super heroes plus a Ghostbusters- guy :D

                                 A super hot Lara Croft from the video game(s) Tomb Rider : DD

 

 And here is what I wore:

Oma cosplayni : DD

A reference from the real show (Doctor Who- Amy Pond):

We also went to see the Doctor Who exhibition and three musicals (Billy Elliot, The Phantom of the Opera and The Lion king, all fantastic). Here are some more pictures:

Kävimme myös katsomassa kolme musikaalia, Billy Elliotin, Oopperan kummituksen (<3) ja Leijonakuninkaan- kaikki fantastisia. Tässä lisää kuvia:

 (bwahaha, scared you or not?)

PLUS:

Our wonderful host gave me this book because the author is her friend and because I showed interest towards the subject and I beg you dear people, please please please READ IT!

"Hostimme" antoi minulle tämän kirjan lahjaksi, koska olen kiinnostunut Tiibetistä, buddhalaisuudesta ja kulttuurista ja voi hyvät ihmiset pyydän teitä jotka suinkin vain osaavat englantia: LUKEKAA SE! Se kertoo viihdyttävällä ja pohjimmiltaan opitimistisella tavalla yhdestä sukupolvemme polttavimmista ihmisoikeusrikkomuksesta. Ja jos ette voi lukea tätä kirjaa, lukekaa jotakin suomenkielistä kirjallisuutta aiheeseen liittyen. Jos ette jaksa tehdä sitäkään, googlatkaa edes Tiibet. Kiitos.

If it's the last thing you do, read it! I guarentee you you will love it. It's a hard book to read because it deals with a difficult subject but it's so worth it. If you're in the slightest interested in human rights in general, please take few moments to read this book.


(All the pictures not taken by me are from google)

Oh, incurable humanist you are

Norwegian skies (or how I learned never to think like a photographer)

Greetings, my dearest readers!

As you may know, I was invited by my godmother Päivi Laakso, to play music at her art gallery opening in Sandeford, Norway. I arrived a few days earlier on a plane and stayed with her in this huge luxury house we were allowed to borrow so she could get everything ready for the opening (she actually lives in Oslo). And when I say luxury house I mean it, it was awesome! The house was huge and was located high upon a hill where you had amazing view of the whole town.

Sorry, a really bad picture xP

The town was so beautiful!
The gig and the whole opening went very well, along with me performed a group that combined theatre, music and performance art, Stella Polaris. Also Päivi snatched some Harley Davidson guys from the near-by Harley Davidson festival and made them perform a music piece with their motorcycles! It was crazy...

Here are a few pictures of my performing costume (without the jacket, sadly)

About a day after the performance my mother and little sister arrived to Oslo to spend a little holiday with me, my godmother and her 5-years old son (who was an awesome little boy).

We went to see the Munch museum (of course) and I lectured my family about art history xD And we did normal tourist things like ate caramel pudding (which was really weird). I also played an ex tempore gig in a music bar in Oslo where all the "high class" musicians hang out... And I totally failed it. I'm serious. It's a good thing they didn't laugh straight to my face. But it's alright, I'm just laughing to myself :D The next time I'll be better. (Oh dear god, I really was awful...)

But here, caramel pudding!

We visited the natural park near the Munch museum, which gave me an opportunity to try and improve my none-excistant photographing skills.

I solemnly name this piece of art: "Yay, it's a huge park with exotic plants, and what do I do? Take pictures of old benches!"

And this is my darling little sister.

Please don't eat the poor plant!

Next I'm going to present you the rules of art photographing:

-----

1. If it's black and white, it's art

2. If it's a closeup of a flower, it's art (the closer the better, and if the flower has a bug in it, it's even more better, for it demonstrates how you value all life, and especially how you have an expensive and professional camera),

3. If it's a shiny light (oooh!) it's art

4. If it's a closeup of a Starbucks coffee cup taken with a compac system camera that your daddy paid, it's art

And here kids, is some demonstration. 

(Why do I suddenly feel like singing the Trolololo- song?)

Thank you. The lesson has ended.

Here are the rest of the pictures I chose to fill this blog with, if anybody's interested. It also shows some of my outfits on different days.

Oh my sweet baby Jesus, I'm almost like a fashion blogger! *squeals with excitement*

Btw, if you look very closely to the backround of this last pic, you can see two guys with black suits and sunglasses. They were guards for the Norwegian Elle party, that was just starting when we were hanging out in the park (they played "Another one bites the dust" from the speakers! I sang along and frightened some Russian tourists). I failed to sneak in, which saddens me immensly. I thought I looked so convincing! Especially accompanied with two kids and my mum. Anyway, I love the picture, it's hilarious xD (The little boy is my godmother's son, if you didn't guess)

These last pics are from an art piece my godmother did and we went to see. It was awesome! The boats had speakers that played the sound of the waves, some norwegian singing etc. And when it was dark enough the boats would light up with thousands of small lights. I'll write the story behind this monument here when I have more time.

Have fun and enjoy the summer!

Peace & love

-Evan