Cabinet of Curiosities

Get full access to Cabinet of Curiosities at acabinetofcuriosities.substack.com/subscribe

Once upon a time, in a small village far far away in Finland, a woman named Inga Åbacka lovingly handcrafted hundreds of elves (jultomtar in Swedish) out of clay using only a spoon and her hands. These cheerful and colorful Christmas elves scattered around the region and found new homes. Inga sold these elves and donated the money to the church. Over the years my grandmother, Gunhild, bought elf after elf, and gave many of them to me and all her grandchildren and friends. After my elves had journeyed with me to the United States I began to understand that they were not regular elves at all, and that is where this story begins…On Saturday, December 13th, 2025, the thirteen elfs (you can technically also call them elves) woke up from their yearly hibernation. Just like some tortoises go to sleep over the cold season, these elves hibernate through the warmer season. The hustle, the bustle, the colorful surroundings, the lights, the sounds, the screaming children and the endless social media stream — it’s a taxing profession to be an elf. But! Now they’re refreshed and rejuvenated and ready for a brand new Christmas season! Naturally, as we all know, they arrive a few weeks before Julgubben (pronounced “Yule-gubb-en”), Father Christmas, to prepare everything and check that naughty or nice list. This year the elves woke up on Luciadagen, the day of Saint Lucy.See, the energy required to sustain an elf over the Christmas season, which extends over a period of about a month, requires roughly eleven months of rest. It is pure science. Elf science. So, they crawled out of the shoe box in which they hibernate amidst the red sheets of glittery tissue paper, gathered around on my coffee table and started chatting about this Christmas season. “Christmas season is hard work, you know,” says Guacamo, the farmer elf. Guacamo fondly talks about his avocado farming days, and I often wonder when he ever had time for avocado farming amidst his passion for salsa dancing, a hobby he and Salsa share. Salsa is a straw better in terms of pure expressiveness when it comes to salsa dancing, and it irks Guacamo to no end. But Guacamo’s reindeer, Gin, is always by his side as consolation.The Elf troupe’s unelected leader is of course Monty, the thespian extraordinaire. He trod the boards of many a famous theater, but he remorsefully and frequently reminds us of his one eternal regret:“I will never play the Dane…”Due to his small stature, Mikro has been able to go on many side quests over the years. He’s been to Arizona several times, and California of course. He sneaks into suitcases around Christmas time and who would have the heart to be angry with such an innocent-looking elf? It’s a miracle in itself that he’s not strayed off on any of the trips, bu

You’ve self-published a book and now begins the self-promo project.Here you can read all about Aubade, my new sci-fi novel and how it came into this world.I hired a person on Fiverr to generate a book promo reel. He will run it on iHeart Radio and on his social media. Let’s see if it will increase sales. Fingers crossed.It’s quite thrilling to hear the promo!In the meantime, enjoy the Hollywood vibes and please buy my book and leave a nice (hopefully!) review. It’s free with KindleUnlimited.Please consider reposting this to help me promote my book. I’m a one woman show with a zero PR budget and I’m not too proud to ask for help.* Can’t afford to buy the book today? Please consider dropping a few bucks in the Venmo below instead.* Here you can read more about me. Follow me on Instagram. Get full access to Cabinet of Curiosities at acabinetofcuriosities.substack.com/subscribe

Yeah, I made a trailer for you. Yeah, I wish this was a movie. But it’s a book. Read it!Get your copy here! Get full access to Cabinet of Curiosities at acabinetofcuriosities.substack.com/subscribe

• Watch this entire 1:36 minute clip of my Mini Goldendoodle Gwinny. This is all you need right now to experience a moment. And nothing else. A dog observing the world. Pete Townshend performing musical beauty. The world in motion. Quiet motion. Stillness even. • Then follow her on Instagram at gwinnythedoodle.• More about Gwinny (Guinevere) soon. We have had her in our lives for about 8 months now, and she is balm to the aching soul.* Thank you for watching! Press the heart button and write a comment!* Please consider dropping a few bucks in the Venmo below. This will help me spend more time writing and sharing with you. Get full access to Cabinet of Curiosities at acabinetofcuriosities.substack.com/subscribe

SUBWACK WHAT? Hosted by Elliot Lessing & friendsYOU should also SUBWACK and join the ART PARTY! DO it!UpLoad by Minna* OpenArt image prompts by Minna* Music 80s retro synthwave by PlaysoundPromptsa human has uploaded their brain into a neural network and is living uploaded . The human body is stored in an organic vat which provides homeostasis. The human can live in the digital world instead of in the organic world.a human has uploaded their brain into a neural network and is living uploaded . The human body is stored in an organic vat which provides homeostasis. The human can live in the digital world instead of in the organic world. Diagram of human homeostasis machine with thousands of tubes that maintains life while human is uploaded into the AI.a human has uploaded their brain into a neural network and is living uploaded  and experiences everything as real in the AI world.  The human can live in the digital world instead of in the organic world. Diagram of human homeostasis machine with thousands of tubes that maintains life while human is uploaded into the AI. Full body image of human.a human has uploaded their brain into a neural network and is living uploaded  and experiences everything as real in the AI world.  The human can live in the digital world instead of in the organic world. Diagram of human homeostasis machine with thousands of tubes that maintains life while human is uploaded into the AI. Full body image of human. The electrodes lead to different parts of the brain and visual images appear to show how this works.A beautiful human has uploaded their brain into a neural network and is living uploaded  and experiences everything as real in the AI world.  The human can live in the digital world instead of in the organic world. Diagram of human homeostasis machine with thousands of tubes that maintains life while human is uploaded into the AI. Full body image of human. The electrodes lead to different parts of the brain and visual images appear to show how this works.True love. A beautiful human has uploaded their love into a neural network and is living uploaded  and experiences everything as real in the AI world.  The human can live in the digital world instead of in the organic world. Diagram of human homeostasis machine with thousands of tubes that maintains life while human is uploaded into the AI. Full body image of human. The electrodes lead to different parts of the brain and visual images appear to show how this works.True love being shared between two humans that are connected in a neural mesh. A beauti

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Jag älskar att köra bil. Jag körde hela vägen från norra Kalifornien genom hela USA hit till södra Florida. Jag kan köra på hjärtattacksbranta vägar längsmed den kaliforniska kusten och i huvudsvärksfabriker till motorvägar i Texas. Jag kan vara tillräckligt aggressiv och tävla om plats med långtradarchaufförer i Louisiana. Och jag har kört halvblind i en orkan på en motorväg — och överlevt. Och så kom vi till Florida. “It’s Florida,” har vi börjat säga till varandra när vi ser nästa obeskrivbara trafikfenomen ske framför oss på gatan eller motorvägen. För här sker det saker. Hela tiden. Nonstop. Vår bil passerade just 100 000 miles och jag glömde att se på odometern när den passerade från 99 999 till 100 000! Tala om FOMO. Här får du istället lyssna på mina observationer av trafik(o)vett i Florida. På dialekt såklart! Berätta sedan gärna var i världen du haft dina galnaste körupplevelser.Och här kan du lyssna på mina avsnitt från livet i Kalifornien:Min podcastserie på Soundcloud To my English speaking friends: This time I’m talking about traffic in Florida. Have you driven in Florida? What’s up with the no turn signal?I run a micro-podcast (all episodes run shorter than 10 minutes) in a very peculiar Swedish dialect. Click on a few and listen to the language. What do you think it sounds like? Do you recognize any words? Get full access to Cabinet of Curiosities at acabinetofcuriosities.substack.com/subscribe