In short, I have returned to some of my childhood hobbies, in an increasingly stronger desire to lead a more analogue life. A day well lived is for me more and more one filled with authentic creativity, away from the screens and other digital whatnots. And so, even though I have maintained my knitting skills throughout the years (a scarf here, a scarf there), it was not until last year that I fully committed to not just wearable creations, but little knitties that bring joy and beauty. The more the design felt detailed and challenging, the more it became like a game to figure out how to actually create the thing I had in mind. Be it a knitted apple or a bat, a knitted decorative sign or a cat made to resemble a real-life feline, the creative process brought me immense joy, my hands feeling grateful for the soft, tactile usefulness I was giving them.

One of the highlights in this surge of creativity has certainly been my first exposition in France, which took place in February-March of this year at the BosKop gallery in Lyon. My creation “The Soft Otherness” was selected among other creations for a special exposition called “Xénomorphe” – to great success!

The portraits of animal companions also have their beginnings in my childhood. I remember sitting underneath the kitchen table and painting our cats and parakeets as some of the purest happy memories in my mind (sadly, back then we weren’t aware of the suffering of parakeets in unnatural environment such as people’s houses, even though we let them fly around our house). A few years back I wanted to paint a portrait of a dear friend’s dog, and after that I continued with our own rescue cats. Pretty soon, my friends started contacting me to immortalize their feline loves as well, so it’s been another type of wonderful challenge to try to capture a little bit of their specific essences and energies in a painting.

Of course, the brushes are all synthetic, and I also knit with only synthetic yarn fibers, some of whom are second-hand (the fillings of the Knittie Kitties are also synthetic), as it would be unjust to use wool and other things we steal from our fellow Earthlings. Anyways, I’ve assembled a small gallery below of my creations so far, while the title above is the name of my little artistic endeavour. Enjoy!

One other big thing academic-wise that happened is the publishing of the volume “Semiotic Approaches to Cultural Interactions, Images and Texts” (by Peter Lang, no less) which finally saw the light of day at the end of 2025, and to which I had the honour and pleasure of contributing a chapter on metonymy in cinema. Specifically, in science fiction pillars such as 2001 and Blade Runner/2049. Of course, my deep gratitude goes to the editors Ionela Neagu and Crina Herţeg for this great opportunity. The volume found its way from Romania to here earlier this year, and you can see how it looks like on the photos below (a little foretaste, shall we say?)

The upcoming conference in Spain came somewhat as a surprise to me, but when my former professor and PhD mentor Mario Brdar reached out with an invitation to join a panel on metaphor and metonymy in artistic expressions, the creativity inside was stirred and I immediately started brainstorming about certain research venues and alleys I could lead my mind into. I won’t reveal the winning idea, but I’ll give you a hint instead: Chekhov’s gun!

A few weeks ago I got the official confirmation of the acceptance of my talk proposal, so now it’s time again for some “academic action”. This and the opportunity to see my dear colleagues and again present alongside some of the absolute legends in the field (Brdar, Panther, Thornburg, etc.) fills me with oceans of excitement, so much so that I’d just like to staple every sentence here with an exclamation mark!

Here’s to a promising 2026!

The tickets for the show in Helsinki were sold out within a few minutes. So, I quickly rerouted my original plan and bought a ticket for Jyväskylä, figuring an extra 3-hour trip by train is doable within the temporal confines of my weekend trip. After a fantastic Weekend of Hell in Germany, a mere two weeks later I had found myself roaming the streets of Helsinki. Just like all those years ago, I embarked on a journey of self-reflection as well as self-revelation, unfolding in perhaps the most beautiful country in the world next to my own.

Like a pilgrim entering the temple of his final rest, I let Jyväskylä envelop me with the most wonderful feelings of belonging. I stood at the edge of the dark, hypnotic waters of Jyväsjärvi lake, as melodic guitar riffs played like a presque vu in my mind, inviting what was to come that evening. And what came was perhaps the best show I’ve seen by Charon, a warm welcome back between melodic poets and their audience in a spell of devotion. The utter gothic poetry of JP’s lyrics always brought me back to their albums throughout the past two decades, unearthing rare, hitherto hidden meaning in its bewitching beauty. To feel his tight embrace, to laugh together at our old photo and to reminisce and offer my deep and heartfelt gratitude to all of them for this gem of a night… I left the place in a smiling daze, singing in the middle of a street, the moon carefully shining over my every step, the gothic sky above like another embrace, no other sky like it.

The third day, and already the last one, my heart whispered. Why did I wait so many years to return here? There were obstacles, sure, but I wonder… Was it also an attempt at forgetting what Finland truly means for my existence? Oblivion lies beyond that last look, twenty years apart… I felt as if my legs were rushing me towards the train station, as if in a dream… Or maybe I couldn’t bear the official goodbye, so I hurried inside to not allow myself one last look at Helsinki. My mind was in a dark chamber, nothing in it except a suspended heart in light pink… Crumbling down to the melody of „Unbreak, Unchain“… „Could this be what it seems? Painted in your dreams…“ Like tiny pieces of bread, frosty and soft, the weight of my world in each crumble… Yet I was content to have my heart crumble like that, because at least one part of it would remain here… Unbreak, unchain. Its melody trailing me (or I trailing it)… And then the doors were closed behind me, no one to hold them for as the kind lady before did for me. Should I go back and take a deep breath of that autumnal air? Say my goodbye officially? It was as if I would willingly submit myself to the pain of departure. I tried telling myself „This is not a goodbye. Therefore, no need to go back and gaze upon Helsinki for the last time, because this time, you will return and it will not take you another 20 years to do it.“ So I turned away reluctantly, my innards crumbling with a sorrowful smile.

Is this truly the closest I could get to calling a country home? Here I spent the weekend greeting everyone back in Finnish because they all assumed I was a native, what with my attire and overall look. Perhaps because “outsiders” are the norm here? Black is a normal colour, being a goth even more. Perhaps I would never truly belong anywhere, but this is the closest I could get to it – a comfortable easiness of being? Why does it call me, and I yearn for it? Am I sentenced to always yearn and mourn, perpetually walking around a mausoleum, the wind carrying leaves like petals of a present around me… Perpetual craving for this melancholic winter sky, the cold streets, familiar places of rapture… „Leave no remorse to call your name“, and yet I left everything, even the things I couldn’t do without… Parted from these lands a fraction of myself.

Charon, as if sensing this could not be such a rushed departure again, announced a big arena concert this summer. Helsinki, I will return to you.

While I thoroughly enjoyed last year’s line-up of horror stars (check out my musings below), this year, as with everything else, it was dialed up to 11. One name: Skeet Ulrich. As soon as he was announced on the pages of WoH, I knew it was going to be pure madness. Skeet himself couldn’t have been more nice and pleasant to speak to, despite the long lines of fans waiting to take a photo or get his autograph on some Scream memorabilia. I loved his panel, as well – he spoke about the trilogy idea for the new Scream and how his vision was supposed to drive Melissa Barrera’s character into finally becoming the killer in the final apart. I also very much appreciated how he spoke against her shameful termination (because she was vocal against the genocide in Palestine), and overall, we could all feel that authenticity, modesty and kindness emanating from him.

We had a cute photo together (although my high forehead makes me look like a female Pennywise, lol), and I also took the opportunity to take a shot with Costas Mandylor (the Saw franchise), who’s an entertainer to the core, as well as Brooke Smith (Silence of the Lambs, Grotesquerie) and Bai Ling (The Crow).

Even though I didn’t have my faithful companion with me this year (Claudia, you better get everything in order for next year), much fun was had – and who could forget the classic vegan option of pretzels and French fries at the event! Luckily, this is Germany we’re speaking about, so eating ethically was never an issue, right from exiting the train and stumbling upon several pre-made dishes at a small Reve store on the side (including vegan sushi) to restaurant options, although I didn’t have time to really check those out. After all, the weekend was dedicated to Hell!

Until next year hopefully, here’s some visuals from my fave con ever – and Happy Halloween!