The Gang's All Here

Kix has a new tattoo by Adam Dorsett.

Me and Rob picked up Skratch, Adam Dorsett and Zoe Scarlett at the airport yesterday. Zoe's flight was delayed and two of Skratch's bags got stuck at Heathrow airport, so Rob and I wound up spending way too many hours at Kastrup.

But we got them all to Lund and this morning Kix was Adam's first customer down at the garage.

Skratch finally got his bags after lunch and started by working on Jimmy's 1956 Buick.

Now I have to go and pack my bags and get ready for A-bombers Old Style Weekend. So far I've only packed my sleeping bag...
See you in Backamo!

Getting ready for a-bombers

I've been looking forward to A-bombers Old Style Weekend for months, and all of a sudden it's only one week away.
Yesterday I assembled our brand new mini bbq all by myself, using my own toolbox. Andy wasn't sure I could pull it off. Ha!

The tent is ready but I need a new sleeping bag and I still haven't figured out what clothes to bring. Or how to make the change from hardworking member of the HepCat crew to glamour girl while carrying bix boxes of clothes and magazines and staying in a tent. Oh well, I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Iiih! Gahhh! Repo!

I really don't know what to make of this one. I read a blurb on the upcoming movie "Repo! The Genetic Opera" over at Whedonesque and promptly checked out the trailer.

A part of me went "yayy!" and another part wanted a big pillow to hide behind. Normally I can't stand horror movies and any kind of gore results in nightmares. I barely made it through "Sweeney Todd" and I watched most of "From Hell" with my face hidden in my hands.
But Repo! is a industrial rock opera with Anthony Stuart Head (Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as the leading man and Joan Jett in a cameo role. I really wanna check it out... but will I be able to sleep afterwards?

"Repo! The Genetic Opera" is scheduled for a US release in November, no word on when it will be released over here. I just hope I can build up the courage to go and see it.

Another webby word gadget

I discovered Wordle, a website that creates word clouds from rss-feeds and texts on Sandrinas blog over at Mindpark.

Apparently I use the words get and got quite a lot.

Rock 'n roll and Brew

Last Friday I heard a song I used to love but haven't listened to in ages. Add some Hungarian apricot brandy purchased in Austria, good friends, a balcony with cheese puffs served through the window and you've got one hell of an evening.

What I learned this weekend

Trucks are bigger than they look. I've lived in dorm rooms that were the same size as the interior of Jimmy's truck. And my dorm rooms didn't come with a good mattress, flatscreen tv or fringed lampshades.

Me and Johan went to Dead Lake Bridge on Saturday to check out Jimmy's garage. While we were there we got a closer look at where Jimmy spends his working days.

Jimmy taught Johan how to weld and put flakes on lampshades. I had fun trying out different settings on the Nikon but wished I'd brought better clothes so that I could have gotten down on the ground to get better shots and not have to worry about getting dirty.

Jimmy does some welding.

Johan.

Working on the Buick.

Hardworking hands.

Another day, another dollar

Today has been yet another productive day at the office. Seems like everyone would rather be somewhere else right now.

I guess you can tell where my thoughts are by this doodle from the daily staff meeting.

Skratching the surface

The press releases and webflyers are written and the flyer is done. Now we just have about a hundred minor details such as printing the flyers, transport to A-bombers and housing to attend to before Skratch, Adam and Zoe Scarlett get here.

If you've never heard of any of these people you can read all about them and the event at Saint 21 here.
But the jist of it is that Momomental art association and Heptown are bringing lowbrow culture to Lund in the form of pinstriping, tattoos and a pin up model.

I feel slightly guilty today because I told Johan he had to get the flyer ready asap, and he did. I got an e-mail that he sent at two in the morning. The thing is, he has to get up at 5 am and get to work... Oh dear. I hope he doesn't electrocute himself because he's too tired to stay awake.

Teasing Twilight

If you haven't read "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer yet, I suggest you get yourself a copy. Three books about Isabella Swan and her immortal boyfriend Edward Cullen have been published so far, and the fourth in the series will be released this August.

I can hardly wait to see what becomes of Bella, Edward, Jacob and the other residents of Forks, Washington.
The books are marketed as young adult fiction, but don't let that put you off. Twilight and the sequels New Moon and Eclipse were almost impossible to put down before I had finished them.

Twilight the movie is scheduled for a US release in December. Judging by the teaser trailer director Catherine Hardwicke is doing the book justice.

Jimmy Shine

Jimmy is a greaser now. He got his hands dirty after a meeting down at Saint 21 this Tuesday and I documented this once in a lifetime event.

And according to Rob, Jimmy likes his new hairdo and is keeping the grease. I haven't seen him since Tuesday so I can't confirm it. However, he has started to refer to himself as "Jimmy Shine".

The boys were so rock n roll they warmed the wax with the heat gun that is used for the screen prints in the workshop.




Getting the right shape is harder than it looks. Johan lends a hand.

Jimmy's hair was too long in the back, so Johan grabbed a pair of scissors and went to work.

Go West!

I just bought a box set of Mae West's movies. You gotta love a woman who wrote her own plays, took orders from no one and used censorship and scandal as free publicity.

I've been memed!

I got this meme from Stevyn, whose blog I read, enjoy and post annoying comments on.

"Punky - I hereby meme you (is that even a verb?!):

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your Summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to."

Gaah! Just seven songs? How about seventeen or seventy? I'll do my best to narrow it down to seven.

Shelter - Here We Go
Hardcore with great beat and great lyrics, such as "It's intense hope that makes us try". I can not get enough of this song. Here, here, here we go again!

H20 (featuring Matt Skiba and Lou Koller) - What Happened
New York hardcore veterans H2O remind us that it's about art and not image. Multitalented guitarist Rusty made the necklace that I wear every day.

Patti Smith - Because The Night
Because Patti Smith kicks ass. And this was one of the first songs I played on New Years Day.

Elvis Presley - Burning Love
Lord Almighty, I feel my temperature rising! I had to work this weekend, so I wore a hawaiian shirt, ate pineapple and blasted Elvis songs all day. Hey, only boring people are bored.

Christina Aguilera - Candyman
Who doesn't like a vintage flavoured song about a sweet talking, sugarcoated tattooed boy with charm?

Wanda Jackson - Fujiyama Mama
If Christinas song is a modern interpretation of swing and rockabilly then Wanda Jackson is the real deal.

Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
I recently listened to a bunch of mix cds I made a few years ago, and this song was on every single one. I guess I was trying to tell myself something?
Jimmy Eat World are what emo used to be before it became all about hipster haircuts, My Chemical Romance and panda eye-make up.

I don't like the concept of tagging others, since it reminds me of those crappy chain-letters I used to get when I was a kid. But if you're reading this and you wanna share your seven songs of the moment with the world, let me know and I'll tag you.

Press Release 101

As a journalist I am often asked to "write a little someting about this event that we've got going on". For several reasons, I rarely write things like this on demand.
My job is to find interesting things to write about that are right for the paper I work for. Advertising is on the second floor!

But I do help out with press kits, because over the years I have seen some dreadful ones. Five pages of rambling nonsense but no contact information? Adios!

Keep it short and to the point.
Newsrooms are flooded with material every day. If your press release doesn't get the editors attention in less than five seconds it will be thrown out.
A good press release is no longer than a postcard. If I want more information I will ask you for it. Asking questions is part of my job.

Unlike most businesses, a newspaper is shaped by what is happening right now. We plan ahead but are always prepared to redo everything and cover a breaking story. That means we might not have room for your event one week, but we may have an opening next week. So get in touch ahead of time, but don't be afraid to send an updated press release the day before the event.

Make sure to include your contact information.

Do jellyfish dream of electric plankton?

Can jellyfish dream even if they don't have brains?

I missed my train home from Helltown yesterday, so I went outside and grabbed a place in the sun while I waited for the next train.
As I looked down at the water in Helltown harbour I saw that it was full of jellyfish of all sizes.

It's really hard to tell if jellyfish are swimming or just floating around, but they were a very pleasant thing to look at after a long day spent in front of a computer.

I remember playing with jellyfish when I was a kid. I grew up by the sea and spent many summer days in the water, looking at baby fish, jellyfish and tångräkor, I think they are called common prawn in English.
But while one or two jellyfish were a pretty distraction when you were swimming in the sea (the kind that were common where I grew up doesn't sting) the number of jellyfish floating around in Helltown harbour made them almost unpleasant.
Kind of like being surrounded by squirrels. One or two are cute, but if you find yourself surronded by thirty of them it's a different story.

Model behaviour

It's been said that the only man a girl can trust is her father. Other men that could be included in this statement are brothers and perhaps grandfathers.

My own father passed away when I was in my early teens, but here is a guy whom I can always depend on.
He's also my favourite model.






















Pax is an Airedale terrier. Pictured here with his favourite football.

Queen Wanda

I wanna be a Fujiyama Mama too. Isn't it about time Wanda Jackson was inducted to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame?