Kristian's weekend in Gdansk

To celebrate the-soon-to-be-married Kristian, we lured him to spend a weekend in Gdansk, the gem on the Polish coast. He was brought over from Malmö by Tore and surprised with the full party awaiting him in the old part of town. Kristian was spoiled with wine (not the traditional drink of a stag party), amber shopping, spa with massage, smoky restaurants and clubbing at "Yesterday". Beautiful Gdansk showed really good potential for a revisit in the summer season, being low cost and welcoming. Enjoy the pictures!

Concerts coming up

This weekend, March 20 & 21, I will be performing the Vespers from 1610 by Claudio Monteverdi with my choir Camerata Englund and musicians.

If you have the possibility, I warmly recommend you to come. The work is divided between tuttis, solos, duets and trios, and the instrumental parts are known for being rythmic and exuberating.

Welcome!

Details on the right side --->

Sympathy for Noise

I was asked to illustrate an article about home-owners not showing sympathy for noisy craftsmen. The idea evolved from a photo of a man wearing sunglasses and ear protectors, to a baby wearing the same things for an added comedic effect, to finally an illustration with a mix of the two.

For the background, the idea was originally to have a craftsman on a ladder, but eventually I found it better to have only one character as the focus of the composition. Thanks to Martin and Lina for your help! The photos that we took of Simon in sunglasses were an important part of the process.

Music in Ärentuna

From Ensembles

Camerata Englund and Pian' e Forte defied the extreme cold that we are experiencing right now (-20 C) and celebrated the Epiphany (Trettondagen) in the church of Ärentuna, some kms north of Uppsala. Unfortunately, almost no one else did. The souls seated in the church could be counted on one hand. In any case, we performed our best for the few that were present. It also served as a rehearsal for the Vespers, coming up in March. With some luck, I'll update this post with a recording of these fine players.

Audi Coelum

An extract from the Vespers by Monteverdi, which we are rehearsing with the choir for presentation in March.
This is a motet for two tenors, where the second tenor echoes the first. It is a remarkable portrayal of a man's dialogue with God. As you can hear on the recording, the echo is sung from a distant place in the church. It also repeats the last syllables of the first tenor, but with a new meaning. "Gaudio" (joy) is echoed as "Audio" (I hear), for instance. Below is the text in Latin and English.

My preferred recording on Spotify (Cantus Cölln, Konrad Junghänel)
Listen and follow in the text - A great experience guaranteed!

Audi Coelum, verba mea, plena desiderio et perfusa gaudio.		Hear, O heaven, my words full of longing and suffused with joy.
	Audio.		I hear.
Dic, quaeso, mihi : Quae est ista, quae consurgens ut aurora rutilat ut benedicam ?		I beseech you, tell me who is she that rises up, bright as the dawn, and I shall bless her.
	Dicam.		I shall tell you.
Dic nam ista pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol, replet laetitia terras, coelos, maria ?		Tell, for she is beautiful as the moon, exquisite as the sun which fills with gladness the earth, heavens and seas.
	Maria!		Mary!
Maria Virgo illa dulcis, praedicata de propheta Ezechiel porta Orientalis ?		That sweet virgin Mary, foretold by the prophet Ezechiel, that eastern gate,
	Talis.		The same.
Illa sacra et felix porta pet quam mors fuit expulsa, introduxit autem vita ?		that sacred and joyful portal through which death was expelled and life renewed;
	Ita!		Thus!
Quae semper tutum est medium inter homines et Deum, pro culpis remedium.		who is always a trusted mediator between God and man for the forgiveness of sins.
	Medium.		A mediator.
Omnes! Omnes hanc ergo sequamur, qua cum gratia mereamur vitam aeternam consequamur.		All! Let us all therefore follow her, through whom we may with grace deserve to attain life everlasting.
	Sequamur.		Let us follow.
Praestet nobis Deus, Pater hoc et Filius, et Mater cuius nomen invocamus dulce miseris solamen.		May God the Father, and the Son, and the mother whose name we invoke, grant sweet solace to the unhappy.
	Amen.		Amen.
Benedicta es, virgo Maria, in saeculorum saecula.		Blessed art thou, virgin Mary, for ever and ever.

Christmas Babies

The result of a photo shoot I did with Aron, Simon and Valentina about a month ago. They behaved terrific. They ended up on home made Christmas cards that were sent to family and friends all around, on Facebook and now finally on this blog. Share the Christmas spirit!

Now Leaving "City of Angels"

After some three months of rehearsals and eight performances in two weeks, it's time to say good bye to the cast, crew and stage of the "City of Angels". It's been a beautiful experience in the company of a some very special people. To see the acting grow and mature. Working together, playing with the text. The reward of an entertained audience.

Here is a teaser clip from the last performance, recorded by my pal Sven-Erik. This clip is from the scene where Stine caves in to the demands of his publisher to change sex on Detective Muñoz. Stone, another of his fictional character, reacts and openly questions his creator. Emil Gustafsson in the role of Stine, Margareta Clasborn as Muñoz and I'm playing Stone.

A Visit to the 1860's

From Walmstedtska Gården

During the second half of the 1800's, Prof. Herman Rydin and family rented an apartment in central Uppsala. They were bourgeois and had six rooms. When the wave of demolition swept through the city in the 1960's this house was spared, as one of the few remaining old residences in the city centre. The Rydin family's apartment was restored to its original appearance, and has since been a part of the Uppland Museum. it is known as "Walmstedtska Gården".

At this time of year, it is decorated and staged for the Christmas of the time. I made a visit, and took some pictures. One of the things that stood out was how dark it was back then. Furniture had to be placed by the walls, or you would risk tripping over them after night fall.

Vulgar Vikings in the Final

A few questions for Joakim Englund, manager of the football team Vulgar Vikings. Where and when is the Final going to be played? - On hattrick.org, an online football manager game with 900 000 active users. It´s free to join and build your own team to compete with. My team is in the English Cup where more than 16 000 teams are playing. The Final is tomorrow (Tuesday 8th) at 21:00 (GMT+1). We are very excited about it. With "we", you mean you and the virtual players? - Yes, but to me they are very life-like. How did you get to the finals? - I've been studying the algorithms of the game. What parameters control who gets the most goal opportunities, the best defence or how leadership affects the players. In the long run, it is important to have a good economy, earn money and make your club profitable. About six months ago, I felt like trying something new in the game and sold off my entire team. They were mostly young talents and were worth quite a lot.

With that I bought old but great players, like Henrik Larssons, that won´t last very long but can perform great in the short run. The team became really strong and has taken me to the Final. But I doubt it will still be standing in a few seasons. How will you prepare for the Final? - I have to configure the team, decide on formations and other parameters. My opponent will probably buy new strong players, and I must follow to have a chance. Being a virtual football manager takes time, I am spending around 15 hours per week on this, and it reflects your chances to succeed. My family knows I've reached a high level in the game, and have shown understanding. The best of luck to you! - Thank you. When its over I will enjoy some time off. In his real life, Joakim works as a statistician in clinical research. He is also a long time friend and co-singer of mine. Update: Vulgar Vikings have won the Cup by 3-0! Congratulations!

City of Angels Cast & Crew

The overall picture is coming together, and things start to make sense. Soon it's opening night and rehearsals are intensifying. We are close to the final stage, Reginateatern.

I volounteered to photograph the cast and crew, it was too tempting with such a handsome crowd.

Gallery updated on 23th of December!

Johannes and Clara around the globe

Johannes and Clara began their trip around the world today, with good timing considering the gloomy months that await our fair region. In the coming three months, they will visit North America, Oceania, China, southeast Asia and India.

Best of luck to you! Your cacti look healthy and spiny, I will see to it they stay that way...

Follow their adventures on Clara's blog and Johannes' blog.

Trees in Fashion

From UppsalaHöst09

A golden birch.

To celebrate the end of the season, trees have dressed in their most elegant and eye-catching outfits. Like models heading for the gala event of the year. And these models are well aware of their best colors.

They are the same every year, always right.

Click on the image to see this year's tree fashion!

Autumn in Wik

This Saturday my choir visited Wik Castle for a theme day on "Living Early Music". On a coffee-break I snuck out to capture the autumnal colouring of the surroundings with the trusty old camera.

WiksSlott

Little Sleep Cinema

Tonight, I joined Johannes and Clara to attend a screening of the Uppsala International Short Film Festival. The block was presented in the oldest cinema of our city, Slottsbiografen. Inaugurated in 1914, restored in ´94, with beautiful wooden panels, paintings and ... comfortable seats. Yes, you know where this is going.

The first feature was an animation by the Canadian Cordell Barker about a train chasing down an unsuspecting cow, naturally in an amusing presentation. Plenty of sounds and moving elements to appeal and excite the primitive parts of the brain.
The difficulties started by the second short, which dealt with a man finding himself marooned in an arctic circumstance following an accident of some sort. His head injury and/or hypothermia provoked strange illusions (not in me, in the film), until he lies down and succumbs. At least, that's what I think happened. A few nods, but I was still in the game.

The next topic to be projected on the silver screen was the Skype-conference between a Romanian man and his son in the U.S., and their joy of the son´s wedding. Not inexplicably, my brain decided it was sleep time.

It is always a bit embarrassing when the nod-offs become more than a subtle twitch. It must be obvious to the person sitting behind you that you're not exactly taking in every cinematic facet of the film. If this should occur, it can be remedied by a quick and clear reaction to something going on in the scene. Grabbing your chin in a thoughtful way can work, or joining in on a laugh that you don't know the reason of. But most likely, the person behind will see through this and value your respect for the flick even lower. So be it, you will have done what you could.

My attention had returned by the time a guest was presented to the audience. It was a collaborator on the "Romanian Skype-conference" thing, and was now accepting our questions. I was about to raise my hand and ask how the short had ended, but refrained.

By that time and for the remainder of the screening, my perception was as acute as an eagle's, and I could follow the programme in detail. It ended with "Poste Restante", a 14-minute-long tale about undeliverable mail. It was the story that touched me the most, and I sent the organizers an appreciative thought for saving the best for last.

Photo Safari

For my birthday, I got a quite unusual present. A personal photo expedition with a professional wild-life photographer.

This is what happened:

On a day like any other, at 7 a.m., I was picked up in a 4x4 jeep. "I am going to take you to places around Uppsala you never dreamed existed". I´m exaggerating what he said to make the story a little more dramatic.

The sun was still falling in from a sharp angle and my guide squinted beneath his wide-brimmed hat as we navigated through the early morning traffic.

The first stop on this wild-life odyssey was the municipal water purification plant. More specifically, the fields where the "mud" is laid out to dry. I´ve never seen such fertile soil. Among the vegetation that sprawled with unrestrained lust for life, I noticed an abundance of tomatoe-plants. "They pass right through the human body unharmed", the guide explained. He meant the seeds. The reason for this stop was the long-legged birds that usually descend upon these fields, attracted by the water mirror. Unfortunately, the fields were dried out this time. "So, no birds, I´m afraid", he said. "Well, no smell either", I could´ve added as a positive side-note. But I didn't.

Nonetheless, the location offered some interesting motifs. There was a light fog that rose as the morning sun touched the ground, some bluethroats (blåhakar) that presented themselves and a large number of cows grazing on the field beyond.

At times, my guide went silent and immobile. He would stay like that for several minutes, his only vital sign being the uttering of incomprehensible words in a low, hushing voice. If he hadn´t had a camera stuck in front of his face, I would´ve been seriously concerned for him.

As we headed out of the city toward the final location, the guide turned to me, squinting beneath his wide-brimmed hat, and began to explain the mysteries of the red-winged grasshopper. "It is to be found only in two places in the whole of Uppland - a rare species, it is. At this place where we are going there are many-many, but you will most likely not capture a single one in flight with your camera. Trust me, I've tried. Most elusive, you see." While saying this, he did of course look at the road as well, being a safety-conscious driver as he was.

As the jeep stopped, the doors were opened gently not to discompose any natural scene that may have formed in the absence of people and that may be sensitive to inelegant sounds. Soon, we concluded that such scenes were not at hand, and continued toward the grasshopper location less discretely. The site in question is an island of untamed nature in an agricultural sea, not far from a major highway.

Just as the guide had briefed me, the red-winged ones were numerous. Quite easy to spot and follow with the eye, but most uncooperative with the camera. You see, from the ground where they usually are, they jump away and then open their wings. So, even if you had focused on one, it was hard to tell where it would be while flying.

After some chasing around we retired to the car, returned to the city and I was left where I had started. "So long, and remember...", the guide concluded with a squinting look before he pressed on into the day, like any other.

September ending

Autumn has arrived a little later than usual. By the end of September, the days are still sunny and enjoyable. Compare with a similar post from a year ago. The tree to the right of the bridge is taking on a more reddish coloration this year. It will be exciting to see how things develop in the next weeks. Stay tuned...

The house cat, likes to cuddle and look for rodents by the trash.

Tried to kill my lens cap when it fell down the steps.

Musical kicks off

Some of the musical cast

Since about a week, I´m involved in a musical production to premiere in December. The musical is called "City of Angels" and weaves together two plots, the "real" world of a Hollywood writer trying to turn his book into a screenplay and the "reel" world of the fictional film.

Tonight there was a showcase at the Regina Theatre, with a glimpse of all the productions of the autumn. We performed a song called "You´re Nothing Without Me", where the writer (called Stine) and my character, the fictional private detective (Stone) duel by song. Despite my freshness in the role, I think we did a decent presentation. Fortunately, we have lots of rehearsals left... It is going to be fun.

11 Second Club

The 11 Second Club is a monthly animation competition, where the goal is to animate a scene based on a given audio clip. The clip is usually an extract from a film, with dialogue and/or sound effects. This is my contribution to the August competition.

It was great fun to animate to the clip and I think the result deserves a little better than the placement it got (#91)! Almost more hard work than the animation was the rating of all the other entries (188 in total), with the inevitable ringing of the audio clip in your ears. But it was fun. I might do it again.

The character is a freeware rig by Jason Baskin.

The Brakesman

From Upsala-Lenna

This weekend I went along with Dad on the Upsala-Lenna museum railway, to check on his examination as a brakesman. The job description is to engage or release the brakes according to the signals from the locomotive. This particular train does not have a system to control these brakes from the front, so two persons are required to do this; one in the middle and one in the end of the train.

Everything went smoothly and JC was passed. So, as soon as he´s fitted with the uniform (a cap), he is ready to serve aboard! (More pictures if you click the pic)

Magnus weds Susanna in Rasbo

From Magnus & Susannas Bröllop

Yesterday was the marriage of Susanna and Magnus, a long time friend of our family. The ceremony took place in a medieval church in Rasbo, a village north-east of Uppsala. It was a beautiful ceremony with music and recitation.

Magnus and Susanna met as performers in the musical "A Shoggoth on the Roof", which is based on stories by H. P. Lovecraft. In a very personalized sermon, this name was mentioned many times by the priest. She emphasized its two components "love" and "kraft" (Swedish for force). This and her other references to the world of Fantasy delighted the crowd.

The dinner was a lot of fun, and one of the few songs that were included in the booklet was "I Still Haven´t Found What I´m Looking For". This was a joking allusion to a wedding I attended last summer where, due to a misunderstanding, the newly wed almost made their sortie to this song.

All in all, a most memorable evening.