I never realised that the stretching of time in dreaming was also built into the music score: Basically, every level of sleep in the film stretches the time – 5 minutes of sleep gives you 1 hour of dreaming time in the first level of sleep (12 dream minutes per 1 real minute). On the second level, one gets 1 hour for every 5 minutes spent in the first dream, which means that 5 minutes in the real world turn into 12 hours at dream level two.

So,  Hans Zimmer used the same slowing down with the Édith Piaf song “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien”, the song used as a countdown marker for the team. Pieces of Piaf’s interpretation of the song were stretched, manipulated and woven into Zimmer’s score. The following YouTube video shows how it works:

“You realize that the elements that we’ve extracted from the Piaf song are the way you get from one dream level to the next,” Zimmer says. Simple and yet such a brilliant idea! Great film on many levels – well worth watching.

Here’s a video of Hans Zimmer and Johnny Marr perform live in the Inception premiere:

These guys are not only supertalented but also superheroes: if you wanted to show your support or enjoyment of the album then they ask you to make donations to Burma Campaign or Refuge (the domestic abuse charity).

Since every good album needs at least one Star Wars related tune:

04 Every Death Star Has Its Exhaust Port

Lyrics: EVERY DEATH STAR HAS ITS EXHAUST PORT.
(This song will mean nothing if you haven’t seen, memorised and quoted Star Wars (ep. IV, V, VI) or The Last Starfighter. The word FRAK comes from Battlestar Galactica. I’m saving Quantum Leap for the Q album.)

Are you gonna let them talk to you like that?
Live your life under tyranny…well FRAK THAT!
I ain’t standing for this bubble of shat,
You’re incredible, right? It’s time to be incredible.
They aren’t the dogs with the biggest teeth no more,
You need to use your noddle if you wanna win a war,
This is what rebellion is for,
We’re invincible, right? It’s time to be invincible.
And you can start by singing a song like:

YES THIS BATTLESTATION IS FULLY OPERATIONAL,
JUST REMEMBER THAT KICKING ASS IS AS SIMPLE AS SHOOTING WOMPRATS BACK HOME!
(they’re no bigger than two metres, they’re no bigger than that!)

“Greetings Startfighter you have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier agaist Xur and the Ko-Dan armada,”

A-Team, Airwolf and Street Hawk too,
Taught a little boy what he really had to do,
And that’s to help get the message through,
That you’re incredible, right? It’s time to be incredible.
And now I’m getting a chubby for justice.

YES THIS BATTLESTATION IS FULLY OPERATIONAL,
JUST REMEMBER THAT KICKING ASS IS AS SIMPLE AS SHOOTING WOMPRATS BACK HOME!

There is no try, only do or do not…Karl.
You gotta STAY ON TARGET!
Come on, Kid.
Let’s blow this joint and GO HOME!

MANY BOTHANS DIED TO BRING THIS INFORMATION TO US.
(Ewoks! UNITE!)

More info in Hizook.

Bamse and his friends are very clear and admirable about their values – strongly opposed to racism, bullying and violence. Bamse is often seen helping those in needs and his slogan is

Beating up makes no one a better person.

Kukaan ei tule paremmaksi lyömällä.

Bamse (Maailman Vahvin Nalle) and his mates Lille Skutt (Pomppi) and Skalman (Kilpinen).

Yesterday I found a box, where I had archived important things from my pre-digital times. Time is a peculiar thing: seeing those faded and torn photos I decided to store just a couple of ones here, where they don’t gather any more dust.

Time flies, my friends, but life is a hell of an adventure. Inside me I now carry all these girls and their memories.

Princess Venla graduating from high school.

Singing to the teachers, surrounded by friends and 3A classmates.

Applied – and never got accepted – to become an elementary school teacher. Funny and idealistic interview in Hämeen Sanomat 19.8.1993. (Also love the ‘First digitised Finnish-Swedish-Finnish dictionary’ article below.)

Interviewed Neil Gaiman for MA thesis in Helsingin Sarjakuvafestivaalit, 2000.

In the bottom of the box there was a faded fax message sent only about a month before my dad died of cancer. Sometimes life couldn’t be further from a rose garden;  These intense poems were written to me by my mum Kaija Kivilahti in 1997:

Lapseni, loppuunpalanut

Musiikkikoulussa
kaksi soitinta ja orkesteri,
myöhemmin laulutunnit,
ringette, partio,
kielikurssit,
kaikki kaverit
ja koulu siinä sivussa.
Taideteolliseen aikoi,
kuitenkin ensin maisteriksi
yliopistosta
mitä siihen nyt menisi,
pari vuotta enintään.
Luentopäiväkirjat,
seminaarit ja tentit,
nehän ovat vain järjestelykysymyksiä.
Viikonloput
teki remonttia maalla
purki seiniä
lapioi savea ja
kärräsi kellarista
kymmeniä kuutioita
metriviisikymmensenttisin
naisvoimin.
Opiskelukämpän
maalasi ja sisusti.
Kaksi silmäleikkausta
lukukausien päätteeksi,
ettei vain tulisi hukka-aikaa
ja lomiksi ansiotyöhön.
Mummosta huolehti,
vuorollaan.
Ystävien kanssa
oli niin kivaa
että monesti meni
aamuyöhön
ihan huomaamatta.
.
Ensin meni kyky laulaa.
.
Sitten tuli silmätulehdus, päänsärky, vatsakivut, kuume ja pahoinvointi.
.
Uni ei vienyt väsymystä.
.
Pitkä, mustanhiljainen syksy ilman ainuttakaan unelmaa.

Paskaproffa
kun et ymmärrä tätä nuorta.
.
Ei hän ole sinun kuvasi,
joka vain toistaa sinun ajatuksiasi
sanasta sanaan.
.
Mistä voit tietää, että
sinun metodisi ja johtopäätöksesi
säilyttävät arvonsa
vielä senkin jälkeen
kun tämä ylioppilas
on omansa julkaissut?

Nuoren ihmisen kuolemanpelko
elämänpelkoa
pelkoa heittäytyä elämään
vaikka tietää, että pitäisi.

On lapsuuden surut,
nuoruuden kasvamisen
ja aikuistumisen monet surut.
.
Rakkaus, työ ja perhe,
kaikki ne tuovat murheita.
Ei niitä voi välttää, on vain elettävä.
.
Tulee keski-ikä
vanhuus, sairaudet, väistämättä
pettymyksiä itselle ja muille.
.
Viimeistään luopumisen aikaan huomaat:
Ei kuolema ole pahin vaihtoehto,
ei ollenkaan.

A smoke test trying to submit a blog post from my mobile. Featuring summer, sauna and a butt print.

Why am I staring at the peas? Must be the heat effect.

Watercolour, A4

Epilogue

Venlala has left the Love Boat and returned to the shore.

Many of my work colleagues are talented artists. The Love Float was intended to be published in our collaborative comic book project. Little did we know back then that 2009 would bring unexpected and difficult changes that would eventually affect all the people involved in the project.The book never happened, but this story survived.

It all began a year ago, when I received a one-liner email from my friend Cathy: “This wasn’t your doing, was it?”

The mysterious Brighton Lego Man was all over the news: BBC, Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Sun, Flickr and Youtube:

The story of the lonely floating Lego man started to live in my head. It had to be told, it had to be drawn. I dedicate it to:

Cathy: You asked – this is what happened the night before.

My Sulake colleagues – especially Juha, who only has three days left: What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?

Thank You!