I admire you as a policeman, particularly your adherence to violence as a necessary adjunct to the job.

Ah, today was a good day here in Stockholm. Sweltering 52° outside, sunny and no clouds, snow completely melted. Good day. On top of that we shot inside a pool with a sauna. It was sweltering and perfect. I guess we're there for the last two weeks which, joy of joys, starts at the end of this week. We're all going to wear swim trunks and dive into the pool as soon as they call lunch. Maybe even get some scuba lessons. I'm finally excited.

The bad part of today, which led to today's title, is that the places we're shooting are kind of crowded. This crowding led to certain jackalopes on the crew doing their jobs poorly which then resulted in my shit getting fucked with and I exploded. The boom guy crossed his cables all over my power cables and the video guy tied a bow around the whole thing. Mind you, I'm handheld at this point trying to maneuver around a room. When the power cable extension got popped in the middle of the take and the two guilty parties just looked at me with deer-in-the-headlights eyes I lost it. It wasn't too bad, I just didn't talk for a few minutes while I unplugged everything, even stuff that wasn't mine, and rerouted the entire room. Sweating and cursing under my breath, good times and I think I scared the DP, the Director, and the entire crew. Good fun!

There was another moment much like that a little bit later and I have a feeling that I will be throwing both the boom op and the sound tech into the pool sometime soon. I'll have Bjorn take photos, it'll be hilarious.

Hmm, I think it's ice cream time. Later all.

What my brother here means to say is that we felt that the institution no longer had anything to offer us.

I think I'm ok!? I think I may have sweated and cried enough that I'm not sick anymore. Holy crap, what a feeling!

Whenever I'm sick I feel like I've always been sick and always will be sick, as if the state of being sick is this horrible constant. Hmm, I wonder if I'd get better faster if I were to stop doing that. Anyway, I'm just glad I don't feel like death anymore as we're heading into a hell week on the little movie that wouldn't end. I'm so happy that I've only got a couple more weeks to go before I can get the hell outta here and into a cold beer on the beach. Oh yeah, Yang Chow and Tommy's and El Chabalita and The Motherfucking Bigfoot Lodge. Hey, we gotta get outta this place if it's the last thing that we ever do. I can't believe I haven't surfed or skated in a month. On the plus size it was a sizzling 45° here in Stockholm which means the snow is gone but it's still pretty damn cold. I hope the fabled Stockholm spring is actually here and we can have some temperatures besides below freezing. It really is an amazing city but it's been too damn cold to have fun.

OK, I need to wake up at 5am and do some yoga before getting to work. Ah, two cameras and another small apartment set. Seems so pleasant, doesn't it?

You can't spend the rest of your life crying. It annoys people in the movies.

This is a photo from Friday night. Bjorn is on the left of frame, gamely holding up a column and a beer while his two friends mug for the camera. I'm the goofy guy at the bottom of frame. This is the "VIP" lounge of a club called Marie Laveau.  I asked several people but no one seemed to know why the club was called that and there were no references to either New Orleans or voodoo anywhere in the place. It was very loud and the music was awful and the drinks were overpriced but the company was funny. Bjorn's pals are all in the mid-twenties and kind of small and funny, it's like drinking with Hobbits or kids or something. A good time was had by all and I finally drank on the Swedish subway!

I've spent Saturday lying in bed, feverish and hallucinating as my tonsils took their fucking time repairing themselves. I didn't really sleep last night because of the pain but have been catnapping today and taking care of the Ikea yurt. One half of my head feels back to normal while the left side is still inflamed and swallowing is still mostly a miserable experience. Stockholm is still kicking my ass but I'll have my revenge. Some how.

Oh, in stupid movie news, just found out we have three cameras going and only enough crew for two. Joy. The DP didn't even mention this to me, I found out from a very hungover Bjorn. I'm beginning to suspect that communication is not high on the list of things Swedes see as vital to successfully completing a film. Hey, it's not my money. I don't have any money as someone doesn't seem to concerned with paying me anytime soon. It's always something when you say yes to making a movie, isn't it? What the hell was I thinking?

I've never seen so many men wasted so badly.

Too drunk to really give you assholes a good post but here's my fucking best try. And away we gooooo!

J-boogie: Yeah, total disaster. Every week I am reminded of you on Mr. 3000: (DP)Hey, guy, that shot last week, the close-up that was wide open on a 135, yeah, it was a little soft. (my line) Um, yeah, you were looking through the eyepiece so why didn't you say something at the time? (DP) IT'S YOUR FUCING JOB, KEEP IT SHARP! (me, under my breath) Why am I here and why can I do your job better than you? (Cut to right now) Jason, I will totally load or second or whatever, just fucking hire me if I don't die here in Sweden! I swear, I'll never bitch again, no matter what.

Everyone else: Barney, kill me now and figure out a way to take Sweden with me when I go. Pete: right? Why does no one here get it when I bring that up? Mooseskaphalese: What can I say, I'm a stupid man, a stupid, little man.

And like that...  he was gone.

What kind of team is this? Everyone's dropping like dead flies.

I don't even know where to start so I'll start at the beginning. I can't seem to see my tonsils as it hurts too much to really get a good look at 'em and there's no good lighting/mirror setup here in the Ikea yurt. Throat hurts and swallowing, while possible, is somewhat painful. Less so today than the previous couple of days but still painful. Ear canals and Eustachian tubes still aggravated, also less than in days past. I'm pretty sure I don't have tonsillitis but what the hell do I know. The "aspirin" has been working great but of course when it wears off I'm dying all over again. I did mention all of this to production and since I'm not in the Swedish system and would have to pay, the director's retired dad is going to come to set. Bizarre.

Thanks, one and all,  for the advice regarding my goddamn head cold. Stockholm is kicking my ass hardcore but I'm hoping for a miracle. Basically, I just don't want to have some kind of bullshit bacterial infection or viral madness. Good lord, what a strange trip this has become. I do so truly miss the 90 degree weather and endless work opportunities offered by my lovely hometown of Los Angeles. Thanks for bringing that up, Jay Boogie. Thank you and I'm going to kill you if Stockholm doesn't kill me first. Peace out, ya jackasses!

ps- that's a photo of the old church in Gamla Stan. Oh, bury me not in the lone old church!

The young carpenter from Nazareth? I know him well. Promising young man. He died badly.

I am sick. I am very sick and full of Swedish wonder drugs. I think they package and label as aspirin everything from Ecstasy to cocaine. The good stuff, pure and unadulterated savagery for your headpiece. I am delirious and sweating in the cold night. We were outside and it was several degrees below freezing. My eyes hurt it was so cold but I am a junkie now. If a Swede has a pill I will take it in the hopes that it will stop the horrible pain behind my face. If a Swede has a pill I will take it so that my throat will open up and I can eat without weeping. So high.  So very, very high.

Why am I sick again? Did I ever get better? Was it all a lie I told myself so that Melah wouldn't be stuck with a half-dead boyfriend on her only trip to Stockholm? It's too late at night and I'm too beat down to deal with anything. Bad blogging is still blogging, la la la la laaaaa!

You SOLD your soul. You goin' down, all the way down. Hell hounds on your trail, boy, hell hounds on your trail.

Oh my god it's cold in Sweden! Everyone is wandering around talking about how great the fresh snow is everyday and how we're finally getting winter. Cut to Cali kid wearing everything he owns and still freezing. Plus I'm getting sick again. Again! This whole trip can be summed up in two words: sick and salt. Fuck! I have, however, vowed to fight tooth and nail against this second round of sickness and I refuse to succumb. I shall not sit down and take it! I shall, more importantly, not miss a day of work here in the frozen north! I'm dying.