Read Some Stewf

Feather

Found today among some old files is this movie. Some pigeon down got stuck to our skylight at work. Music: Calexico.

Hello Sun

Suddenly, someone switched on the light. The short, gray days of the last 6 months are no more. This latitude is wacky — within a few weeks the average hours of light per day has jumped from 8 to 15. We went to the water to celebrate. Photos are provided. BONUS MOVIES: Birds! (from yesterday) and Orange Bike (from the same area a few days ago, featuring an episode in which I nearly run over a duck).

The Tiny Heart

Caution. This entry opens with straight up musings but descends into gushing weepery. You have been warned.

I get 3 TV channels at home. All are free, state-funded Swedish entities and they’re not bad. Fortunately, unlike their German neighbors, Sweden never dubs. I get to see all the English programming (and there is plenty, from Oprah to feature films) with Swedish subtitles. I’ve actually learned a lot of Swedish this way. I’m not a big TV chump, but I do turn it on from time to time to see if one of these American imports is on.

Last week I caught Up North, MTV’s Scandinavian showcase of chart-topping music videos. Among the usual alt-rock and neo-soul rubbish was a video for “Closer”, by The Tiny. I only got 30 seconds, but I could tell it was something important. A voice akin to Stina Nordenstam, one of my svensk favorites, sangwhispered with deep feeling over the spare backing of cello and piano. The imagery was equally subtle and strong.

I forgot about The Tiny until today when my dear ex-Stockholmer Mya pointed me to their site. There you can see the video. It’s not a revolutionary work, but no piece of art or writing more accurately encapsulates my emotions of last month. This is what it’s like to lose your heart. Finding love is fast. Losing moves in slow motion. The world stops, loses importance. I recount every event in detail. Past mistakes are pronounced. Regret pulses. After rehearsing everything until I’m out of energy and breath, I sit silent on empty curb under dark sky. All that remains is a whisper and some notes, both sweet and sour.

Thank you, Deanne. Your letter was a catalyst.

Happy Easter

My cousiniece Olivia, Easter Egg Hunt, 2003.

That’s my dad behind, pointing to an egg hidden in the pine. So why a photo from last year? I don’t know. There just isn’t a lot of Easter decor around here. (Except for these really lame arm-length twigs they sell in stores. Each has a fake, colored feather attached to the end. No one can tell me what they mean. They bother me.)

Two of My Favorite Things

Very bad news: Cartoon Network cancelled my favorite TV show Home Movies. (Sign the futile petition.)

Potentially bad news: My favorite pop band Rilo Kiley is leaving the indie Saddle Creek label for one of the EMI big boys.

It’s Quiz Time, Kids!

Brave the obnoxious blinky web ads for ten minutes and take the Know You Stewf? test which will prove, definitively, if you have been paying attention or merely coasting through our friendship. Hahah! Yes.

Possibly the Only Piece of Comic Sans I’ll Ever Enjoy

From Pi in the Sky.

Spring Cometh

This short NPR segment on Berlin in spring also perfectly describes Sweden as the same “wet, gray blanket of winter is lifted”.

It was 10°C (50°F) and bright on Wednesday. A glorious heat. Fighting depression from recent events, I dragged myself outside and, closing my eyes just like it’s described in that report, faced the sun like a flower. Mom has always performed this gesture. We used to half-mock her when we were young, but it was one of her trademarks. Now I realize it’s a scandinavian thing, running in her blood, just like so many of her idiosyncrasies. Just like her love of cream and hard-boiled eggs and willingness to skinny dip in the coldest lakes.

Deceptively Amateur

Of similar nature:

• joy — (at the wonderful Found Magazine)
• i am listening to sad songs — (by my favorite artist: Sam Brown)

Both, for me, fall in the category of art that is deep, despite its appearance.

Three Joe Sorren Paintings

Cine Capri