Hats off to Spain!

I don't know what it is with Germany. They are always so hated in fotball (soccer for you americans...). We say that they are boring, their game is boring. But I think we, somewhere in the back of our heads, involve world history into the sport when we find our favourite teams. Nazi Germany is more known to a wider audience than the cruel civil war of Spain. But putting that apart I still think that Spain was the best team of the Euro 2008 and a worthy winner. They have a very fun and interesting game that is good fun to watch. And it doesn't hurt to see Casillas in action... But perhaps my main reason why I wanted Spain to win and not Germany was simply because Germany always ends up in the final or semi finals. They are like the popular kid in school who always win the prizes, gets the hottest girls and probably look naturally gorgeous. Spain, in the other hand, is the brilliant kid with the undiscovered talent and lack of self-asteam. He's not really bullied, but he knows his place and can therefor never be best at anything. And that's why I love to see Spain win, to kick the ass of the popular kid who will get everything he wants anyway. That's the way life should always be. Congrats to Spain!

The Happening

I went to the oh-so-big city of Skövde to see The Happening tonight with my family. Had been looking forward to see this movie for a while now. I am quite a fan of M. Night Shyamalan. Saw the trailer on a huge screen while waiting for a train in London and was quite hooked from what I saw. But I was a bit disappointed. From the start it was very predictable and lacked in credibility and the explainations for things were very lame. The main story was, however, very fascinating and just like all Shyamalan's work - very scary. And I liked Mark Walberg and Zooey Deschanel's characters, they felt like people I would have liked spending a chilled out evening at home with. Reckon it was about time for Shyamalan to make his characters something else than depressed and slow-moving. I kept thinking all the time that maybe the story was an idea he had after recieving complaints of his characters being too suicidal.
On the way back home my brother and I made jokes about feeding our cat with our own arms (if you don't see the movie you will not get that...)

My reason

Some members of my family can't stand the fact that every channel is broadcasting something from the Euro 2008. They can't see the fun in running after a ball for 90 minutes. Hehe, they just haven't seen it like I do. Just check this guy out and cross your fingers for a Spanish victory!



(He's name is Iker Casillas and he's the goalkeeper of Spain.)

mistery of the the day

Why am I so cold? Why have I spent the last few days under a blanket, watching movies, cuddling with cats and feeling sorry for the Turkish fotball team? I found the answer today; I think it's summer and therefor not wearing socks, and my mother has a passion for opening doors without closing them. And now, wearing ugly purple socks with an ancient name-tag, I feel like a new person. I have the answers to everything in this world and I feel like fixing my bike.

North Country

I saw a real good film the other day with my friends, it was a real feminist-evening. More people should see it, I think.

Hey Mike!

I've been printing some t-shirts this week. 3 of them turned into ink-bleeding disasters, but this one looked way better than I expected. It's a letter for Mike Perry. He sent me a t-shirt when his book Handjob didn't arrive on time, so this is my way of saying thank you. I hope he'll like it. And I suppose there's no secret I want to have an internship in his studio next spring. That would be a dream come true...

Climbing trees

I found a forest today. It was one of those happy mistakes you get sometimes when you go for a walk and chose a different direction than you normally take. So I walked into this forest, which even had a name (which I don't remember). Anyway, it was beautiful. Reminded me about the Pennsylvanian forest that surrounded my camp last summer (but without the bears), or the areas around the lake back home. It was such a thrill to, for once, discover something wonderful in this city. Made my mind imagine Robin Hood and his gang behind every tree-trunk. There were huge trees and nice paths and when I came to one particular tree I just got this childish desire to climb it. So I did. I, Stina Johansson 22 years old, climbed a tree. It was a piece of cake and damn it was high! But it was kind of made for climbing and I could have stayed there all day. Then two young guys, around 15-16 years old, came walking through the path and when they passed the tree they shouted "freak!". I strangely enough didn't take afence but it made me realise I was nowhere else than in Carlisle...

inspiration, a while ago

Seen from a car from Stina Johansson on Vimeo.
this was a little road trip I had with my parents and brother a while ago. they had flewn over from sweden to visit, and they rented this car so that we could go to liverpool. I was listening to this song (don't know who has done it, but it's called "graveyard girl") and it just felt so fresh and optimistic and just the feeling of sitting in a car, going far from carlisle, gave me such an inspiration an energy to create beautiful things. i had a hundred ideas during this ride.

stuck in Carlisle

I'm sitting in my room hearing Stefan and Anders play GTA downstairs. I have a project to do that I don't need to do (but if I keep putting it up for the future I'm afraid bad things will happen, it's a very cursed project). Everyone has gone home already and I miss them badly. I long for adventure and late summer nights, I'm almost looking forward to live in my grandma's old house for the whole summer, but most of all I just miss my friends to be frankly honest. I'm so fed up with this city and this country. I can't get my head around how anyone would ever want to stay here for ever. Or maybe the people who do stay here just have hell of a lot of friends with them...

maybe i should say hi?

I tend to start new blogs but I don't seem to stick to them for long. This time I've decided to just write whatever comes to me and I will not go under a theme. It's not for anyone in particular, just for anyone who wants to listen. So, yes, this is hello. My name is Stina and I like to think I'm a Graphic Designer. Many people out there seem to think that graphic design is all about looking cool and having a mysterious/ attractive attitude towards things. I've come to realise it's the opposite. For some people it works to be superficial and present a funky image. But to me that is like defeating the purpose of graphic design. No image is worth showing if it doesn't mean anything. Graphic design is a fucking struggle and a bitch, but I love it, because it's just like life in a way. It's all about communication and interpreting moods, styles, attitudes to convey a message. As a graphic design student, people always ask me where I want to be in this business after I graduate. I don't know the answer to that question yet, but hopefully this blog will bring me closer to it. You are more than welcome to join me on this quest.