The year draws to a close, and not entirely surprisingly, it turned out to be another year with no new Sinisthra album. Third one in a row in fact. The recording of the forthcoming album has been going on since last summer, more or less steadily, and now it seems that only circumstances of the force majeure variety can prevent it from being released next year. And about time too. Although this year saw the release of two compilation cd’s of my other/former bands (Lithium Gates by The Puritan and Watching The Wake by Protected Illusion) I find it very hard to be at my ease until the long due Sinisthra album has seen the light of day. It’s been on the works since the dawn of time (2005 to be more precise) and I will do everything I can to never again end up in a situation where it takes this long to put out a handful of songs. Unfortunately there’s still some major obstacles to overcome before the project can be finished, and actually I’m not keen to even think about it now. Here comes a major change in subject, signalled by a seasonally appropriate picture of a pagan Father Winter.

Yesterday was Winter Solstice and the day was at its’ shortest, here in Helsinki a little under 6 hours and for the unfortunate buggers north from here, a lot shorter. Although from personal viewpoint this night seems to have lasted for several weeks now. Occasionally the darkness outside gets a little paler only to quickly deepen again. The ground is barren and free of snow and the icing of this cake is the flu that’s been slowly draining me of life for the past week or so. The waking hours differ from the time spent asleep only very slightly, or not at all. The perpetual dusk has wrapped everything in its’ shroud of slowness and since all the activities involving any kind of concentration, like reading, are out of the question, I’ve been whiling away my time in the company of a computer game called Bookworm Adventures. This was my favourite pastime last Christmas and this seems to be the best way to spend the loose hours this year too. Here’s an online version of the game. It’s astonishingly addictive and outrageously rewarding, too, at least if you happen to be a kind of person who enjoys putting together lenghty words and then hurling them around. I know I am.

Another favourite pastime of late has been trying to find and book reasonably priced flights to Spain for next summer. This kind of behaviour may seem like a clutching-at-straws- type of thing to do but it gives something to look forward to and effectively expels the darkness for awhile, leafing through the magazines and local newspapers the Loved Ones’ father brought along as he came from Spain to Finland for the Christmas and feeling frustrated for being unwisely located both in time and space at the moment. This needs to be rectified as soon as possible. A consolation prize-type of emergency solution is the shortish trip to London in a few weeks’ time, and after that, and fortified by that, it should be an easy glide towards the springtime. Says the optimist in me, with an overtly reassuring voice. And advises me to avoid that certain level of perception mentioned in the title of this post. But not to the point of not enjoying the following video of Johnny The Painter and his complicated relationship with the colour black.


THIS WEEKS’ BOTTLES OF CHOICE:
The Loved Ones’ father and uncle came over for dinner and a lovely evening of talking on top of each other, about themselves, their ancestors and significant moments in the history of their family, at times contradicting each other colourfully but always in an entertaining way and a very lovely evening it was indeed. I have a very high respect for both of these gentlemen and I always enjoy their company immensely. The dinner was prepared in a haste and feeling slightly hungover and mightily tired after the previous evenings’ activities but no one complained much, or at all in fact.

Castellblanch Cristal is Spanish cava served as an aperitif and it didn’t taste nearly as good as I remembered. So, back to the drawingboard with ”my favourite sparkling wine”. Maybe I shouldn’t bother with cavas at all since none of them seem to fit my tastes.

Espíritu de Chile Chardonnay Gewürztraminer is white wine from Chile, served with a starter of tunafish tartar and although it tasted quite adventurous and an interesting combination of grapes at first, the Traminers’ aroma of cheap perfume soon pushed through and trampled the chardonnay part in a wild stampede of overweight flowers. Not my kind of thing at all. This falls into the same category of ”daring and innovative” wines as the Pfaffenheim Black Tie Pinot Gris Riesling I had recently, although it fared way better in my mouth with surprising hints of pear in the taste.

Escudo Rojo is red wine from Chile, widely praised at least in Finland and probably quite rightfully so. It went well with the stew of beef and vegetables and had clearly opened up during the aeration of several hours. It was enjoyable but not exceptional and since the conversation at the table was at full swing I didn’t really focus on the qualities of this wine and now it's kind of too late. Maybe I’ll buy another bottle sometime, for closer inspection. Or maybe not.

Nieto Senetiner Reserva Malbec is red wine from Argentina, opened too hastily because the other bottles were empty and the glasses needed to be refilled. The taste was extremely full-bodied but somehow strangled and this clearly would have needed decanting. The colour was very deep red, almost black one might say. It also painted lips, teeth and tongues black which rarely happens to me with wines these days, although a few years ago this occurred regularly and I put it down to the cheap and low quality of those wines. This was an otherwise classy offering and I’m going to try it again in a more favourable and peaceful situation.