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.

Beauvais is 3 hours from Paris

I leave for Paris in two days. It's an evening flight and upon arrival in Beauvais I have to take a bus for three hours and then a train to reach a bed to sleep in. This is what happens when a trip isn't planned carefully. Everything will alright as it always is. I have a return ticket to Skavsta on the 21st, but am at this point unsure if I will use it or not. It's up to the road....

I just finished reading an amazing book today. Its titled "Postcolonialism: a very short introduction." Instead of explaining the book I will leave you with a few quotes that are included.

'I am strongly in favor of using poison gas against uncivilized tribes' -Winston Churchill

'The West won the world not by superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.' -Samuel P. Huntington

And we try to complain about terrorism? hmmm....

Norwegian Woods Roadtrip Report

The online map said the trip was 14 hrs by car. We made it to Trondheim in 10. What was the reward of driving all this time in a Hyundai Accent with no stereo(courtesy of Stockholm druggies)? A relatively well preserved Gothic Cathedral from 1160 CE.

I can't even begin to describe the surprise of driving through Trondheim and suddenly out pops something you would only expect to run into in certain southerly European states. Then we were walking through the oldest church in Scandinavia and only piece left of that era.

We also visited Röros which is a UNESCO sight. I would have to say here that although we didn't see the giant mountains we were looking for, we did see amazing beauty in the two cities we visited and on the road between the two. Otherwise here is how to sum up Norway: Expensive, Expensive, Beautiful.

Norge(Norway)

Haven't been to Norway in a few years and now seems like a good time to go. Sunday at two pm my dad and I will hit the road. This will lead to a six hour drive through the hills and eventual mountains of the Norwegian Fjords, eventually climaxing in the city of Trondheim. This time be ready for pictures to follow as I am stealing/borrowing the family digital camera. What are we doing in Norway? Besides the drinking(you know the height of my excessive drinking problem) we will be looking/climbing in the amazing countryside.

Anyone who knows, will know that it was none other than Slartibartfast who designed the coastal areas of Norway(for which he got an award).

Next stop will then be Paris on the 11th of October. Or more correctly Beauvais and a three hour ride to Paris City(Thank you Ryanair).

Stockholm Again

So I am back in Stockholm for a week or two before I again make an attempt at meaningness on the road. All things considered though it is a lot better(at least two times) than meaninglessnss in a single place. When I was in first grade in Säffle my teacher told my parents that I just couldn't sit still and that it was like I had ants in my pants.

I just checked and they are still there by the way. Riga was overall an amazing experience and now that my path has once again led through its cobblestone streets and cathedrals I feel a call or whisper in the breeze(how cliche) that beckons me on to something unknown and therefore amazing in and of itself. If I could have planned every trip that I have taken it would have been simply garbage in the end.

The unknown is what this heart seeks. Edge of the known world. "There be monsters here" as the maps would say. Wind in my sails, food in my belly, and open eyes what else do I need?

Saaremaa

Surfing is officially now possible in Pavilosta, Latvia. Spent the week going to movies at the 18th annual Riga film festival. Best two movies viewed were "house of sand"(Brazil) and "Madeinusa"(Peru). If you can get your hands on those two movies you will not be disappointed. Seu Jorge of "Life Aquatic" fame is in "House of Sand." He is also in "City of God" if you are still struggling.

Spent the weekend exploring the Estonian island of Saaremaa. They have a rocky coastline with a few spots that given the right wind conditions would be extremely nice for a long board session. This is point break territory. Did I mention full wetsuit year round. I opted for booties and no hood first time around. Ouch. Someone broke the window of the surfmobile the morning of the trip and we were forced to drive the four hour trip without a radio. That is why we brought a guitar. Nothing quite as Bohemian as playing guitar on the way to an Estonian surf trip.

Anyone who is reading this blog and is still hesitating and wondering if Latvia would be a good place to visit is missing out. Amazing landscape as well as old towns and buildings. The cafe scene is alive and well. Yes Absinthe is legal. Need I say more...

Riga, Lv

So...

It turns out that there is now a direct flight from Riga, Lv to New York now. How does it go? For 600 dollars US you can fly to New York on Uzbekistan airways. Viesturs made it so that is a good sign.

There is an art colony on Andrejsala and for some reason they have an amazingly mellow miniramp there. Nice galleries as well so if in the area please check it out.

A person I know now owns three of the best coffee shops in town. A.L.L. Cappucino. Usually offer one good vegetarian dish a day besides having amazing coffee and full service bar. Absinthe or Ukrainian firewater anyone?

Have been to two saunas outside Cesis. The Leach center saunas are really jokes in comparison. We laugh at your inability to take heat. Amazing night view by the way. Me skinny dipping outside the sauna under a sky full of stars. Did I mention collecting mushrooms in the woods. No not that kind.

Forecast for tommorow says there will be 1.5 meter waves in Liepaja. I will be in the lineup in full wetsuit. Cau...