The Job Market Day 1

I went all over town today in search of a way of making money. I need to make some nice cash by June so I can see a little bit more of the world that is out there. I handed out my CV a couple of times and even talked to a manager who said he had a place for me in the end of February. That would be nice but its a little long to wait. So that means that tommorrow will be day 2. Other than that I snapped my skateboard in two, but of course that happens every so many months. It was nice to have the hook up on a cheap deal this time and not pay the Swedish price for a new board(100 USD or slightly less).

I've been listening to Iron and Wine, Andrew Bird, and a little of this and a little of that. Check out Architecture of Helsinki which is also not bad. Otherwise life is going on like it always does. Sometimes ups outnumber the downs, but mostly it just stays average.

Regina Spektor or why to buy tickets early....

Regina Spektor is sold out for her appearance at Berns. I am more than upset. That was the only reason I was looking forward to March. Lesson learned: buy tickets in advance when I know the show will be good. I guess I could scalp, hmm. Some loser will sell the ticket.

The wedding was nice and somehow I ended up as unofficial DJ for the evening. Al Green and Marvin Gaye it is then. Hard to choose wedding music I must admit. Couldn't play a lot of nice stuff that just didn't fit the mood or the age. In the end though I finally got in some Beatles, The Smiths, Leonard Cohen, Dylan, even Jimi Hendrix(not Hey Joe). When we were cleaning up I managed to get everyone into the Daft Punk mood and we were dancing more than cleaning. A funk band played the wedding and they were, well they were really nice.

I'm back in Stockholm and looking for a job now so that I can travel in the summer. I think that I am also looking for something in France to work so that I can surf for a while and pick up the language. It would be nice!

A wedding in January...

Its not raining outside, not right now anyway. The lack of rain does not by any means imply that the weather conditions are anywhere near ideal for a white wedding. All that was decided by the bride and groom though of course.

Sven Josefson, his street name, has chosen to write this in the third person. It isn't an ego trip or some form of randomness, it just is. His father decided to be a derrier pirate and take the digital camera with him. This means that there will be no documentation of the event as a whole. He finished East of Eden and is now hard at work on a biography of the late, great Jimi Hendrix and after that he may even tackle Garcia-Marquez autobiography. Reading is growth. Unless its Romance novels of course.

Marie Antoinette is in the mix for tommorrow. Most have said its a debacle but Sven is going to be a gonzo journalist and envestigate this one for himself. P.S. Sushi is cheap in Riga, especially if its without fish(avocado). P.S.S so is booze and tea.

Weekend Update

Despite my love for the environment and preserving it, I have decided to board a Ryanair flight Riga, Latvia on the 15th of January. An old friend is getting married and I am going to mourn with him. No, actually I'm going to party at the wedding until the sun comes up. I'll be there for a week and stay with my old partner in crime Viesturs Celmins. After that week long stunt I'll have to come back to my current dwelling place in STHLM and get a job.

I haven't heard yet from the powers that be at Lund University but then again I probably won't hear from them until April. I don't really know yet what I'll do if I don't get in. I've been thinking about living in Spain and France just to learn the languages. If anyone out there knows of any job opportunities please feel welcome to send an email or leave a comment. Thats about all thats going on.

Book recommendation of the week: Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

Le Monde

The winter is hibernating this year. Santa Claus couldn't believe his eyes as he watched the glaciers he has called home break up in front of his eyes. Bears were attacking Russians in the Siberian forest when they should have been sawing logs. Skiiers are realizing that they may be practicing a dying art. Is Holland worried their entire country may be lost to the sea again?

This is not the climax of our story. We have discovered on the other hand that there are no heroes. This may be upsetting at first but truthful none the less. The climax is still a few years off. It involves soaring water prices and petty conflicts that can be traced back to nationalism. Blame the West. Blame the White man. Everyone else still has a choice though. What is really true of our new century is that we are in the middle of a giant storm. This isn't a new development, the world has always been a storm.

What we are learning slowly and painfully is that there is no captain at the helm and all the officers are children wearing the costumes of adults and using their language.

Strindberg, Riga, and 2007

The fireworks are dying down and the holidays are officially over. Things fell through with the ski-resort plan. Instead I have a ticket to Riga, Latvia for the 15th of January to hang out with some friends and go to a wedding. I might go back down to Copenhagen next week as well. Its a possibility. Upon returning from Riga I will be re-entering the job market. That probably means I'll be cooking again. C'est la vie.

I am looking forward to the summer though and seeing some new places. Spain, Portugal, and Morrocco are all on the Menu as of this posting. Instead of drinking in a bar for New Years I just took shots with strangers on the Metro ride home, thanfully they were in possesion of a bottle of Tequila. Here's a quote from Strindberg, if you have no clue then wikipedia him.

“People are constantly clamoring for the joy of life. As for me, I find the joy of life in the hard and cruel battle of life - to learn something is a joy to me.” -August Strindberg

After the Flood

December the 25th came and went and we were never given the snow we'd been promised by the meterological gods of the local television station. Perhaps what was needed was a blood sacrifice but that just isn't my style so we'll keep the clouds and the heat(meaning that its not freezing). I've been reading, because I want to and because I've been sick, and would have to recommend H. G. Well's classic The Invisible Man. If you like dark and dreary, fitting for the weather, then read it.

In other news a family friend named Ilya is visiting Stockholm as he is on break from the tyranny of Bible School(Joking!) There is a hockey match tommorrow at Globen so we're all set to check out that. Djurgården vs. Luleå. I don't like either team but its hockey.

New Years plans? Hmm. Find a busy bar with a nice female to male ratio and look for the tequila. Sounds nice.

sometime somewhere

This beast is awake and roaming the landscape. Thank you for driving carbon emiting vehicles and keeping the animals of the north from hibernating. Your planet would like to thank the major car corporations, governments, and other individuals who are exploiting our planetary resources.

Anyway Stockholm is cold but you didn't come here for the weather. I will be in Riga, Latvia this coming January for the wedding of a friend/pastor. It is always amazing to go back there and see friends and how much is changing so fast. It seems that I have a job after New Year that will involve me beeing far from Stockholm and up north. Details to follow at a further date. Otherwise I'll probably be making Italian food in some kitchen in downtown Stockholm which isn't a bad option either. By the way it is Christmas time in case anyone was unaware. I won't hear if I get into Lund until April so that is still quite a ways off. The truth is it isn't in my hands anymore.

Other news? Brother comes tommorrow to visit for a week or two. Beer and wildness to follow....

Agent Orange still around

Another round of applause for the imperialist powers that be in DC.

Watch this and be proud if you're from there

All this by the way for no good reason at all.

Red Hot Monday

Monday, Monday, Monday

Tonight was the first night of the back-to-back Chili Pepper's concerts at Globen. If it wasn't sold out then it was only a few seats from being there. I, of course, waited until all the good seats had been taken and was therefore forced to deal with pubescent teens who had to get up and move out of the aisle every other song, trying to get my original seat from these same teens, and also a drunk who was dancing uncontrollably with a beer in his hand all over our section. Due to his aforementioned dancing the beer was quickly appearing on the clothes of those in his way. He also tried to pour said beer on a man dressed in black with a metallica t-shirt and stereotypical long rocker hair, sad to say the man in black wasn't having it.

The RHCP themselves? Absolutely animatedly awesomely amazing. Something like that, if you get to see them live then pay whatever it costs and enjoy an amazing show. If anything watching Flea play bass is an experience in itself. Kiedis jumping around was amazing enough besides having what is the best voice in rock music today, and for the past twenty years I might add. Bottom line....See them Live! No I didn't take any pictures, I go to concerts to enjoy music not to show my friends what the artists look like on stage.

December

Stockholm is officially dark now. Everyday it feels like precious minutes are vanishing into the impending winter darkness that is enveloping the land. I like it. This means that summer days will be twice as long.

I just bought my ticket for the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in Globen on the 11th of December. They are playing back to back shows at Globen and I think by showtime both of these dates will be sold out. Stoked is the right word if I was trying to describe my feeling about the coming show.

A while back(a week or so actually) I was on the road(or the rails) in Scandinavia in search of adventure and some of that adventure was staying in a hostel that was actually an old train car. This is what it looks like when your roomate uses the mirrors for fun.

A little here and a little there

Just returned to Stockholm this very November day at 1 pm courtesy of the Swedish Rail System(Note to self always buy tickets in advance so I don't have to pay for first class). The next step will be to visit the Modern Art Museum. So where was I? I was in Copenhagen and Lund. Besides drinking Carlsberg eating pastries, I was checking out Lund University for a possible masters program. I met with some of the co-ordinaters and have come to the conclusion that I really like Lund University(LUMES).

I have also put the bridge between Copenhagen and Malmo to the test and it passed with flying colors. Anyone who hasn't been to Copenhagen but is considering it, well I have to say it comes highly recommended on this end. Prices are a bit steep but thats life. I did the usual, went to see the little Mermaid, the palaces, the Opera, the city library, etc. Then we also went and had tea with the hippy commune in Christiania. While there I had the best Falafel in my life and witnessed the coppers trying to bust up the dope dealers who are everywhere. It will be a sad day for Denmark when they shut that place down. Pictures to follow.

Oh the things to do....

I went out late afternoon yesterday to take some photos. The best ones are Here.

I got my Sufjan Stevens ticket yesterday and then also found out that beginning on the 16th of November and continuing till the 26th, Stockholm is host to the 17th International Film Festival. That means I have to go to at least two movies. I am going to see Days of Glory which is supposed to be amazing. Ok so maybe more than two.

What else, what else, what else? Ice Skating is available in various places around the city. I found a new pub to frequent as well as some nice cafe's in the Slussen area around Götagatan(Medborgarplatsen).

Capitalistic Complications

I've been reading Orientalism by E. Said and while what I am about to talk about doesn't deal with that book directly I am going to recommend it to anyone who ever wants to debate the Middle East(Whatever that label actually means anyway.) I've been thinking about Capitalism(a.k.a greed.) Humans are most amusing and foolish when they express what they believe in. 'I believe in Capitalism' is the best example of that. Why would anyone want to or even be proud to believe in greed? Why would anyone stand behind and even claim a nation so proud of its greed as the US. This is not to argue that this isn't a problem anywhere else, but why defend it?

On a similar issue, is it moral to export such things as Coke and McDonalds around the world? Does anyone really need either of these two products? Take both of them away and they would be forgotten in the blink of an eye. Is it moral to ruin someone else's livelihood? I find no justification for selling meat to third world country cheaper then they can produce themselves and thereby killing the local market. I find no right to consume(this word is the equivalent of freedom in the US i.e. they can be used interchangeably) at the rate of the Western world(whatever that means.)

Thoughts?

Hammarby IF

Last night was evolving into nothing around 4:30 pm.

Then the phone call at 5 pm. VIP tickets to watch the last football match of the season. Hammarby IF vs. Gefle IK. This included free food and beer before the match, nice seats, and coffee and pastries at halftime. Hammarby pulled it off in the 80th minute when the Brazilian player on the squad put it in the back of the net. 1-0 was the final score of a really cold game.
Globen Arenas is a really nice area to have any team play I must confess and that makes it the third time I've been in those stadiums in the last week.

Absolut Football.

Fryshuset or absolut chaos....

Last night I went to my second Djurgården hockey game in a week's period. So far its been one loss and one tie. I went and saw my favorite team play(Färjestad's BK). I hadn't been to a game with them in 15 years.

The only indoor skatepark in a city of 1.5 million allows everyone to skate at the same time including kids younger than five, fruitbooters(rollerblades), and bmx. The place is in a community center known as Fryshuset(the IceHouse). Absolut Insanity.

Bruce Springsteen was here but I went to the hockey game above instead. I am under the impression it was a sold out show.

Selam African Festival is starting today and some of the bands headlining should be rather decent so that's probably where I'll be this week. STHLM for life.

Friday Five's

Five albums I might be listening to now
1. Any Dylan Bootleg
2. Belle and Sebastian 'Tigermilk'
3. Neutral Milk Hotel 'aeroplane over the sea'
4. Modest Mouse compilation by Ruco
5. Any Sufjan Stevens
Five places to see next year
1. Morrocco
2. Porto
3. Santiago De Compostela
4. The entire Basque Region
5. Prague
Top Five places to eat
1. Hare Krishna in Riga
2. Lido in Riga
3. Raimond's Kitchen after a mushroom hunt
4. Momo's
5. Leonardo's in Gamla Stan
Top five bars
1. Pulkvedis in Riga
2. Kuba in Riga
3. Poor Paul's
4. The Warehouse on Jazz night
5. Raimonds living room with Campari+Orange Juice=Nice time

Flirting with London

I'm flirting mildly with London. Its a possibility, its a thought coming down with the rain. Making everything wet, but too late for the autumn spectrum that has left its pastels on the leaves. London on that little island they dare call Great Britain. A river that doesn't pronounce its h. I'm flirting with London and I think she's winning. Why should I trade one wet metropolis for another. Fish and Chips wrapped in newspapers? I don't eat the fish so not good enough. Where does this restlesness come from and why can't it go bother someone else. London doesn't call today. Instead it whispers possibilities....which is deadlier.

Heaven is the Wine and Cheese aisle

Should you be fortunate enough to see France at any point in time in your life I have a recommendation that I will offer to you. Find the biggest grocery store available and then make your way to the wine and cheese aisle. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I almost mistaked the sommelier for St. Peter. The cuisine is amazing. This is besides all the other absolutely fantastic things that France has to offer. To finish this post off here is a quote by a hero/tyrant....

How can anyone govern a nation that has 246 different kinds of cheese?
--Charles de Gaulle

The Trip

Ile d'France

Ah Paris,

So I hitchiked to Ponthierry today and didn't even put out my thumb. And get this it was a woman who picked me up of all people. I've been in three days of walking and mastering the metro/trains to the usual spots: The Eiffel tower, Sacre Couer(Montmartre), Le Arc d'Triomphe, The Louvre, Pompidou center, the stones that are left from the Bastille, Musee Picasso, and so on. This city has already(along with everything I've seen of the country) qulified as one of the most amazing places of all time. When you sit by the banks of the Seine and watch the barges go by you understand why the Americans don't like it: its too nice for them. Too original, too unique, too much culture. Americans can't even compete. So give it up, lower your voices, stop drinking coke at nice restaurants. Also a question: why do we need Starbucks everywhere? Keep your bucks far from Starbucks.