The autumn winds have taken to howling and the darkness has taken to descending with way more determination than is needed at this time of the year. My energy levels are plummeting and my spirits aren’t exactly at an all time high. This is what the onslaught of autumn does to people, both physically and mentally. If only I wasn’t so tired all the time, if only I could sleep one more hour in the mornings, if only my dayjob wouldn’t take so much of my time and most of my energy, if only I could sleep three more hours in the mornings. My work isn’t a problem as such because I like what I do and it’s a reasonably well-paid job, it’s just these early waking hours that are murdering me when it’s not summertime, and also the lack of free time to do whatever I fancy, i.e. to write and to just generally ponder upon things.

There was also a line-up change in Sinisthra, mostly orchestrated by me, and having to tell an old and dear friend that it’s not working out anymore is heartbreaking, especially so since it wasn’t because of flaws in his ability or commitment. Mr.Korkkinen recently moved to another city, far enough to seriously complicate matters that already were complicated enough so the only rational option was to replace him with a bass player who lives much closer. We’ll see how this affects the band once we get things underway again. I can’t help feeling like having stabbed Jari in the back although he seems to have taken this with good-ish grace. I’m aware that certain bands function well enough with members having a lot more distance between them than in our case, some bands even with people living in different countries. I’m also aware that this, somehow, wouldn’t work for Sinisthra.

Today I received the first files of an imminent lyrical project I’m involved in. I did a similar kind of translation-of-verse-in-Finnish-to-lyrics-in-English two years ago (for the “Silent Waters”-album by Amorphis) and am very much looking forward to doing this. If only I wasn’t so tired all the time. I’m sorely in need of, say, a weeks’ holiday, to research and do my groundwork more thoroughly than last time around.Yesterday I received an old translation of Kalevala from Amazon.com and a newer translation should arrive any day now too. Cross-referencing both volumes, as well as my Finnish version (printed on 1910 and originally owned by my great-grandmother, retrieved from the attic of my childhood home where the cats had used it as a makeshift sandbox for years), then delving into the actual text to translate, magnificently written by Pekka Kainulainen , then trying to add my own layer to it while staying true to Pekka’s text.. maybe a weeks’ holiday is a bit too short after all. The tragic part is I don’t even have that free week to spare right now and can only hopelessly dream of a longer period of free time. Yet another fine example of how everyday life gets in the way of Making Art and in the worst case, prevents it from happening altogether.

THIS WEEKS’ BOTTLES OF CHOICE:
Cousterac Reserve from France. My efforts at trying to find something to complain about this nice red wine proved futile. It smells good, it tastes good and leaves everything looking a little rosier for a while after having gone down. The label of the bottle doesn’t reveal much in the way of the grapes used so I researched it a little and now know that it’s a blend of four grape varietals already identified in ancient Rome. This trivial piece of information is of the “completely useless”-variety, the kind I’m particularly fond of. I’m also particularly fond of this wine now and will not hesitate to buy another bottle when the stars are in a favourable position for something like that.

Santa Julia Viognier from Argentina. Bleak, watery, thin of both colour and taste. Forgettable to the point of already having forgotten whatever feelings and impressions this white wine stirred in me three days ago when I sampled it. Didn’t go very well with pasta containing tomato and tunafish, and wasn’t exactly supposed to as I found out later. Maybe it would have prospered coupled with a spicy oriental wok. Won’t buy this again and won’t probably bother with viogniers for a while. I’m clearly not able to enjoy them as much as I’d like to. Or maybe I’m just grumpy because I’m feeling tired with some additional wretchedness thrown in and the weather forecast promises heavy rain for tomorrow.

Pazo Senorans Albarino from Spain is not available in Finland, probably because it’s way too lovely and wonderful. Me and the Loved One had a magnificent Saturday evening a few weeks ago, involving a bottle of this with an excellent dinner. One of the very few white wines I’ve tasted that can maintain it’s magnificence even after having warmed up in a glass for quite some time. This article may shed some light on why I’m so fond of albarinos (“it tastes like no other dry white wine from anywhere”) but find it hard to come across similar experiences with other white wines. Fillaboa, the only albarino available in Finland is a delisted product in Alko, meaning the price has plummeted some 5 euros and is now a reasonable 11,30 euros but there’s not many bottles left. There’s one in my drinks cabinet at the moment, to be consumed at the first suitable opportunity, and the most sensible thing to do would be to purchase several bottles of it before it’s completely sold out. Probably I’ll end up getting distracted by an etiquette with an elephant on it and buy something else entirely.