TWO AMONG THE GREATEST

The Seventh Seal - Ingmar Bergman

Two of the great artists left us. Two of the greatest film directors of the past century. The ways of destiny seem... special. The two film directors departed together.

INGMAR BERGMAN (14 July 1918 - 30 July 2007) and MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI (29 September 1912 - 30 July 2007)

Last month, I have been writing on Ingmar Bergman and his world... however, Michelangelo Antonioni has also been among my filmic literature. It is a bit used phrase to write down - nevertheless it is true: they will live in their works.

Blowup - Michelangelo Antonioni

HELL OVER PARADISE

Metalcamp did happen! Lots of stuff to tell. Thus, I think it is the best to plunge straight into what has been going on during the last week. To make the long story short: IT WAS VERY HOT AND IT WAS VERY GREAT!

Now, lets make the short story a bit longer. Metalcamp is the biggest Slovenian metal festival. This year, it was planned as a kind of metal-holidays. The place of it, Tolmin, is beautiful. Great nature, clear and cool river. Two stages: one for big and one for more unknown bands. A week of camping in nice surroundings, five days of gigs. Hell over paradise indeed.

My kind camp-neighbours and me arrived on the venue last Monday. The camping site is big: people can camp wherever they want. Alright, there could be more showers and more water-facilities . Anyway, the first task was to build the tents in the shadow. So it was done. Then, something odd happened. Some freaks came. And they dragged a carousel with them. Despite the camp was opened since morning and quite some people were already camping on that particular site. Goddamned old and rusty creature was supposed to stand just a few steps away from our tents. What the fuck, a carousel in the middle of the camp!? No go, just no go! Smelly and noisy thing; the only noise we wanted to hear was metal. The hardcore part of mine went a bit... nuts. Luckily, metalheads were not interested in having such fun, and the freaks were gone with the thing on Thursday. Another bad and sad story were those empty beer-cans people were throwing into the river... how could they be so cruel and careless, eh? Perhaps, it would be much wiser some of the bands would point out the care for the nature rather than inviting people to moshpit...

Better stuff. I will tackle the socializing part first. It was nice to see my friends. I really met quite some people. Also, it would be nice to see some more... but this is another story. Oh yes, there was also lots of cute guys with long hair to observe... However, I was surprised as there was so many foreigners. From very distant lands, like Australia. Lots of Swedes; I guess much cheaper Slovenian beer was attractive for all attending Scandinavians. Well, I also managed to chat in Finnish a bit. Yes, there were some Finns. Among those, I met one young band from Joensuu; they were called Exarch. Their gig was okay, I wish them all the best in the future.

The gigs. During the day it was just too hot to enjoy the music properly. The beach was more tempting. Thus, I did not attended as many gigs as I had planned at first. But before I tell you about the good thingies, I have to write on Metalcamp gig-disaster. This disaster is called Cradle of Filth. Oh my. Despite I have never been their fan, they had produced some tracks I have quite liked to hear. But their gig was... just a disaster. It sucked by all means: Danny was not in the mood at all. One could only flee to the small stage. As I did.

My main Metalcamp highlights: Korpiklaani, Satyricon, Pain, Vreid, Ensiferum, Immortal, Blind Guardian, Eluveitie, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, Exarch, Ragespect, Zvier. And some others, too. It was so nice to see Korpiklaani again. Dancing and sing-a-long! Satyricon were great, sexy and very now diabolical. Pain was beyond words, Vreid were as cool as fresh Norwegian breeze in the hot afternoon, reunioned Immortal were quite spectacular midnight ghosts... while Ensiferum and Blind Guardian filled me with nostalgia. On the small stage, Ragespect proved to be emerging Slovenian hardcore.

Lots of things, as you can see. May the photos tell some more. If this post seems excited or even overdone it is because I have been really lacking good gigs lately. I have been lacking having fun and meeting people. Lots of the gigs I have skipped during the year because of my trainings. On the Metalcamp 2007 I managed to see at least some of those missed bands. All in all, music and the life there have helped me to gain back a bit of the good mood. Metal on!

The ''ringlspil'' - thanks Banshee for the photo

A part of the camp

The beach - the source of this photo is Paranoid

The main stage and the afternoon gig

The small stage and the afternoon gig

Kaneli :)

METALCAMPING

Dear friends and fellow bloggers, I plan to be away. For a week, I guess. As I have already written, I am attending Metalcamp. Metal on! So, from 16. July to 22. July you can find me in Tolmin, on the festival's campsite. Meanwhile, I wish you good and pleasant time. Be well, wherever you are!

FRIDAY NOTHINGS

Katsoin eilen elokuvan, olipa taas pitkästä aikaa eräs suomalainen elokuva. Televisiosta tuli Tuulikaapimaa- Arktiknen komedia hullusta rakkaudesta, sellainen oli YLE:n TV-elokuvan otsikko. Ymmärsin kastosessani tarinan melko paljon, oli hauska kuulla suomea. Ja sitten muistin, etten kirjoittanut suomeksi tuskin mitään aikoihin. Luullakseni unohdin melko paljon; olin niin perkeleen laiska kertaamaan. Tässä kirjoituksessani lienee siis paljon virheitä - pyydän anteeksi. Mutta toisaalta minulle on aivan sama, sillä haluan vain harjoitella suomea hiukan. Harjoitus tekee miestarin. Ja virheetkin tekevät miestarin, eikö niin? No... vielä siitä elokuvasta. Pidin käsikirjoitusta melko hyvänä ja hauskana. Se kertoi nuoresta pojasta, joka oli niin kuin... kehitysvammainen. Hän rakasti erästä naista, mutta valitettavasti se nainen ei rakastanut poikaa. Ei mitään erikoista, mutta elokuva oli kuitenkin kiva. Maisema oli todella kaunis; se näytii kovalta pohjoiselta maisemalta. Muistin siis Suomen ja sen tunnelman. No niin... mitä muutakin halusin kirjoittaa? Huh, tänään oli perjantai kolmastoista...

So it was Friday the Thirteenth today. What was I doing, despite practicing Finnish a little?

- The weather was hot and sunny.

- I went to the city.

- Spent some money on items needed for Metalcamp.

- Walked home, had a lunch, waited for the evening, took a bike and went back to the city.

- I drowe through the park.

- In the park, there was a guy playing Hare Krishna on a guitar, singing these words, too.

- Then, I saw a book on Tom Waits in our biggest bookshop, but it was far too expencive.

- I bought one skirt because it was far less expencive than the book on Tom Waits.

- A guy passed me by and whispered in English to me: ''Are you a nun?'' Yeah, well...

SHE GOES METALCAMP

No big words from me today, I guess. More inner events and such blah-blah; but I have not been writing for a while. First of all, I have been feeling like young Werther these days. Emo, caught in some kind of sweet despair and so on. The second thing is that I am about to copy an idea from Aelfsciene and Nárëlaimë. One announcement there is. I am going to Metalcamp this year. And with the purchase of this ticket, I have also supported one young Slovenian hardcore band.

My last two summers were dedicated to Nanbudo. Thus meaning I attended traditional summer seminar in Playa d'Aro, Spain. Serious trainings on the beach twice a day. Now you can imagine an international bunch of people practising martial art in kimonos among all those holiday-on-the-beach-lying people. Well, I guess Nanbudo was there first. Our founder Yoshinao Nanbu Doshu had started the seminar on that beach long before the place has got so commercial. Oh, I had a dream about Spain just tonight... well, yes, I will miss the seminar. This is how things have turned out. Yet I have wished to see our Metalcamp, too.

I should be thinking about my future; and yep, I am thinking about it a lot. Though I am such a person of the past... now I am writing in general. I would miss things and crave for the past. Dwell on it. Hei, even my two latest plays speak about character's past and dealing with it. And I have had one flash these days. Even if I miss some particular things... they have been long gone already. Illusions are what I miss.

Okay, enough of this abstract writing. Speaking of the past again, yesterday, we had a very nice trip with Aelfsciene. We went to see castle Kamen (Stain - Stone - Kivi) near Begunje. A few years ago, I remember we Tolkenians practised medieval sword fighting there, hehe... The place is really picturesque. The weather was nice as well - and, as you can see, we had some fun with taking photos.

SOUNDS AND TRACKS

Hei, July! Summer is getting high. Last week, our two metal pubs were like... abandoned. From now on, metal evenings won't be happening until autumn. This fills me with slight melancholy. Autumn. And my future. Yep, that is the main reason for my melancholy. I feel like something has faded away. Well, yes, things did fade away. A part of the past is gone.

But, Hell, away with tears. At least try so. The future awaits. Now, the time of music festivals begins.

Here is the soundtrack of my life. One of those funny surveys; thanks for the idea, Aelfsciene. As I listen to a lot of stuff, there would be quite some alternatives for each subject. Thus, I have rather chosen those more known bands. And I guess the list would look different even within a couple of months...

MY LIFE:: THE CURRENT SOUNDTRACK

Opening credits:: Summoning: Mirkwood

Waking up:: Storm: Noregsgard

Average day:: Dekadent: Dissident Dream

First date:: Satyricon: K.I.N.G.

Falling in love:: Ensiferum: Lai Lai Hei

Love scene:: The Velvet Underground: Venus in Furs

Fight scene:: Slayer: Angel of Death

Breaking up:: Katatonia: No Good Can Come Out of This

Getting back together:: Dimmu Borgir: Stormblåst

Secret love:: Tenhi: Rannalta Haettu

Life's okay:: Tom Waits: Everything goes to Hell

Mental breakdown:: My Dying Bride: From Darkest Skies

Driving:: Pain: Shut Your Mouth

Learning a lesson:: Hatebreed: Supremacy of Self

Deep thought:: Katatonia: The Future of Speech

Flashback:: Ajattara: Musta Aurinko

Partying:: Sacred Reich: Surf Nicaragua

Happy dance:: Korpiklaani: Tervaskanto

Regreting:: Swallow the Sun: The Justice of Suffering

Long night alone:: Mortiis: En Mørk Horisont

Death scene:: Evoken: Antithesis of Light

Closing credits:: Magyar Posse: Kings of Time