So I went to Gothenburg for some quality time with my best friend this weekend. And to see Phantom of the Opera with Fred Johanson playing the title role of the Phantom.

I saw Fred Johanson in the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar years and years ago, and I feel head over heels over his deep dark voice and his incredible presence in every scene he was in. My best friend, who is a serious musical buff, has since kept track of him both for me and since she likes him to. In a word, we’ve turned into a bit of fangirls over him.

Had I not been a fresh new mom, we would have gone to Stockholm to see him in Jesus Christ Superstar there, but alas… :-) Now we got our chance though, and we jumped at it! Plus it played during February and we both HATE February, so there’s that to. :-) We all need something to put a smile on our face, right?

Anyhow, to make sure we wouldn’t have to stress after we’d been to the Gothenburg Opera House were the musical played, we decided to share a room at a hotel. We both have busy lives with work and such, so we needed a lazy little weekend with our best friend. :-)

We left for Gothenburg moderately early, it just takes 1 hour to go to Gothenburg by bus or train, so we were there around… 10:30am.

Went to the hotel we were luckily our room was already available, so we dumped our sleepover bags and then we just strolled around town taking our time. We both needed a stress free day, and we took our time with everything. Went to our favorite shops and stores. I ‘happened to’ buy the three latest Elfquest graphic novels. Oops? And we had a late lunch/dinner in a lovely british themed pub before we went back to the hotel to dress up for the night.

( Travel and shopping and views of Gothenburg and it's stores with my best friend... )

The Gothenburg Opera House is quite impressive. A modern building mostly made by glass and steel, but it still works quite well and is oddly beautiful. Right by the harbor to. Easy to get to.

( Entrance of the Opera House... )

We were there in plenty time, so there was no stress getting rid of coats, do a panicked bathroom break and finding our seats. Great seats, by the way! Close but not too close to the stage. Could see everything and hear everything perfectly. Whenever I need tickets to a musical, I trust Ylletyg to get tickets, she seriously rocks at it. :-D

( Interiour decoration and well... me... )

And so… On to the musical itself. :-) Apart from the knee jerk reaction “OMG! IT WAS AMAZING! I HAD GOOSEBUMPS!” Well, I did have goosebumps for most of it, but…

Unlike Ylletyg I have not seen that many musicals (she’s a proper musical-nerd), but I HAVE read the original book by Gaston Leroux. And it’s a very goth, very harsh gritty story. From what I knew of the musical going in, it’s not… quite as harsh and gritty as the original story. The original story is really dark, really goth. I do recommend it if you have the patience for the old fashioned language used. It’s really good.

So to actually see and hear it, and with Fred Johanson to boot, it was a true experience.

( Me and best friend and the stage before the musical started... )

Let’s see… How to do this…

The good

Well, the music, obviously. *LOL* This production was made together with the Finnish National Opera Company, so there were a couple of opera singers in it. And the orchestra was quite massive as well. Not sure how big an orchestra is at a musical, but since this was played at the Gothenburg Opera House, they used the full orchestra usually used there. And you could tell. The music just consumed you. Not even joking. The combination of the skilled musicians and the singers, all the different singers, was spellbinding.

Another downright amazing thing, that impressed both me and Ylletyg, is something the Gothenburg Opera House is known for… The ease and speed in wish the stage was changed and the scenography. I mean, the set up of the stage was changed SO FAST and SO SEAMLESSLY!!! Apparently the Gothenburg Opera House is built to be able to do that, so there was many scenes with different looks and a lot of props that quickly and seamlessly was changed around. The most impressive scene to me was when The Phantom lures Christine with him to his lair the first time (during the song Phantom of the Opera, the most famous of the songs) and all these stairwells and grey brick walls moved around on the stage as if they were part of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies… WITH the actors standing on them! THAT was impressive!

Another really good thing about this musical, which both me and Ylletyg both commented on at the same time, was that it was quite harsh and gritty, goth and dark. Well, the story IS dark and goth in and off itself, but the movie isn’t that harsh and gritty. And according to Ylletyg, previous productions hasn’t been this harsh and gritty either… If that makes sense? It sure worked really really well though, and I got the feeling that the actors/singers enjoyed that to. The costumes were INCREDIBLE and while I wanted to steal most of the male costumes, Ylletyg wanted to steal all the female ones. *LOL* She said the costumes had a bit of steampunk feel to it, and I have to agree! They even redesigned The Phantom’s mask, and I have to say I really liked it! The whole scenography and costumes was really good and added to the harsh, gritty, goth, dark feel of the whole production. A great great job!

Characters / Actors

When it comes to characters and their singers/actors, I have to say a character I found dull and boring in the book and in the movie (yes, I have seen the movie to), is Raoul. Christine's love interest. He is the posterboy for the time the novel was written, but would not be popular today, if get what I mean. But the actor/singer that did him the night we watched, did something more with the character within the frames he was given. A boyish charming guy, that very clearly showed his love for Christine. Not just competing with The Phantom, you know? He somehow managed to show that he cared. More than the Raoul in the novel, to be honest. So he sure impressed me!

Raoul works together with the two new owners of the Opera, Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur André. And these two were freaking HILARIOUS! Perfect comic relief without going to far with it. Have some of the best songs, to be honest. And the two actors clearly had fun with these actors. It was very obvious. The Phantom is my favorite, but these comes close to it, for sure. I think they did great!

Carlotta and Pangini were two other characters that were definitely comic reliefs. Carlotta and Pangini are the two stars of the opera in the story. And Carlotta? Is a proper diva! *LOL* The actress/singer is a trained opera-singer. And you can tell. I don’t think she had a microphone. She didn’t need one. Holy hell, what a voice! Combining that with an over the top diva character, and it was a joy to see! Also, she had the most awesome clothes off ALL the characters! High heeled victorian boots in leopard print? GIVE ME! Pangini was a bit more flat of a character, but he was funny to. Especially with Carlotta who kept bulling him around, while he just came back for more. Both of them played up an italian accent, which was very fitting both for the setting and the story.

Madame Giry and Meg are two pretty cool characters in the story to, that I really really like. We’re getting close to my favorite now. ;-) Madame Giry pretty much takes another characters role in the novel. The character that KNOWS… Knows about where the Phantom/Erik comes from. And that was a pleasant surprise. You actually found out quite a bit! That he’d built a room of mirrors for a Shah… that he’d been born with a disfigurement… that he’d been with a freakshow lead by gypsies… That he’d built trapdoors and sneaky passages all over the Opera House… So Madame Giry is quite the important character! And the actress/singer who played her did SUCH a good job! Just the right amount of creepy and know-it-all without making it annoying.

So is Meg! She’s best friend with Christine, and is a constant suporter to Christine. She’s the one that tells Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur André that Chrstine can be a standin for Carlotta, and in so makes sure they can discover Chrstines amazing voice. She to knows the stories about the Phantom quite well and also gives us clues to him, just like her mother. Her actress doesn’t have that much to work with, but I think she did a great job, I really did.

Christine… Ah, Christine. The token love intressent. She’s just as interesting as in the novel, that is not that interesting at all. But I have to give it to the actress/singer. She really milked the role for all it was worth! Not only a gorgeous young woman with a miraculous voice that is manipulated by a creepy voice in the walls… But a woman with dreams and wants her own, that wants to be independent and be the new star but is to shy to take the chance in the beginning (thank you Meg!). And also how confused and desperate she is the longer the story unfolds. I think it was very well played! And that woman's voice… WOW! She to has apparently trained to be a opera singer, and you can tell! Some of them notes… Just wow...

The Phantom / Erik… Ah, what to say, really? Played by the INCREDIBLE Fred Johanson, the sole reason we even went to see this production of The Phantom. It, of course, helps that I really like the story about Erik, the man who has grown up harshly and then isolated because of his face that is disfigured and horrible to see. Not even his mother managed to look at him kindly. One of my favorite books is Phantom by Susan Kay about Erik’s life from birth to death. I can not recommend it enough if you enjoy this character. It’s absolutely incredible. How did Fred Johanson do in the role then? Incredible, as was expected. He is a very tall man, somewhere between 6,4 and 6,5 feet tall (said himself in an interview), if somewhat leaner than he used to be. Still, having an incredible knee length coat on (that I wanted to steal…), he makes for an imposing figure. He definitely did the character justice, and not only when he needed to be scary, but also in more emotional moments. And then Fred’s voice… Holy fuck, that deep dark voice… It gives me freaking goosebumps, not even joking. Fred also has an incredible presence on stage! I’ve seen him three times live now, and then there’s the Jesus Christ Superstar movie, and Fred has this ability to just OWN the stage as soon as he sets foot on it. I don’t know how he does it, but it’s incredible to see. As the Phantom at times you just hear his voice, you don’t see him, and he still just OWNS the stage! An amazing talent in all ways! He really should get more attention for his talent.

Just to prove Fred’s talent, here he sings The Music Of The Night:

( Fred Johanson singing The Music of The Night! )

The bad

So the bad… Was there anything bad? Well, yeah. And it’s mostly nitpicking, but still.

One thing that kind disappointed me was… The infamous chandelier. The one that at one point during the musical “falls down”. The Phantom is pissed off, and makes a chandelier in the auditorium fall down and kill some of the audience, and to show this during the musical, they have a chandelier go on a cable over the audience from the ceiling. The whole musical starts with it going up the ceiling. You’d expect it to be an impressive piece then, right? Since it plays such a vital role? Right? Well. The auditorium at the Gothenburg Opera House is MASSIVE. And the chandelier kinda… disappeared. It looked REALLY TINY somehow. And the design wasn’t that impressive either, so that was a bit of a let down. :-P It was still cool though when it “fell down”.

At one point in the middle the story slowed down a bit, and I didn’t really know what was going on. It was a good thing I knew the story well, just saying, or I could have been a bit lost. Also, in the beginning especially, there was just way to many people on stage and you had to really focus to keep track of where the main characters was.

Nitpicky? Yes, a little maybe. :-) I’m allowed to. ;-)



Right, so…

After the musical was over, me and Ylletyg went to get our coats. We’d decided to try to go to the stage door to see if we could see Fred Johanson there and hopefully get an autograph. So we stood there calmly waiting in line… And suddenly, right behind us one of the many doors in the Opera House opened. And Fred Johanson in full Phantom makeup literary leaned his head out the door raising an eyebrow.

I nearly peed myself. One of those things you just can’t believe is happening.

Fred seemed to know some people, one in a wheelchair, and talked happily to them. No one bothered him, or took photos. Everyone was REALLY respectful and kept their distance, so he just stood there, talking happily with a couple of people. Opening and closing the door now and then since the alarm kept going off, and making a funny joke about it every time. Me and Ylletyg had a hard time containing our excitement, I won’t lie. We debated back and forth in hushed voices if we really would dare to go over to him or not and what we’d say etc…

Then a young women came over to me giving me a hug. It took me a second, but then I saw she was one of the many teens that had graduated from ‘my school’ two years ago. She was studying music now and was just as excited as we were about the musical experience, and very happy to see me (yay!). She’d spent hours in the library with me, so she knew what a nerd and fangirl I am. When I told her I didn’t know if I should go over to Fred or not or if I dared to ask for a photo, she sternly told me I HAD to when she understood what a fan I was. The student becomes the teacher? X-D

Said and done, when there were fewer people talking to him we walked over to him, hearts beating, and told him what an incredible singer he is. I think I even told him I got goosebumps from his voice. X-D

And we also made sure to say we were amazed by the presence he has on stage, and that we’d seen him in three different musicals live now, and that at least I kept rewatching the Jesus Christ Superstar he is in. He seemed really flattered that we’d followed his career and read up on him more than just about this role and was very happy to hear we’d enjoyed his performance that much. I remember he said he’d never reflected on about having a presence or stage or not, but we assured him he seriously has.

We respectfully asked him if we could take a photo, and he said sure! Fred then asked if we wanted a joint selfie with him. At that point my poor friend who is just 4.9 feet tall (short?) piped up “But I’m so short…” Well, I’m 5.9, almost 6 feet, and Fred is between 6.4 and 6.5 feet, so I totally understand her! X-D We ended up taking a photo each with him. When it was Ylletygs turn, he even bent his knees so he’d be level with her. IT WAS SO CUTE!!!! We again thanked him so very much for the incredible evening. He just smiled and bid his farewell before disappearing behind that door again.

( Picture evidence! I DID GET A SELFIE WITH THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! I GOT TO MEET FRED JOHANSON!!! )

As we were leaving after that, we were downright floating! X-D We could not stop grinning and felt as if we were drunk, even if we hadn’t had any alcohol that day! (Well, just a little with lunch/dinner...)

Ylletyg commented that things like this only happens when it’s us two to doing stuff together, and I think she’s right! The magic of being two long time best friends? *LOL* It might be what triggers these incredible things!

So before we went back to the hotel, we felt like we needed a sturdy drink! So we found a pub that wasn’t to crowded, had a drink and a snack, discussing our evening and our incredible meeting with Fred. Then we went back to the hotel.

Once in a bed each though, we couldn’t sleep! X-D Se we ended up laying in the darkness giggling and talking for quite the long time, just like little girls, before we feel asleep!

You’d never guess we’re both 40 years old… X-D

The next day Ylletyg had to get up early since she was going on a course in Gothenburg to learn how to make hats, so I joined her for the LOVELY hotel breakfast and then she left and I just lazed around a bit in the hotel room before leaving to. A bit of shopping later and I went home.

So thus endeth my AMAZING time in Gothenburg with my best friend!

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

And onwards, I should probably say. Because it’s not like I’ll stop doing either of those things. :-)

Here goes…

I do track the books I’ve read on Goodreads.Com, so you can always track me there if you’d like. And if you want to see my year in books the way they’d tracked it, you can do so here: KSena’s Year in Books 2017.

I only read 12 books and graphic novels. But I’m a slow reader that usually feel too stressed to read, so that would be the reason why there. I have, however, started to listen to audiobooks, which makes me feel less stressed. I can listen to audiobooks when I’m on the bus or when I do dishes or vacuum or whatever.

And there I’ve punctured the myth of librarians reading a ton of books… *LOL* I, obviously, don’t. :-)

These are the books I’ve read (link to my review in the title):

• Making the rounds with Oscar - about a cat in an elderly home that can sense when a patient is about to die… and the doctor that tries to figure out why that is. REALLY interesting, even if you’re not a cat-person.



• Endometrios: Mensvärken från helvetet - a swedish book about how it is to live with Endomatriosis and how you can tackle doctors and nurses and tips and ideas for those living with endo-sufferers and just… a lot of really good info. This book needs to be translated to english stat.



• The story of my life - about the life of Helen Keller. I’ve always been curious about her since seeing a movie about her. And even though this was in her words and interesting, it was also… extremely dull here and there.



• Street Cat Bob - also a story I’ve been curious at. Listened to this through an audiobook service here in Sweden, and it worked really well! A really good book, heart wrenching story! Seen the movie to!



• Trump och vredens Amerika - some seriously effective finnish journalists who wrote a book about Trump and how he managed to get a hold of power the way he did. They also try to figure out how he ended up the man he is. It was VERY interesting and I like how they’d split up the book in various sections.



• Monster - a biography by and about the biggest YouTube star in Sweden, Joakim ‘Jockiboi’ Lundell. And I was RAGING when I listened to this audiobook!!! I read it since I wanted to know what the deal was with this guy, and why the kids/teens at the school I work was all over him. The fangirling/fanboying over this guy is off the charts. And he puts both Edward from Twilight AND infamous Mr Grey to shame… My GAWD! What an absolutely HORRIBLE guy this man is! o.O Aptly named book...



• Ibland mår jag inte så bra - a biography by and about the biggest female YouTube star in Sweden, Therese Lindgren. My expectations was way low when I started listening to this, and it turned out to be a really good book about mental health!



• Kris vid trekaffet - about a retired couple and their daily lifes and how they deal with their children and grandchildren. Sounds dull? Not in this graphic novel! The dialogue is great, and the odd style in the drawings just match up. A lovely little gem.



• När mammorna blev kära - a very easy to read book for 8-12 year old kids about two divorced mothers that fall in love with each other and how their daughters deal with it. A VERY important book! I read it once it had arrived to the library, and it was really good! It’s been read aloud in a few classes at the school, and the discussions have been both wild and civil. So important with LGBT+ books for ALL ages!!!



• Spelet är spelet - a book I bought for the library since a teen at school (almost or nearly a hooligan…) wanted to read it. So I did to, or listened to the audiobook. It’s written by Leo Carmona and is heavily based on how he grew up, how he ended up a criminal extremely young and why and the issues that Sweden has today (we do, although not as bad as a certain president and his supporters claim…). This was good. VERY good. And very eye opening to me. I have a greater understanding for my hooligans after reading this. I don’t condone what they do or how they act, but I can understand why. Makes sense?



• Hungerhuset - was just a LOVELY little horror graphic novel! The images was GORGEOUS! Detailed, sharp and black and white. Swedish comic-artists are SO GOOD at horror! Seriously! And this one was definitely one of those really good ones! Such a nice read!



• Svinet - was seriously a feel-bad story (instead of a feel-good one). And Åsa Grennvall is SO GOOD at this! Especially at showing emotion in her characters faces. And it’s some scary emotions in this. A lot of mental illness among the female characters, and then there’s the man that is in the center of the story… Extremely abusive and manipulative man. I feel the most for his mother, in this story. Even if she is… not quite well or OK either. I don’t know why I like Grennvall’s stories, they are really horrid stories. But I do love them. For some reason.

So that’s what I’ve been reading this year. I know orangerful for example read more than that in a month. But I’m slow and I can’t really settle down and relax with a book. *shrug* Thank heavens for audiobooks. Goal for 2018? Read more than 12 books, so I can beat 2017 at least. :-)

I might take a leaf from orangerful and make a post as soon as I’ve read something? Don’t expect to see that to frequently though. ;-)

When I haven’t been reading I’ve been watching TV-shows and listened to podcasts.

Podcasts are really my new love! Seriously!

Mostly I listen to swedish podcasts through the app that Sveriges Radio has (Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster). They make a lot of good radio shows and they are ALL saved in their massive archive so you can listen to them whenever you want.

Brilliant says I. :-) So I listen to a few of my favorites.

• Ligga med P3 - A pod/radio show about sex. Plain and simple. And they are do not sugarcoat anything. They talk about EVERYTHING!!!! :-D And they are great fun to listen to, not taking themselves seriously at all. A GREAT listen!



• P3 Dokumentär - A pod/radio show that is like a documentary you see on TV. I mean, it’s SO well made! They put sounds to it as if it was a movie and they make sure to interview as many as possible…. And it’s just… so well made. The BEST pod/radio show that Sveriges Radio has to offer, according to me!



• P3 Historia - I’m a history-nerd and this pod/radio show is ALL about history! They take a historic person or event and then they nerd out as much as possible about it/him/her during the show. It’s great! Really really good to listen to!



• P3 Spel - This is about games to consoles and to computers. All the games all the time! It’s really good and the hosts are SO FUN to listen to! Any interests in games whatsoever, this is the one for you!



• Radiosporten Dokumentär - I’m not into sports usually, so I don’t listen to all the episodes to this one, since this is the main sport-channel that Sveriges Radio has and this is their documentary show. But since I do LOVE documentaries, this pod/show is really good to, since there are quite a lot of sport personalities that are really interesting as well! So some of these documentaries are really good to!



• Sommar & Vinter i P1 - This is a classic pod/show, especially during summer. P1 invites a certain number off more or less famous people to talk on air for 1½ hours about… whatever they want! And the person gets to choose the music to. During end of December and beginning of January they do the same thing. I don’t listen to all, only those that I find interesting as people. But it’s a good pod/show!

Then there’s my second favorite from Sveriges Radio:

• USA podden - It started out as a podcast/radio show to report on the latest election in the USA. But since it got so popular and since Trump won and everyone here in Sweden wants to know what is going on… It has continued even after the election. The hosts doing this are experts on US-politics in one way or another and most have lived or do live in the USA their job being to report back to Sweden what is going on. So it’s very interesting to listen to.

Not a podcasts from Sveriges Radio, but there is another favorite I have, but it’s on hiatus right now for obvious reasons, and thats…

• Tronspelet (meaning literary game of thrones) - These hosts watched the Game of Thrones episodes as soon as they could here in Sweden (long live HBO Nordic!), and then they sat down and discussed it, as many itty bitty details they could think about. And the sense of humour among these, my GOODNESS!! X-D They are HILARIOUS! And I so hope they’ll continue once Game of Thrones comes back with it’s last season!

There’s ONE english speaking podcast that I follow with regularity and that’s:

• My Favorite Murder - I know, I know… A comedy show about murder? How does that even work, you ask? I can’t even describe it. It’s all about the hosts, Georgia and Karen. And the way they discuss and tell about the murders they’ve researched for each episode. It’s awesome. I’ve ALMOST listened to every single episode now from start. And I’m definitely a murderino (fan) by this point. :-D

I’ve listened to a couple of other podcasts as well, but just an episode here and there. Oh My Heck needs a mention (about how the mormon church works form an ex-mormon, in english), Död Mans Podd (school librarian doing a horror-pod), Spår (going into detail during several episodes about a swedish crime) and Mordpodden (similar to My Favorite Murder, but in swedish). I haven’t listened to all the episodes here, and I probably should. Maybe I will when I’m all caught up with My Favorite Murder? Who knows?

When it comes to TV-shows (and Netflix shows), there’s one pretty obvious one…

• Game of Thrones - Oh my anything holy shit! That is ONE well made TV-show, that’s for sure! I have no words. To me, it just keeps getting better. Unfortunately I have to wait until 2019 to see the end of the whole thing. But man. What a STORY!!!! And no, I haven’t read the books. :-P

And there’s these that are worth a mention:

• American Horror Story Hotel - I was hesitant since I get nightmares easily, but I saw a series of gifs with Lady Gaga and since I DO love vampires… Well, I watched this season, and it was REALLY good! Here someone have done their own take on the vampire-myth and they did it CLEVERLY. Really good!



• Frontier - Totally blame Jason Momoa for this, but really. This show is so much more than him. That things were rough in North America when the europeans invaded, that I knew. And I bet they’re not far off with how harsh and gory it was here. The twists and turns makes my head spin sometimes, but overall, a great watch!



• RuPaul’s Dragrace - Not much need be said. X-D This is my guilty pleasure. And when I’ve felt really low, this show has picked me right up!

I love documentaries and true crime, can you tell, so…

• Making a murderer - how a crime can grow into an avalanche that is unstoppable… even if the convicted is innocent to start. This was really interesting. US? There’s some really fucked up things going on in your justice system. *shakes head*



• Killer couples - A british show that tells the stories about couples that murder together… and it tries to figure out why and how and so on. Really interesting!



• The Keepers - Just started this, and oh my world! It’s SO GOOD! Catholic priests school girls and choir boys, I tell you…. *shakes head* About the murder of the nun Sister Cathy, and it’s so good. So horrible and so good, I can not get enough. I am sure I’ll return to this in a post once I’ve finished it. :-)

Right, so… That was my lists! Kudos if you managed to read all that. :-) I’m sure there’s trailers and info all over the internet for all these, but I’m sure you all know how to use Google to find out more. ;-)

I’ve seen the Snowflake Challenge here and there on my friends journals, and I admit that I’m considering joining in.

Shorter posts then, I’m sure, but just to get back into the habit. :-)

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

So, I just watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge. Or Dead Men Tell No Tales, as it's also been called.

If you've followed me for a while, you'd know this is actually a bit of a big deal for me. I've been a HUGE fan of the Pirates movies for years, was quite active in the fandom for a couple of years there to. Until the fourth movie came out, On Stranger Tides. And, OK. I admit. The only redeeming quality in that one was Ian McShane. Dude. He is making a CONVINCING villain, just saying. But the rest of the movie was shit. So I usually try to ignore it's existence. Also, it killed my joy of the fandom. So I stopped participating in the fandom totally after that.

And hey, On Stranger Tides didn't have my favorite character at all. Cursed Captain Will Turner. In this it did. Pretty hands on. Since we now have a new generation of pirates. Elisabeth's and Will's son, Henry Turner... Dead set on finding a way to free his father. We even see him risking his life to go visit his father on The Flying Dutchman as a kid... Bet Elisabeth wasn't to happy about that, poor woman. Both being a mother to a wild kid AND keeping track of Willl's heart... Do not envy her.

This movie, however, was really good. It brought back the darkness and sense of humor from the first three, which I TRULY enjoyed. It didn't quite reach up to the awesome of those movies, but DAMN did it get close!

I don't know really where to start with this about what I liked and didn't with this, because true to the other movies, the story is... somewhat all over the place. *LOL* One thing with the story that I DID enjoy though is that it did a wonderful tieback to the earlier movies. What with Henry being deadset on helping his father be free of the curse of The Flying Dutchman and needing Captain Jack to succeed with that... Sounds familiar? Yep. That's what Will Turner tried to do to, saving his father from The Flying Dutchman... It could have been done badly that tieback, but it wasn't. It was done really well. And the guy playing Henry Turner, Brenton Thwaites, did a WONDERFUL job playing Will and Elisabeth's son. He even has so much resemblance it's even very believable! GOOD CASTING!

The pretty girl of the movie, because there has to be one, has one thing in common with Elisabeth... She is really kicking ASS!!! And she is very very smart to, being an educated girl. Which puts her in trouble, because she's being accused of being a witch. Not easy having the smarts as a young woman during the age of sail... There's even a WONDERFUL secret that she carries, without knowing, that works so VERY well and also ties into that tieback in a way that's a whole new generation taking over... VERY cleverly done, script writers! I should have seen that one coming, but I will admit... I didn't.

I also always love Love LOVE seeing Geoffrey Rush playing Captain Hector Barbossa! He is SO over the top with EVERYTHING! :-D He is a true enjoyer of all life has to offer, over the top. As much gold as the ship can carry... as much food as possible... live music on the ship... the finest clothes... a golden pegleg... You get the picture. And it WORKS! I don't know how Rush makes it work, but despite all that, Barbossa can be a very scary pirate as well! I loved seeing him again, and I loved seeing more dept to him, so awesome! He is a great character for sure! And his interactions with Captain Jack Sparrow, is just... LOVE so much love! They play off each other perfectly!

The villian of the play was Captain Salazar, and Javier Bardem played him to PERFECTION! About as creepy as Ian McShane was in the fourth (failure) movie, with a hint of humor as well. In an interview I saw in the extras he compares the living Salazar as a matador and the undead Salazar as a wounded bull... And I can totally see that! In a flashback we get to see the proud and focused Captain Salazar of the spanish fleet hunting pirates. A man with a mission and knowledge in his own abilities. What you'd expect from a successful captain. As an undead, you see only focused revenge, hunched over from old wounds (half the back of his head is gone), walking sticking his head out first as if he wants to kill his enemies with just his stare... Really creepy. Wonderful performance by Bardem! He was brilliant!

And then, of course, there's Captain Jack Sparrow. I mean, yeah OK... say what you will about Johnny Depp, but I don't think anyone else could have done Jack Sparrow. To say that character is memorable would be an understatement. In all the movies, that character just owns every scene he is in. There's just not much else to say about him, is it? :-) He plays off of everyone with perfection, he really does. Either infuriating them... or making them love him (few). It's a good thing he has his best first mate Master Johsmee Gibbs who has his back, ALMOST all the time... *lol* Or he'd be doomed. His reaction to Henry revealing who is, is just hilarious! X-D Also, we all knew Keith Richards was Jacks dad, Captain Teague... But who knew Paul McCartney was his uncle??? X-D Uncle Jack Teague, apparently! *LOL* Hilarious! And Paul really looked like he had a grand old time playing an old pirate! So fun!

My favorite though, as his been since the second film, was Captain Will Turner! Oh, my heart... I nearly jumped out off the couch seeing him right in the beginning of the movie. He was about to go down Captain Jones road there, all barnacles and stuff... No wonder Henry wanted to save him! Even if Will told him not to find him again... Bless his heart, he'd come running to save him every time he jumped into the oceans I bet, not able to help himself... I bet Henry knew that to. My favorite part with all Pirates movies is the whole myth around The Flying Dutchman and it's crew. And from what little we saw off it, it does seem as if Will has a hard time keeping his crew in check... VERY interesting that... He didn't want them to see he had a living person onboard, his son, for what little time he was there. Hence he hurried him off and dived with the Dutchman. I wonder why? That's a mystery I'd REALLY like to get the answer to!!!

I won't spoil the movie, but yeah. It was a joy to see Will again!

It felt like they tied up a lot of lose ends, and even though there IS an opening for more movies, as per usual, I wouldn't say it's a certainty. This one felt more finished than the others, you know? It was a good ending to them all. And for gawds sake, IF they decide to make another one? Bring back to the two viking directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg from Norway to do the job, because they did a GREAT job!!! As did the screenwriter Jeff Nathanson! Of course there was plotholes, when aren't there in a Pirates movie, but they were easier to overlook in this one than in the fourth (horrible) movie. :-)

So in conclusion I can say, if you like pirates? Watch this one! It's well worth your time! :-D

Maybe I should start reading Pirates fic again... Hmm...

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

So tomorrow the post apocalyptic Fallout LARP starts. I'll be cut off from anything normal for about 3 days. It'll be crazy and amazing, just like previous years, I'm sure.

Was out at the site today fixing up my sleeping arrangements and the store my character is going to run. Or, it's more like a moderately big hole in the wall where she sells base necessities, most importantly cans of food (without a label) and medication.

This character, Katya Hollander, has certainly done a journey! She started out as the prostitute the whole village spit at and just used for their own twisted pleasure. She was the only one that could take it when any of her costumers wanted to go violent... or wanted her to go violent on them. She was also an alcoholic, and had an ex-husband who was selling drugs in the village...

Her son, who she wasn't allowed to see grow up though, has returned. She managed to take over the bar and brothel where she used to work, and got sober. Her son ended up with the caravans and makes sure there'll be provisions for the village. She ran the bar and brothel successfully for a couple of years, but now she's been out maneuvered by an armed gang that is also running a bar in another of the old broke down houses...

So this year, she's started up a store. With the help of her son, who makes sure she'll get some good provisions and wares for her store. Being a previous bar owner AND now running the store, makes sure she's one of the riches people in the village. So she has some political power there. Money = power.

Some in the gang running the bar has started treating the village as their personal land. As if they were dictators. My character does NOT like this, so one of my plot's is going to be to try and start a revolution against him. AND I also have a romantic plot. Katya has been hooked up on the same guy for years. But he has abandoned her, so now a new character is introduced that I apparently is going to fall for little by little... :-D I hope he'll be played by any of my old friends to! It's always easier to be romantic and cute with someone you know. :-)

How all this will end up, I have NO idea! X-D Which is half the fun. Wish me luck!!!

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

And so, nearly all my vacation is done and over with... This last week I'll do nothing but laze around and not do shit. Well, apart from the necessary, of course. :-P

So, as you saw on my previous post, the midsummer trip and following week staying with my mom went really well! Better and more awesome than I had expected! So grateful for that! I love my mom to bits, and just to get to stay with her and be around her was bliss.

Anyway, we came home and we had just a few days and then my DEAREST snowstormskies came over! Which was AWESOME!

She didn't stay as long as she did last year, arrived late on Sunday and left midday on Thursday. So, effectively we had three days we could do something fun and hang out. And that we did!

If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen photos of what we've been up to already. :-) (I'm very active on Instagram...)

We spent one day at Karlsborg Fortress, which is totally cool! If you want the history of the fortress either go there or check out the wiki-page I linked to there. :-D It's an incredible place. Biggest fortress in Sweden! And the short story is that it was built to protect Sweden's gold reserve, government and royal family in case Russia attacked. Historically Russia has been a very real threat to Sweden.

And the guided tour sure reflects that! It's called A Historic Adventure Tour! And an adventure it was. You get to see a movie about how life was like in the fort when it was active. And parts of the tour you get to experience loud fake bombardments and talking dolls as if russians are attacking the fort. So it was a bit hectic and.... quite exciting there for a while! I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with PTSD or any other mental illness!

Alexandra joined us to, and she might have been a bit to young. She was very frightened. The tour guide was great though, said she was a brave princess and feed her and the other kids 'gold coins', aka chocolate coins. :-) And both during and afterward we talked to Alexandra about it very clearly and properly and it seems as if she understood. She keeps saying since that loud bangs are bad. But that she's a brave princess. I couldn't agree more!

Pictures from Karlsborg: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

The day after that me and snowstormskies decided to take a shopping and having a SPA afternoon. And that we did! I usually don't shop much, but I got inspired by snowstormskies and do a fair bit of shopping as well. :-P Mostly useful stuff or things that have broken that I replaced. All good though! I did end up buying scented candles just like last year and the year before that. I guess that's tradition to do now when she visits. X-D

And of course that meant Alexandra got to have a calm day at home with dad, which I think she needed. :-)

So the spa was lovely and the shopping was nice and we ended up having a great dinner in the evening with Alexandra and Peting as well, so that was wonderful. :-)

Spa picture: One

Last day we got to do something together, we decided to go to Torpa Stonehouse. It's a pretty cool medieval mansion/castle that has been in the same family since it was built... and still is. No joke. :-) I took snowstormskies there the first time she visited, and she liked it so much she wanted to go again. So we did! The tour guide was really great, and did the whole tour in english even though she was very insecure in the language. She did great though! She even assured Alexandra there'd be no loud bangs! :-)

After we'd explored the house and all it's crooks, crannies, secret passages and all that, we went to a moderately small house outside where they sold a TON of handmade stuff! Like household items, knitted things, sewn things, leather work, metal work... You name it. :-D All handmade from people around the area. snowstormskies LOVES that sort of thing, and so do I, so that was awesome! Aaaand... we spent some money there, no surprise. X-D

We also went to a neighboring farm/mansion that was a bit younger, I think they started out there during the 1500's... There to they sold a lot of handmade stuff and things, so... we spent some more money. X-D Alexandra got a giant handmade softie snake that she fell head over heels for!

So we had a really good time, you could say!

Pictures from Torpa Stonehouse: One, Two, Three (Most are multiple images.)

Next day I helped snowstormskies clean up the little cabin she stayed in at the camping ground here, Borås Camping. She really enjoyed that little cabin, and it was really easy to clean up as well, to make it ready for the next person renting it. :-)

After that we went to have lunch, picking up Alexandra on the way. Peting choose to fix his own, since he felt his blood sugar levels had gone through the roof lately... Diabetes is such a pain, seriously! But we had a good time still, just us three girls. :-) Then we dropped Alexandra off, hugs all around!

Then I drove snowstormskies to the airport, waving her off. That's always the hardest part. I love, love having her here visiting! And she claims it's good for her somehow. I'm just glad she enjoys my company enough to come visit me once a year. She already plans for next year... ;-)

Saying goodbye: One

So that was the first post! Next post will deal about... adventures with my brother, our kids and Astrid Lindgrens World!

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Catching up a bit with all these questions here. :-) Let's see how it goes... And if anyone has the stamina to read all of them through. X-D

( Question 20 - 30 )

( Question 31-40 )

( Question 41 - 52 )

( All the questions! )

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

12: what's your favorite planet?

I can't say I really have a favorite one, so I guess... Earth? Reading up on space and such things have never really been my thing. Nor hugely interesting to me.

13: what's something that made you smile today?

My daughter. :-) She'll have a sleepover at daycare with all her friends tonight and she even woke up excited. Anytime she is excited and happy about something, it makes me smile to. Perks off parenthood? ;-)

I have to say as well that even though it's somewhat chaotic at work, both among the students AND staff right now, it always amaze me and makes me happy the dedication the teachers and staff show not just for this school, but for the community it is in. Which is needed because it is a very socially troubled area. We have gang-members as young as 12-13 at this school.

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?

It would be split in two! X-D My best friend is a costuming nerd. She loves historic clothes and clothes from movies, musicals and such. And she is really really good at sewing clothes to! So her half would be filled with such things and her computer. My half would probably be computer, comics and books. :-) And in the middle we would have a HUGE TV and entertainment center, so we could watch movies and such. :-D

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

I googled "weird space fact" to see what that would give me. And it got me lists! That listed weird space facts. :-D Perfect!

One fact I saw on these lists was this: "We know more about space than we do about the deep in our oceans." Really? One has to wonder then what lurks in the deep then... ;-)

16: what's your favorite pasta dish?

Hard to say. I really do love pasta. Especially spaghetti! When I was pregnant I had the weirdest craving for spaghetti. I could not get enough of it. So what I did was, I made this kebab-sauce that I had found a recipe for years ago. It's really yummy and perfect on salads and such. Anyway, I made a batch of that sauce to keep in the fridge so I wouldn't run out. And then I poured some of that over my spaghettis and also added some mild chili-sauce. And ate. And ate and ate. I could eat a plate of this several times a day!

I don't have a craving fot this anymore, but I do still enjoy it sometimes. Maybe with some meatballs or sausages/hotdogs...

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?

Purple. Purple, purple, purple... I have ordered the colour now, so it should arrive any day. But I've wanted to do this for YEARS! I also love colouring my hair a fiery red. :-) But for now, PURPLE!

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.

Not so much friends as I guess the question means, but this story has gone down in history in my family, which includes my best friend. :-)

I was 18-19 years old or something like that. And I was at another friends house having a pre-party. AKA we were sitting around drinking alcohol to get drunk before we were to take the bus and go to a club dancing. Now usually I stuck to one kind of alcohol at a time, but since we were both short of cash, we'd begged our parents for alcohol and pretty much taken what we could. So there was cider, wine, beer, snaps, hard liquor that we mixed with sodas... You name it. And also rosé wine. This will be important.

So we were having a good laugh and drinking and all that. I don't know why, but I drank a lot that night. And ended up extremely drunk. Anyhow, we'd dressed up nicely. Me in my pinstriped suit and my big overcoat (it was winter), and then we went to the bus. Now, it takes about 30 mins by buss to get to the neighboring city where the club was. And as soon as the bus started driving, I started to feel sick. And it just got worse. So after 15 mins I threw up. All over myself. Remember that rosé wine? I'd apparently liked it, because what came out was pink.

I was really gone by then, but from what I remember I was just afraid my dad would be pissed at me. My friend took good care of me, she wasn't quite as drunk, and once the bus stopped she helped me off and took me to a bench. Then she went to a phone-booth and called my parents. (This was before mobile-phones, people.)

My parents? They found this HILARIOUS!!!! And just to fuck with me, my dad was the one picking me up. He was laughing during the whole drive. And once we'd dropped my friend off we went home to hours. I was told to turn off the light outside the garage. I couldn't find the button. I thought there was three of them, when in reality it was just one. That was how drunk I was.

I swear my dad was giggling at that point. It was in January I think, so very cold. Still they helped strip OUTSIDE THE DOOR! On the front porch! Good thing we lived in the middle of nowhere... And that suit and the overcoat? Couldn't wash them normally, drycleaners only. Fun. :-P

My room was on the second floor, so my HIGHLY amused parents had to help me up the stairs. Dad pushed my ass and mom held my hands. Then they took a seat on a chair each in my room and watched me get ready for bed, having a giggle while doing so. Then they patted me, told me I'd feel like shit in the morning and left me to sleep.

Gladly I'd never really had much of a hangover, so I didn't feel like total shit in the morning after, BUT!!! My mother has NEVER let me forget this! Neither has my best friend! Every time they see a bottle of rosé wine they ask me if I want some. I have only had a glas ONCE since. And that, I think, was last year. This story has been a running joke on me for years. :-) How I was so drunk I saw everything times three. And how my parents teased me MERCILESSLY about it.

And you know what? I'm totally cool with it. :-D I can laugh at it myself. Oh, and I've never been as drunk since. I've learned how much I can take and when it's time to stop after that. And being old, I don't go out drinking as much anymore either. :-)

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?

Well... Duh! *points to LJ* This is basically the only journal I keep. I used to keep a handwritten one to, and I pretty much wrote the same in that one. Daily things that I experienced and wanted to get down in writing. Just like here. I've not written in it in years though.

( All the questions! )

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Since I was out being drunk with my colleagues yesterday (yes, librarians do get drunk sometimes and it's quite hilarious...), I figured I'd answer the two questions I got for the fandom meme. :-)

If anyone else wants to add a question, please do so HERE!

gajastar asked me this: 15, any fandom., meaning: 15. Most loathed character. EVER.

OK. Now THAT is a hard question to answer!!!

I have a lot in World of Warcraft, actually. But that's because the lore and history for that game is SO VAST, there's bound to be characters that are badly written there. Interestingly enough, most of those are on the Alliance side. Ever since the game was released it seems as if Blizzard has a love for the Horde.

In the Xena-fandom there's the character Joxer. Now, I wouldn't say I loath him. I actually enjoy him sometimes. And the fandom as a whole had so So SO much hate for this character, that the actor, Ted Raimi, stopped doing interviews and stopped being online or anything like that. HE liked playing Joxer, but the fans really really hated that character. I find him annoying at most at times, but I always thought he got more hate than he deserved, to be honest. In some episodes though he really really just destroys the storyline, and I hate that. While in others, he really saves it. So he is a troublesome character. Deserves more cred though.

I do LOATH however how they portrayed the Norse gods in Xena though!!! I did not expect accuracy. Hell no. The best part with Xena is how that series doesn't take anything seriously. But at least they could have stuck to the basics with them gods? Please? *sigh*

In Pirates of the Caribbean it's Syrena the mermaid and Phillip. OMG, I was SO ANNOYED WITH THEM!!! And they were supposed to be the main love-interest in the fourth movie. ARGH!!! I have so many feelings about that movie over all. But, yeah. I was bored and so annoyed as soon as I saw them on screen. The concept of the mermaids in that movie was totally cool. So I wonder why Syrena was such SUCH a roll over little weakling, when the others were downright monsters... *shakes head* Plot hole big enough for a damn truck! And Philip? Not any more interesting than a wet washcloth. For serious.

In Buffy there's a lot of bad guys that are supposed to be oh so scary, but... they don't really DO anything. The Master for instance. And The Anointed One. You're supposed to be this big bad. Supposed to be this big threat that the Slayer has to defeat. Well... BE SCARY THEN!!!

Also. The Buffy-bot. I never really liked that whole storyline. That was just to let Spike get his damn rocks off. :-P Sorry to those that liked her. The idea and the whole storyline that season was totally cool. But yeah, no. Buffy-bot? Do not like her.

The character from Sons of Anarchy that I both hate and love is Gemma Teller. She is really really good in the first few seasons, but is really overused in the last seasons, which is really annoying. She should have meet Mr Mayhem aka been killed WAY earlier! The shit she pulled during the show had other full patched members killed and/or tortured. I mean, seirously. In the show it might be because she'd been married to two presidents and the mother of one. But STILL! That's some shit she pulls. And how she tangles herself up in some serious webs of lies. Yeah, no. If I loath any character in SoA, it's Gemma Teller.

In Game of Thrones, it was hard to pick. Because even the bad guys and good guys work in a grey area. But the character that was mostly overused here and that annoyed me was Ramsey Bolton. I get the use he had for the story, but for serious. He was mostly used for torture-porn. Really. Especially in Season Three, where all he does is torture Theon and then Sansa. And you get to see it all. Yeah, OK. I'm a darkfic fan as much as anyone, but I did not need to see all of that, thanks. Rape, torture, cutting off of body-parts. He does it all. With a smile on his face.

There's a lot of fucked up characters in Game of Thrones and I rather like them all, but Ramsey Bolton really pushes it for me. Gladly though he gets it in the end. Which was very satisfying to see, fucked up as it might seem, considering how he got to go. X-D

The good guy that I really find so boring on the show that it borders on loathing is Jon Snow. He is just to much of a good guy, to clueless and to self-sacrificing and just... To much for me. I really really dislike him without even being able to pinpoint why. :-P

So apparently I could answer that. X-D

Right on, onwards to the next one. :-)

hexenhasel wanted #7 :). Meaning: 7. Top 3 Favorite books.

Because of course. Because I'm a librarian. X-D *lol* Right on. Let's see.

One of my absolute favorites all time is: Ronia - The Robbers daughter by Astrid Lindgren. Now, I've re-read this SO MANY TIMES, I've lost count. I love many of Astrid Lindgrens books, some more than others. She really was a master at writing kid/tween books, with things in them that would go over the head of the younger audience, but as an adult you really catch on what is really going on between the lines... Which is totally cool! So yeah, that would be my top favorite one. :-)

A book that touched me, that I didn't think would, is Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. Ho boy! I was crying and sniffling making my way through this book. It's a couple of years ago I read this book, but I still remember it clearly as if I read it just now. It's an amazing book! An amazing life! One small life that changed the lifes of so many. I adored this whole story and I adored Dewey and I wish I could have meet him. Or that I could have had a cat in the library I work at. *sigh* Cats over all needs more cred for the work they do and the lives they change.

A third book that I guess have to go to my favorite list is The Heroin Diaries: A Year In The Life Of A Shattered Rock Star by Nikki Sixx. I do have a thing for rockstar biographies, but this one? Is oh so very different. Apparently Nikki kept diaries while he was at the most deep into his heroin addiction. Or drug-addiction, maybe I should say. Because we're not only talking heroin here.

And Nikki is BRUTALLY honest in this book. Not holding any punches at all. 80% or so of the book is pretty much pages straight out of his diary. Including insane scribbles, paranoia, cravings, drawings... the works. He has added explanations all over the place for the book and there's commentaries from friends and relatives as well thrown in, which gives the insane diary scribbles a sense of time and you get what is going on and why he for example felt the need for MORE drugs at certain points during that time. So you don't really read this book like a normal book. And to be honest, this is not a normal book. It's a fucking punch to the gut. And after wards, I say thank you and ask for another one. EVERYONE should read this book! REALLY!

Bonus, my favorite graphic novel: Maus. Wow. This one is also one that really gives you a punch to the gut. The art is fucking amazing. And the story, how a young comic-artist start question his elderly father about his experiences during World War II and the camps, and said father starts telling his story... It's just... amazing. I have no other words for it. This graphic novel won the Pulitzer prize. To say it was well deserved is an understatement.


So yeah, that was those answers. :-) Let's see if I'll get some more or not?

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Just gonna do this meme just because I thought it was a fun one and because I've been in SOOO many fandoms over the years. :-D Thanks tellshannon815!

And to help you along, here's the fandoms I have been involved in or am involved in. :-)
Robin of Sherwood
Xena: Warrior Princess
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pirates of the Caribbean
Tokio Hotel
Sons of Anarchy
Game of Thrones (sort off)
World of Warcraft (sort of)

Pick a number and I will tell you about....

1. Character in my fandoms that I think I’m most like.
2. What character archetype am I attracted to?
3. First ever ship and why.
4. How much has your life change ever since you started fangirling/fanboying?
5. Top 3 Favorite TV shows.
6. Top 3 Favorite movies.
7. Top 3 Favorite books.
8. Dream crossover?
9. Character death you still haven’t moved on yet?
10. Craziest fangirl/fanboy moment?
11. Ever cosplayed a character/dream cosplay?
12. Make me choose between two characters. (Oh god, please don't be a big meanie!)
13. Make me choose between two ships. (No really, please don't be a big meanie!)
14. Favorite fanfiction read/written.
15. Most loathed character. EVER.
16. Favorite villain/s.
17. A show you used to love but eventually hated or vice-versa.
18. A character you used to love but eventually hated or vice-versa.
19. A ship you used to love but eventually hated or vice-versa.
20. Your ultimate OTP?
21. Any fandom related question you can think of. :)

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

But apart from that, things goes quite well... It's just so damn cold and the winds really bite into you. Not my idea of fun, I can't say.

Yeah, I'm all outside nearly every day now. I make up reasons to get out and fix things, because I'm not a person who enjoys going out for a walk... I think that's boring and blah... So, errands everyday.

I've also sold a bunch of stuff on Tradera (swedish Ebay) for over 200 dollars. o.O It was my old medieval clothes that I sold, all in real wool and real linnen. And sewn by me. So I put it for auction, for less than the material was worth I think. And then I still pulled in that much! Totally impressed!

So currently my little walks is to send that stuff off. And since not everyone pays at the same time, it creates a walk for me everyday. :-)

When I'm at home, I sit mostly on the computer. I've ended up totally obsessed with YouTube. There's a few YouTuber that I follow, and man... I really love watching their stuff! There's some really fun people out there, and some are really talented to! :-D

I also spend a TON of time on Twitter, Plurk and Instagram.

Oh, and to keep warm me and my best friend have joined in all other fans of the company Kränku. For serious, they make the best tea you can get your hands on in Sweden! o.O And the company has now turned 40 years! So every month they have a monthly tea this whole year! :-D So I'm gonna drown in tea, but I don't even care. :-D

It's hard to understand that I've been on sick leave this long... My poor replacement is not having an easy time btw. He is a really sweet and kind guy. REALLY! He really really is. Problem though. You gotta have some balls and be a bit tough on that school, or the kids will run right over you. They're a bit like animals that way. They see one itty bitty weakness... They attack and will exploit that weakness like hell! Not physically, obviously, but mentally. So yeah... And since he to is an previously bullied kid, he has a bit of troubles with pushing back against that. I've gotten a bit further in process than he, so I can just give as good as I get when the kids go mean like that. Me and my boss has been there a few times to support him, but I mean... I jump at crutches. I can tell the kids off, which I'm good at, but that's pretty much all I can do. :-P

When I go back to work I won't work full time right away, so it'll be the both of us then for a while. I think that's good. Makes it a good transition, so to speak.

Anyway, some fun stuff! :-D

I've discovered that the graphics community, that makes these shiny icons for me and also all the blinkies I have at the bottom of each post... It was a dying community, but for some reason... It has a revival right now! :-D There's users coming back to LJ, at least in that community! TOTALLY COOL!

And I had a comment with sireesanwar that it's easy to not dare to make new friends on LJ, but really... Branch out! There's so many awesome users still here, so why not? :-) I know I have a quite a few new friends that I really appreciate here on LJ. :-) Not to mention I know there are those reading my LJ that are not LJ-users as well. :-D Totally appreciate those to!

Then I have to say, I had a bit of squee over an old fandom the other day. I nearly woke up the kid when I saw it! X-D But the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie is fast approching. Oh no, you say... Not another shitty one... And I was thinking the same. Until I saw the trailer the other night. And dude. It looks like they are going back to the dark / wacky / adventure that made the first three so good. Also... Cursed Captain Will Turner is there! :-D I can't even tell you how excited I am about that! *giddy* So check it out!



Johnny Cash music in a pirate movie? Well... I'd say it WORKS! :-D Brilliant! Looks really good! I thought I was way over that fandom.

I was wrong. X-D

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.