Post-releaseparty release.

Woah, just woke up after the releaseparty last night. We had a blast! Thanks goes out to Spasibar, Jippi and everyone who showed up.

Oh yeah....

Oslo, sweet Oschlo...

Finally had some time to write.
I touched down monday afternoon. My bro met me at the airport and we got off into town. My dad was at the railway station and we took off to eat in a Ethiopian place. Hot tip: if Ethiopians are eating there, it's a good sign. The food was excellent. We parted ways full of african goodness.

Me n my bro found the gallery and the excellent Lars Paalgaard took my paintings in for safekeeping. My old friend from Kokkola/Oslo Art Academy Ivan "parliament bomber" Johansson was hanging out, great to see him again.


Tuesday, eight sharp at the gallery, armed with an industrial size container of coffee. I expected four hours of measuring, calculating, drilling and messing it up. Mr. Paalgaard saw to it that I was proven wrong. I turned my back to make even more coffee. When I turned back, Lars had put up the paintings. I owe you a drink, buddy.

Only mishap was him falling off a ladder. Thank heavens the ladder broke and the man didn't.

I finished a flash animation as a companion piece to the paintings and left for a nap.

The opening was wonderful. As a happy coincidence, Sound of Mu had double booked. By the time the vernissage was tapering off, an experimental duo started their set: Fascinating stuff. I have never caught myself wondering how a vibrator on top of a drum, with a steel cup with a pingpongball inside of it sounds like. But if I had, I would become a wiser and happier person. Not saying I'm currently stupid and unhappy, mind you.

The splendid mr Nærum blessed us with his presence, as did my dear editor Vindenes, fellow comic artists Johansen, Hartberg and Kjølberg. I do remember Jørgen, Odd and Henning gracing the surroundings too.

Personal highlight of the evening: The legendary Mr.Falk showed up with an advance copy of the book. After three months of work it was amazing to finally hold the thing and see it as a real object, not just an Indesign-file on my screen.

All in all, a great eve was had, I headed back to my brothers place and fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.


Wednesday morning was spent at a publisher, dealing with an unpaid bill. I would like to thank the editor for being so smart, flexible and above all, a real mensch. You saved my hide there, toveri. It was arranged so that I could leave the place with cash in hand. Excellent!

Coming back from one meeting, I got to see how ordinary life at a large publishing house usually is. The whole staff was hanging out, drinking champagne and chilling. Man...

Then off to Håvard Johansen in his studio. Even bumped into the ever-brilliant Øystein Runde. Me and Håvard went off for Grafill discussions and he made a splendid filéed chicken. The evenings piece dé resistance was catching This Sect at club Maiden club. These guys are getting better batter bitter butter. I have a feeling next fridays concert will be a nice one.


Thursday started off with a meeting at Grafill. Me n Håvard showed up with molotovcocktails, bricks and torches in hand. After a coupla hours we went out quite optimistic about the future. We celebrated with some vietnamese food. Again, if vietnamese people are eating there...

After a coffee with my thirteen-years-and-counting-partner-in-crime Freddy Holm, I got back to my bro's place and fell asleep around 22, like a little old granny.


Friday kicked off with me at a hotel six in the morning. I was trying to get the keys to the Grafill apartment. The clerk couldn't find them and he had already searched through three boxes and made two phonecalls. I was mentally preparing to nurse a coffee and reading the papers until nine, when Grafill offices opened. No fun if you have a deadline.
Then a short guy with designer glasses jumped in, smacked some keys on the desk, yelled 'Grafill!' and leapt out again. Apparently the tenant before me. Problem solved.

I got to the pad, unpacked my gear and started drawing. Deadline killed.

Then Mr. Ærlig popped by. We are planning some very very nice things once all the dust has settled around the Faktabook. Great things even.

Tor left and I was out of commission for the rest of the eve. The first bit of privacy and solitude in over a week. Brilliant! Junkfood and teevee rules!

Now I'm off to Tranby. Be back on sunday. Cheers!

Variations

I dunno how many of you out there has read Raymon Quineau's "Variations", but a guy called Matt Madden has done a comic version of the same idea. Interesting. It could turn out pretty dry and academic, but really it's not.


Link

Gigs and exhibitions

I'm doing a solo acoustic set this friday (27th) at Club Dubrovnik, downstairs of Korona bar. It's gonna be a short set, consisting of covers. I need Nazca to play Nazca songs.

Next tuesday (31st) I will be exhibiting paintings at Sound of Mu gallery space in Grünerløkka, Oslo. Vernissage is at 1900 hours, if you are in the neighbourhood, it would be lovely to see you.

And for those of you in Oslo, be sure to drop in at Maiden bar tomorrow and root for This Sect

The Post Office

Sadly not the Bukowski book. For the last two weeks, I have received no mail. Earlier this week I was contacted by people wanting to know my current adress, since they were getting their mail back, saying I have moved. I was utterly confounded and decided to call my post office.

There it became clear that my mailman thought I had moved. He apparently didn't think my girlfriend had moved. I think I know why.

From time to time, we receive letters to the former tenants. We then tape the letter to the door with a note saying the person has moved. So my mailman got a bit mixed up about that.

To sum up: We still receive letters to the former tenants while my mail get sent back. Yay.

So, if you have sent me anything the last couple of weeks, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE resend it and send the stamp-bill to:
Suomen Posti OY

(like the two places I was expecting answers about my grant-applications, f. ex...)




Bastards.

Aki Kaurismäki is my hero

Tusj story teaser

Just woke up from the first sleep I've had since saturday. Finished off a five page story for the new Tusj anthology which suddenly had to be finished. A pretty hardcore session, to say the least.

The story is a 1910-style pulp pastische with a norwegian scout song, a main character called Roger Hitler and some gore. I have often bemoaned the lack of violence in contemporary norwegian comix, but it's first here that I am able to contribute myself.

Here's a teaser from when things are heating up...

...and a pic of Tanja as an encore!

Seems like the new Beta blogger won't let me post too many pics in one post, so here's one meant for the one below:

A snapshot of the lovely Ms. Kangas receiving divine knowledge.

Camera tossing fun

I am stupid and I do have a cheap digicamera. What do you think?

Ted Rall is right

Go read.

Camera tossing

Art for the brave, the stupid, the rich, the ones with cheap cameras or the ones with good insurance.

Check out some of the results here

Collective traffic fun

I guess we've all had that one. You turn a corner and you see your bus leaving.
Now, that's pretty aggravating. You stand there for ten minutes cursing and spreading damnations on all you see.
This one will top ANY late-for-the-bus-story you got...


ONE

This wednesday I left the office early, which means around seven in the eve.
I had just gotten out in the yard, when I see a bus leaving the bus stop at the other side of the fence. Fuuuck.


TWO

I go out the gate and go to check when the next bus leaves. The next bus leaves in three minutes? Huh?
I wait. Two minutes after the bus shoulda been there I realise it musta been my bus after all which was early. These things happen.
I start walking towards the tramstop. I turn a corner, halfway up the hill, I look behind me and see my bus swoosh past.
Piss shit fuck hell


THREE

I turn around and see my tram go towards the stop. I start running and get there just in time to touch the tram as it leaves.
FUCK FUCKITY FUCK FUCKFUCKFKKKK

FOUR

At this precise moment it starts raining.

I ain't got no umbrella.

Now I start laughing, this is too much.

Apparently I am supposed to walk to the metro. Well, it ain't raining too much.

I decide to turn negative into positive and do my evening shopping on the way. When i come out of the store it's really pissing down.

No way I can make it to the metro without getting soaked. I make a run for the nearest bus stop with a booth. The stop for the direct-home-bus is on the opposite corner, but there is no booth.
The one I'm waiting for will take me to the metro. I'm cold, I'm wet, I've just missed three different ways to get home. I'm standing and cursing for five minutes.
While standing there, I see my direct-home-bus stop at the other stop. No way I can make it over there. It's pissing down.
AAAACK TUBGIRLSHITHOSEGEORGEWBUSH



FIVE

Hey wait. It stopped raining. I run over to the bus-direct-home-bus stop to see when my next bus is leaving. Ten minutes. Fuck. I turn around. The bus which woulda taken me to the metro is just leaving.

At this point I finally give up. I decide to walk to the metro, take the metro, walk home, get under the blankets and pretend that collective transport does not exist.

Got a package yesterday...

Faktabook

Just eagerly awaiting the proofs from Hungary now. If no trouble there, the presses will roll and sometime in the near future, the world will see a new Fakta fra Verden book.
Here's the cover.












So, what's in it?

Well, to start off, a foreword by none other than Jon Bing, law professor, norwegian sci-fi-pioneer and one of the few people you could actually stick the tired cliché 'living legend' on.

Then, to keep with the style of the series, follows 134 Facts from the World (the title amount is 125)

In the end, there is 12 guest facts from the cream of the crop of norwegian comix artists today.

Here's the list:

Knut Nærum
Tor Ærlig
Waldemar Hepstein
Roy Søbstad
Kim Holm
Håvard Holten
Sigbjørn Lilleeng
Lise Myhre
Øystein Runde
Knut Westad
Rune Borvik
Arild Midthun/Tormod Løkling
Torbjørn Lien

Release party is Friday the 10th of November at Spasibar. On stage: This Sect and Nazca.

Hans Holbein
When I was a kid, we had a book with his paintings. I cut out his portrait of Thomas More and hid it, like treasure. If I would do the same today I woulda been a goddamn loonie.
Read the Guardian's article here
Check out the paintings here

John Pilger

This might be one of the best things I've read in weeks

Pics


My friend Mika Meskanen sent me a picture he took from the office tupari I had last month. For you non-finns, tupari is like a housewarming party. For the record, we had a fantastic time.

















This one I got from my friend Vesa Kataisto, which I'm seen talking to in the previous pic. It's from the comix fest. Fun was had by all. Yes, REAL FUN by ALL.

Comix festival










Big thanks to the organisers behind Helsinki comics festival. We were treated like royalty. We had a great time, the gig was fun and the whole shebang was filmed. I was told that Warren Ellis thought Nazca sounded Norwegian, 'because of our surf guitars'. We take that to our hearts, even if we are not quite sure what he's talking about.


The next day I was moderating the alt.comix now panel. It was pretty interesting since nobody could hear each others on stage. I just asked broad questions to the invited artists and hoped they were able to take it from there. No chance to do follow-up questions, since I couldn't hear their answers and in most cases, they couldn't hear my questions. It musta been a nice spectacle to watch.


Also big hellos to Dongery, I have vague glimpses of insanely drunken conversations. (me being the insanely drunken part)I was given a nice button saying 'Bendik sucks', which I thought was hilarious. Nobody I showed it to got it, but they laughed politely with me and hoped the drunk man would go away.

On a sidenote, Bergen prodigy Kim Holm has published his guest-entry to my book on his website. Go see it and everything else that man produces.

Kipsari gig tonight
























A lot of water has passed under the bridge, a lot of leaves has fallen from the trees and other clichés that time has passed...

We are playing Kipsari again. We got invited by the Comics society of Finland and the opportunity was too good to turn down.

This is happening tonight. This is a free event. We are playing together with Finlands best punkrock band Kätyrit. Showtime around 2200 hours. This will be Nazca's last Helsinki concert this year, so be there or be...






...well, you know.

The reason why we are cutting down on gigs is as simple as if we ever want to finish off our new album, we have to stop gigging for a while, no matter how much we like it.

We will play one more gig in Oslo friday the 10th of November, but that's it. That gig will mark the release of my book and we will play together with the spastic fantastic demons of the Oslo underground This Sect.

So, either you are standing in front of us tonight or we'll see you in 2007, unless you are in Oslo, that is.