Monday, February 23, 2009

umeå hxc



this weekend we played at umeå folk festival. two days of dancing, nyckelharpas, accordions, fiddles and fiddles, beers and tunes. it was amazing to hear music that i have learned being played by others 6 hours north, a confirmation of my experience and education here, being played by young, old, black, white, chilean, slovakian, indian. the afterparty was from 2 am to 8 at the premiere hardcore squat of sweden (where refused and raised fist came from) clumps of fiddlers and players crowded the hallway and sitting room, furiously playing song after tune after beer. i danced polskor and schottis for hours in a dark room papered with hardcore flyers and x's. so funny. 6 hour bus ride back of neck cricks and oranges. today is translation and raw vision.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Saturday, February 14, 2009

tjuter




sky glider


i have been here for about 6 months now. thankfully, i can't believe it's been that long and that short. yesterday per and i skied to the other side of the lake in old mobile tracks, to the shadow and past the bridge. it was bright blue and sunny, the snow so deep that it reached above my nose when i couldn't balance any longer. we talked about possessiveness. apricot tea and gingerbread hearts warmed our open frozen mouths, and the night was spent with a new bride waltz, sauna, anarchist anthropology, stolen fruit and chocolate.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

strange coincidences

an american-swedish girl whom i have met twice in sweden told me at a party on friday that the "people you may know" section in facebook suggested a girl who was facebook friends with me, and a member of a group for a school in italy that both girls had independently attended. we looked online to see who. she had never met or seen her before. i "know" this "mutual friend" because she is from los angeles and goes to UMASS, part of the 5 college consortium which my school is a part of. she introduced herself to me at a party last year because she had seen me on our (another) mutual friends facebook wall. a girl from florida who i know in sweden knows a girl who i know who is from los angeles who lives in massachusetts because they went to the same program in italy.

terrifying, ridiculous and beautiful.

Monday, February 2, 2009

ice


ice fishing is much more romantic in theory, perhaps worth it when you actually catch something (no dinner tonight!) coffee and moonshine and quick runs helped, but perhaps scared the fishies away. the best part is boring holes in the ice, down to the breaking point. i imagine the pitch lowering as when sawing into a piece of wood until the moment of separation. saturday was magnus' igloo show next to a gigantic frozen waterfall, the applause for the organist, fiddler and girl in braids muffled by 100 pairs of mittens. the lodge was filled with sami scrimshaw and stuffed bears and lynxs, waffles and moose soup, the ice church with see-through sculptures and reindeer skins. monday i wandered out onto the frozen lake surrounded by perfect snowflakes until the ice was black, following patterns of ski crosses, animal toes, other wanderers. took stereo photos but they won't capture the feeling of being alone on a perfect pure white plane.