Nothing can be changed.

My books are both in the printing press right now:

We went to check out the whole process the other day:

I was surprised to find out that parts of the printing company’s hallways had a sort of “youthful” flavor to them:

Which was a good thing I guess.

People who enjoy pretty things should be good at making books right?

They took us to the area where they stored their MASSIVE amounts of paper:

But that wasn’t enough for them at all. They were always getting more:

Apparently, a 600kg roll of paper doesn’t last them very long when the machines are running at top speed:

I didn’t understand much of what was going on, but it was all very exciting. Overwhelming even. So I was very happy when I found out that even in a printing company like this, with their huge equipment and all, they still have an inkjet standing around somewhere:

Anyway, after the first steps of the printing process are done, the book comes out like this:

Almost like a set of Siamese Twins, two freshly printed books are always connected to each other…

…only to become separated later:

This means that if you happen to get your hands on one of my books later on, you can be sure that somewhere out there, it has a twin.

I like that thought very much.

…

They were printing my book covers today…

…in a press that was about as big as the apartment I live in, and which took a bunch of people to operate:

It was all very complicated and awesome, with different sets of printing plates…

…and shiny things that looked so pretty I wanted to touch them:

But of course I didn’t.

When the prints finally came out of the belly of that epic machine, I felt weird:

In fact, I felt a bit like an impostor. How could all these people go through so much trouble, just to publish my books?

Here’s a video of that wonderful day:

I am looking forward to June 17th.

Soundtrack: Soprano – “Avec Le Temps”

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I asked my publishers if I could have a look at some of the work that they do, so they took me to the prepress proofing place:

What an awesome feeling to have my photos checked (and prepared for print) by a pro:

They showed me their machines…

…and explained their workflow:

I didn’t understand much, but it sounded both very sophisticated and very reassuring.

BTW, for those of you who are planning on getting the books, even the maps that we are using had to be printed and checked again and again:

…

Then we went to a place where they were doing something utterly mysterious called typesetting:

If you had asked me, I would have guessed that typesetting means that you can just load a DOC or a PDF into a computer and have some software run over it to prepare it for the printing process.

But how wrong I was!

Did you know that every paragraph on every page has to be carefully designed by a professional, so that there will be no “widows and orphans”, not too many hyphens, so that the space between the words and letters will look appealing, so that the text will read nicely?

I didn’t.

Soundtrack: Soprano – “Sale Sud Anthem”

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…two years to complete.

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A sophisticated mind

The story: In 1953, NB, law student from Switzerland, and his friend take a Fiat on a road trip to Afghanistan. They make their way through Yugoslavia and Turkey, hang out in Iran for a while, and they eventually arrive at their destination after some complications with their car and the friend’s marital situation.

The book is beautifully written. In fact, sometimes it seems rather like a poem or some other form of heavily polished literary work. NB displays some humor and some charming insights when he is talking about the people he meets along the way.

I didn’t feel very much when I read this though. I thought it was too polished, the language was too artificial sometimes. It seemed as though NB knew everything, but I didn’t feel much of his presence.

Anyway, if you enjoyed Leigh Patrick Fermor‘s writing, then you will probably also like this. But I didn’t find it just as good.

A 7/10.

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Scary shit.

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And because of that, I would like to share with you some of my latest findings.

The first one (the one I had on the day I turned in the manuscript) was spectacular:

Camitz Sparkling. SPARKLING vodka?? On second thought: why not. Anyway, this vodka from Sweden tasted very mild (probably because of the sparkling effect), but it was still 80 proof. Anyway, it successfully sent one of us in a sort of “meditative” state.
I liked it enough to award it a 9/10 (one point added for the fun factor).
Here’s one hint though: if you want to try this stuff, make sure to have a few friends around, because you basically need to finish it in one session, otherwise the sparkling effect will be gone and the vodka will probably taste stale.

…

And here is contestant number two:

Эталон (Etalon). This one confused me a little. The manufacturer is supposed to be Belarusian, but the import note said that it was manufactured in Moscow, Russia. Anyway, the vodka had a strong taste, so strong in fact that I didn’t really like it that much. 5/10.

…

#3:

Smooth vodka. Much like 360 and Tarpan sort of organic spirit, only this one was from Sweden. Cool bottle / whacky name, I thought. But the vodka was surprisingly good. No pun intended, but it was smooth. 8/10.

…

#4:

Samaani. This one was from Finland, made in what was supposed to be the “most northern distillery in the world” or something. Samaani means shaman, and there is a funny drawing on the bottle, so I thought: this will be fun. And it was! The vodka isn’t exactly smooth, but it has a very unique aftertaste to it that was very enjoyable. I wouldn’t recommend mixing it. It’s best when it’s pure. 9/10, Finland being awesome again.

…

#5:

Żubrówka. Bison-grass flavored vodka from Poland. Remember when I tried Grasovka and I liked the flavoring but not the vodka itself? Well this one, Grasovka’s bigger brother from the old country, was a total home-run. Awesome stuff. Try it. 10/10.

…

#6:

Partisan. Apparently, this one is manufactured in Belarus for a German company, I am not sure about the specifics. Anyway, the bottle looks like someone said the word “bottle” – and I like that very much. The vodka itself is definitely no kiss on the cheek. It goes down like fire. But not in a totally bad way. 6/10.

…

#7:

Столичная Элит (Stolichnaya Elit). Okay, I am a big fan of the original Stoli, so maybe I was expecting miracles from this one, it being so expensive and all. And it was definitely a good vodka. Awesome smell, smooth finish. But I am not sure if it was that much better than the regular stuff. Maybe a tad better, that’s all. I would even have considered giving it a 10, but it seemed to expensive for that. So there: 9/10. Same rating.

…

And finally, number eight:

Nemiroff Honey Pepper. Now after having tried the regular Nemiroff and finding it “reliable”, I was reluctant to go into any of its flavored varieties, but the lady at the Russian shop where I do most of my vodka shopping put it in front of me and said: “Give this one a try, believe me!”
And she was right. This is a very interesting drink. The original Nemiroff is smooth, but not very special. This flavor combination makes it awesome. 9/10.

Okay, done.

…

But wait, one thing I haven’t told you yet: the more vodka brands I try, the more I realize that the actual drinking experience is made up of many factors. The temperature. The food. The mood. The level of alcohol-intake.

Even the sound is important:

(The first one was Partisan, the second one was Żubrówka – I just loved the second sound!)

Anyway, what I am trying to say is basically: I realize that my own ratings are not reliable. But hey, it’s fun anyway! Get a few friends together, prepare some snacks, put on some music, open a bottle.
First time I ever did this was when I was 27.

PS: Today’s soundtrack is a totally awesome song, perfect for vodka tasting sessions. Believe me!

Soundtrack: Red Army Choir – “Partisan’s Song”

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They didn’t know each other. Well, the dude and the kid did, I think they were father and son, but the dog was a friend that they had made just a few minutes before.

Apparently, all it needed was a ball.

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…and because I am not used to doing nothing anymore, I decided to make some adjustments to the “Where I Am” map:

A good day.

Soundtrack: Haiku D’Etat – “Firecracker”

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Soundtrack: Luke – “Freaky Bitches”

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Not done yet.

Sweating.

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