Killing Game

I am a fan of computer games! But just as I’m very fussy about comic books there is also only a few stylistic approaches and themes that appeal to me when it comes to game. One of my absolute favourite games these past years has been the Prince of Persia (PoP) trilogy! The game has in a miraculous way met all my expectations from a game and in a way also realised my childhood ideas about how a great story/movie should be! A balance blend of action and adventure combined with historic exoticism and mythological mysticism. Now that the Prince of Persia series is put on hold I’m eagerly waiting for a forthcoming game from the same creative team at UBISOFT. The game entitled “Assassin’s Creed” is neither stylistically nor thematically far from the PoP games, but at the same time while the PoP was a linear game AC got the entire environment as an interactive field to explore! And while PoP was more of a fantasy game AC is based on actual historic facts which makes it credible! Its about Altaïr and his clan of assassins (Hashashin) in the ancient cities of Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre amidst the third Crusade. The game is to be from the Next Generation series created for XBOX 360 and PS3, and from the demos I’ve seen so far its gonna be a hell of a game! You can practically freeze and cap each frame of this promising game and print it for wall-hanging!

And knowing that the history's cutest game programmer/producer Jade Raymond is leading the project doesnt exactly kill the excitement! hehe!

No smoke, No mirrors!

I had looked forward to this movie and luckily it wasn’t a disappointment! It met all my anticipation and expectations! Great casting, a well-established balance between a nonlinear story and subtle effects! The kind of movie I wanted to see as a child! No smoke, no mirrors …but REAL magic!!

The Legs

The leggy corr sisters, Oh! and their four-is-a-crowd brother as well lol, have summed up their decade and a half career in DREAMS with 20 songs! Enjoy the length of the legs ...sorry, the album!

High Pitched Mika

I’ve just discovered Mika’s ”Relax, Take it Easy”, an amazing tribute to the 80’s Electro-POP and ITALO-DISCO! I simply ADORE this marvellous track!! Its RETRO approach and nostalgic vibe give me the goosebumps that I hardly get from hearing music anymore! The ”I Just Died in You Arms” inspired opening alone makes me go nuts! This style holds such a sway over my heart that I just cant find words for it! Unfortunately the rest of Mika’s "Scissor Sisters" music does not share the same style! Listen to the song on Mika’s myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/mikamyspace

Natural Discrimination

Not that I oppose the purpose and effort of the animal rights activists, but one question has always bothered me! What does it take for an animal to have its rights protected by humans? How comes its always those animals that look and behave closer to us as a specie that get the attention and worry? The mismanagement of cows as cattle is rightfully campaigned against, but not the boiling of living lobsters!? You don’t see many activists rally against that! Why? Cause the cows look cuter or make a sound when they are hurt? Aren’t these campaigners aware of the silent yet cruel mass-murder of hardworking ants they happen to commit on a daily basis without having a single thought on where they embark and what they step on, let alone remorse about it? What about spiders and all other bugs that have been unfortunate enough to be endowed with a ”creepy” look by nature, don’t they deserve a life without getting discriminated by us self-righteous humans? Are they less worth as creatures because of their appearance? I guess even the better nature of us humans discriminates against our ”others”, no matter what specie!

Retro Princess

The Swedish POP-ROCK band Lambretta was one of the 90's most successful acts in Sweden! Today their cute blond vocalist Linda Sundblad has released her solo album "Oh My God!" made of pure melodic POP hits a la 80's Madonna!

Lost Loose Ends

50 reasons why I love AND hate LOST! I want to know what hides inside the box, NOW! But they take their time to unwrap it for me! Pleasantly teasing and tormenting me to revelation, like a skilful lover on the way to an orgasmic climax!!

The mind-puzzling and attention-consuming enigmas of both pleasure and frustration, all listed here! Read and remind yourself of why you just HAVE TO have patience and wait until the show returns in February 2007!

http://tv.ign.com/articles/745/745595p1.html

Get Get a Life!

I have always been a fan of comic books! Though I seldom find a theme that captures my interest ever since I was a child I have been mesmerised by comic art! In recent years however the focus has been shifted from the classic superhero themes to more mature and satirical themes with a post-modern caricature-sque style! Recently I discovered a graphic novel (collected comics) in hardcover which I highly recommend! Read the description below and if you too find it appealing do not hesitate to get your hand on one copy!

”Only a few of French cartoonists Dupuy and Berberian's delightful Monsieur Jean stories have previously appeared in English, but this volume collects translations of the earliest ones, originally published in the mid-'80s. Jean is a smalltime literary figure—a novelist, translator and jazz collector—on the cusp of 30, realizing that life is moving faster than he is. He's got an apartment too cheap to leave, with a landlady he can't stand; his old friends are getting married, having children, casually revealing long-ago betrayals and inflicting their own life disasters on him. He's fine at attracting women, but can't sustain a serious relationship for long. By the end of the book, he's repeatedly playing daddy to other people's babies and recalling the days when the life of an artist and culture-vulture seemed a lot easier. Dupuy and Berberian play Jean's not-quite-midlife crises as whimsy, though, with occasional goofy fantasy sequences in which he imagines himself guarding the castle of his bachelorhood. The book's artwork is breezy, simple and very European (everyone's got gigantic, near-abstract noses, and the landscapes of Paris and Lisbon are lovingly caricatured); its smooth playfulness helps to alleviate the sting of its well-aimed darts toward the moments when the bohemian life begins to curdle.” - Publishers Weekly

My Kind of Nationalism

It's images like this that evokes nationalism in me! hehe! ;p

Greek Delight

I was a big fan of the Swede-Greek group ANTIQUE! Unfortunately Helena’s solo albums, despite her huge success in EUROVISION 2005, have showed themselves materially questionable and weak! With a very little potential to export her Greek popularity to other European countries, even to her 2nd home Sweden where she is bred and regarded as a Swede! Her solo albums just don’t sell and her latest release ”Game of Love” is perhaps one of her weakest till date, however it enjoys a beautiful cover image and booklet packed with pix of the Greek beauty! I’m gonna buy this one, as I buy some albums just because of their covers! But not just yet, but rather when its on sale in a couple of months! Hehe!

Old Snakes

One of my favourite HARD ROCK bands, WHITESNAKE have released a LIVE album, recorded in their American and European tours 2006! All classic WS songs are present and even some DEEP PURPLE song that featured Coverdale as the vocalist! The collection also features four brand new tracks (additional bonus song on DIGIPACK version)!

Don Arya

I’ve become an honorary uncle for the second time, I present you little Mr. Arya!

Fresh From the Sea

... a still-life study for a painting, done in acrylics on paper!

Oasis of POP

I have had a love/hate relationship with the Gallagher brothers and their OASIS ever since the start! In the sense that I have despised their arrogant attitude while loving their pure pop music! ”Stop the clocks” is a 2-CD+DVD limited edition collection of all their HITS till now! 18 songs and 5 videos, the lovely cover is a bonus!

Stormy Art

For me half the pleasure of buying albums is to own an artwork in form of its cover and package design! And when it comes to this territory the acclaimed artist, the surrealist Storm Thorgerson is the most wanted man! He is the one responsible for all PINK FLOYD’s legendary covers! For more art-work by the man please visit his website:

http://www.stormthorgerson.com/

It's ABBA baby!

No matter how old you are you know that there has existed only ONE true DISCO band out there who still today reign supreme and sell like crazy despite decades of absence! Their timeless music is being sampled frequently and their musical ”Mama Mia” is an international HIT! Yes, I’m talking about the Swedish ABBA! The undisputed KINGS and QUEENS of DISCO! Just in time for Christmas is a collection of all their 31 number 1s released with a fancy slip-cased package! Do you want to miss this?! Its predecessor, ”ABBA GOLD”, released a decade ago, is the most selling CD in UK’s history!

PS. ABBA's Benny and Björn are currently working with Madonna on her forthcoming album!

End of the Cinemas?

The Swedish cinemas are in dire state at the moment, the number of visitors has dropped severely and as the result the owners either declare bankruptcy or go crazy and build even fancier facilities! Yes, some of them believe that they can still attract the younger generation that they have lost according to researches, through a more luxurious treatment such as lounges and 3-course-meals!!!? Yes you heard right!!! Instead of dropping the ticket-prices they make it even more expensive for you to go to the movies! And the money is not invested in your viewing pleasure nor experience enhancement, but rather in irrelevant none-cinematic matters! Me and my girlfriend have a first-hand experience in sitting in empty cinemas, twice just in these past months alone!! When will they realise that 90 kr ($ 13-14) is simply too much to pay when you can have a similar but much cheaper experience at home with the DVD and a Home-entertainment system! Not to mention the tempting possibility and accessibility to get a pirate copy or download it online for free! Drop the prices and I guarantee you that more people will rather go and see their movie on silver screen rather than at home when they can AFFORD it! You will also narrow down the niche of pirates and bootleggers! That way you can still survive, if not actually benefit, in the long run!

In Loving Memory ...

In loving memory of my dear grandfather, an artist of the orientalist/naivist schools and of course my teacher! It feels like yesterday that a five year old me sat beside him and watched every move of the brush on those water-melons with a keen eye! He passed away one year ago on a cold late autumn night like this! Baba jaan, roohat shaad!

Code Name: Lu.Lu

... a sketch on a comic-book character I’m working on called ”Lu.Lu”! She is a tough gal but got her soft spots too, if ya know what I mean! ;p

The New Suspects

Remember the old story of the little red riding hood? Now forget about everything that you’ve heard and get ready to reveal the truth about the old characters! Grandma, lil' red riding hood, Wolf and Woodsman are all brought under the light of interrogation! "Hoodwinked" is a short but much entreating movie with clever twists a la Usual Suspects! Don’t dare to miss it!

Zexy Zahra

Recently more and more homemade porn from people in Iran has found its way to the internet! But for the first time we have witnessed a celeb sextape a la Paris Hilton in the Iranian online community! The girl in question is the actress Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, a shining starlet on the popular ”Narges” TV-series! Here is a related article:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=415903&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490

300

After the success of the ”Sin City” movie-adaptation, its now time for another of Frank Miller’s comic-books to be turned into a motion picture! Its his slightly distorted account of the battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought the 100 000 strong Persian army lead by Xerxes the Great King. The movie is yet to be seen and then reviewed, but already from the graphic novel and the pictures available from the movie to judge you can see that Miller’s imagery of the Persians as tribal Africans is far from Herodotus’ account of the historic event!

http://300themovie.warnerbros.com/

You are Blessed

”You are blessed…”

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who won't survive the week!

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture orthe pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 20 million people around the world!

If you attend a religious meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world!

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world!

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not!

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than overtwo billion people in the world that cannot read anything at all!

You are so blessed in ways you may never even know!

Meet the FUNKERS

The coolest and funkiest are back! Jamiroquai is celebrating their 15 years in the business with a great double CD called "High times/Singles 1992-2006"! If you happen to be unfamiliar with these DISCO-JAZZ-FUNKers make sure to get introduced by this collection! Love the cover image, wonder if it carries the signature of Storm Thorgerson!?

a la MODE

The world's most famous and influential SYNTH/Electro-POP band Depeche Mode has summed up their 25 years of career in a CD/DVD compilation consisted of 18 audio-tracks and 22 video-clips! This is a MUST HAVE for every collector!

Unholy Alliances of Entertainment

I am so fed up with the American Entertainment Industry’s rampant attempt to cash in on their citizens' poor knowledge! I mean, how many twisted versions of historic and popular characters are we going to have in HOLLYWOOD?! They turn Robin Hood into a karate-kicking master of magic while the great Greek mythological Hercules appears as some kind of ”boy wonder”! And what’s up with all this incorrect and unholy alliances? They put Dracula and Frankenstein together in the same geographical location and historic period in Van Helsing! And the American people, mostly unaware about the accurate facts regarding the classic personas, just buy it! One can even put BATMAN and ZORRO in the same movie without most of the viewers even raising an eyebrow! In the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the American company insisted to include Tom Sawyer! Just for the Americans to recognise at least one as their own! But they didn’t care about ruining both the original line-up/story AND their own classic character in literature! Exactly HOW does this help the already misguided youth in their correct understanding of the popular history? God knows!

Attic of the HOUSE

One of my favourite CLUB-acts from Sweden has finally released their second album (though they call it their debut since their first album from 2004 was neither publically nor critically noticed)! "the One" features the 2006 HIT "In Your Eyes"! Melodic HOUSE when its at its best!

http://www.theattic.se/

MYJUNGLE

While I was contemplating blogging I looked for alternatives and that was when MYSPACE was brought to my attention! One of the hippest and coolest things to have at the moment it seems!? Everyone from teenagers to celebrities apparently do it! But seldom have I seen its blog-posting feature in use!! And what I do not get is why established artists who already have an up-n-running website have got a profile on MYSPACE?! Without being active in it!! A desperate attempt to exposure perhaps!? Anyway, the factors that ultimately managed to put me off from MYSPACING (is that the term???) was the poor and rigid 90’s html-look of it and of course its chaotic friends-linking which gave the whole thing more of an overgrown jungle feeling rather than “space”!!!

Babel and Barriers

A very strong and engaging film about the "communication barriers"! Not only lingual but also cultural! Narrated in the usual "zig-zagging" style of the director who by BABEL delivers his first none-Latin feature! Highly recommended if you look for a film that "moves" you!

Blind Owl

One of my recent works based on Sadegh Hedayat's masterpiece "Boofe Koor (Blind Owl)! This image has been in the back of my mind for over a decade and been shaped expressionistically! Those who have read the book surely recognise the scene that has influenced me!



There are some puzzles I’ve imbedded for the keen eyes! One of them however I’ll give away here: If you turn the cypress tree upside down you’ll see a certain bird!

Borat is Back

I just love Borat! One of the brilliant British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's cinematic personas who cleverly allures out and reveals imbedded racism and sexism in the Western society by acting as a such himself! And after years of waiting for a movie and anticipating I finally got to see "Borat!: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" that was hyped since more than a year ago! And it was, despite the overwhelmingly positive reviews, what I had anticipated! A rather loose feature with a thin plot that is hold together by the usual Borat segments! Borat works best in such short improv. acts where his counterparts are not actors and not aware of the true situation! Borat acting according to a plot and in interaction with fellow actors doesn’t hold and carry unfortunately! So hopefully we will see more of his stronger satirical side (short segments) in the future and less Hollywood-esque features! Those who are not familar with Borat's previous work will find this movie GREAT but those who have seen Borat's older clips will find this movie as a pale copy-compilation of his stronger segments!

Hard Dance

Are you looking for some music for your hardcore dancing? Check out this compilation mixed by Pulsedriver! Not a bad looking cover either! ;D

Lovely Lisa

I love Lisa Miskovsky, her voice and music! She delivers such gentle Swedish flavour of Americana that sooths my soul in these cold and dark days of fall! Her 3rd album till date called ”changes” was recently released and my beloved girlfriend got it for my all signed and heart-marked! Merci eshghe man!

www.lisamiskovsky.com

Lost in LOST

I’m LOST! Last time I was so intrigued and puzzled by a TV-series was back in 1990 and the mystical thriller TWIN PEAKS! LOST is the ultimate TV-experience that I always dreamt about ever since childhood! A story cleverly written as a labyrinth of mysteries charged with strong sentiments along with action and adventure which blurs the line between dream and reality, science and faith, the obvious and paranormal with an eclectic homage to the Jules Verne books, the ”Land of the Giants” TV-series and ”The Island of Dr. Moreau”! Can it be better?!!!! The bar for the intellectual challenge that the show provides is set so high and elaborate that no one can escape it and so far everyone has managed to come up with nothing other than speculations! Theory after theory is discussed among groups of devoted followers of this intelligent show! So far the creators/writers have managed to uphold the suspense and maintain the cohesion of the show, even though they write and develop the show as they go along! But my fear is that somewhere along the way, in their attempt to an even more complicated enigma, they mange to have themselves entangled in a web of mess from which they wont be able to break free without leaving some loose ends behind! Something TWIN PEAKS did and managed to fall from grace in the eyes and minds of the viewers! The higher the ambition, the deeper the fall! Lets hope that our clever writers don’t get too lost in LOST!

Under the Burden (of a Nation)

A homage to Mosadegh that I've always wanted to paint ...

"Under the Burden (of a Nation)"

Although this painting is in acrylics on canvas I wanted to achive a chalk-on-paper sketch-like result ...

Pro Memorandum

1. No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won't make you cry.

2. Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

3. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

4. The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them knowing you can't have them.

5. Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.

6. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.

7. Don't waste your time on a man/woman, who isn't willing to waste their time on you.

8. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so that when we finall meet the person, we will know how to be grateful.

9. Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened.

10. There's always going to be people that hurt you so what you have to do is keep on trusting and just be more careful about who you trust next time around.

11. Make yourself a better person and know who you are before you try and know someone else and expect them to know you.

12. Don't try so hard, the best things come when you least expect them to.

Pathetic Pink

I find the former R&B- and now POP-ROCK singer Pink rather pathetic in her attempt to market herself! She tries to portray herself as a feminist by condemning and denouncing the attributes that have been socially imposed on genders (for instance girls must play with dolls or take off their clothes in order to be feminine) as attributes of ”stupidity” in her song and video "stupid girl”! At the same time not only does she take off her clothes and shoots topless but she also signs a deal with Sony Playstation to be their poster girl for their newly released pink PSP for ”girls”!!! I personally do not have anything against girls wearing pink or playing with dolls, girls do not have to imitate boys by wearing blue and play football (as pink suggests in her video) in order to grow up strong and independent! Neither do they have to cover up in order to be respected! Men and women can be themselves naturally and sexually, but still EQUAL! Its great to inform and inspire girls as well as boys, but one thing I hate is hypocritical individuals and ”turner-coats” who do not practise what they preach!

Prologue

Scattered fragments of a hidden cohesion …
Welcome to my blog,
Welcome to my mind!