I thought I'd give it a try while Fredrik is off on tour. The Swedes are all about dairy and bread. Others have agreed that they have not eaten more bread and dairy products since coming to Sweden. Oddly, they sell their milk in 1 litre cartons. The largest amount you can get at the grocers is 1.5L. My mom speculates it to the fact that most people don't own a car and to carry home 4 litres of milk with all your other groceries is just no fun when you're trekking by foot.

The lactose bit is pretty easy to deal with because I'm already lactose intolerant. I usually get either soy milk or lactose free milk. My lactose consumption comes from things like ice cream and I already don't have that too often.

The gluten free part is a bit harder. I'm going for a mostly gluten free diet. I obviously don't need to be as strict as my friend Ryan who has coeliac. I got a loaf of gluten free bread but after farther inspection of the foods around the house, I realized that it's harder than it appears. I love my pastas and noodles! Just LOVE it. I guess I could cut back on it and eat more rice.

Perhaps these lost decision makers should have bothered to learn a little bit from history, to see how others have dealt with these sorts of crises previously.  Not so long ago, a friend sent me this article, detailing a similar experience in Sweden as recently as 1992.  Facing nearly the same set of circumstances, the Swedish government took direct equity in these troublesome banks, rather than dumping piles of public money on the problem with no reasonable expectation for return, nor any real motivation to change the inherent causes of the problems, as the US (and unfortunately it seems, other EU nations) has chosen to do.  In the Swedish case, before any funds were invested, the banks were forced to write down their bad debts, incurring a very real and direct cost to the shareholders.  Having extracted their 'pound of flesh', and teaching these owners (yes, the shareholder is an owner, and ultimately responsible for the actions of their respective companies) a lesson, the government was then able to take direct control of the distressed banks, selling off the bad debt with proceeds flowing back to the common taxpayer and rebuild the industry before selling off the shares they had acquired, for profit as well.  I'm uncertain whether the scale of the current situation would support this strategy now, but the thinking is sound.  In Sweden's case, faith was restored through sound management and hard lessons learned, and the system has flourished responsibly ever since.

I have to admit, to me there is absolute justice in forcing profiteering shareholders to bear the burden of irresponsible, unsustainable management, as it is that sort of behaviour that ostensibly leads to the sort of market overvaluations we see all too often.  From a psychology standpont, I would suspect that many feel the same way I do also, and perhaps a strategy such as this would have been more effective at eliminating the panic fostered by these hasty band-aid solutions.  Let's hope that more thought is given to this approach, as it seems we're in for a good amount of upheaval yet, with no end in sight for the forseeable future.

As an aside, and the irony is not lost on me, I have received 'the call' with respect to the opportunity I've mentioned, and the meeting will take place tomorrow afternoon.  Strange I guess that all of these events have dampened my enthusiasm for what would ordinarily be a huge thing for me.  Maybe not just these events, but a combination of things.  Regardless of the reason, I've been through these things a few times, though nothing like this, and have always judged how badly I wanted something by how nervous I was going into it.  I was absolutely nervous going into this, but now that I am so close, I don't feel a thing.  Not a good sign on my part - though it should make the conversation much more open and easy.  We'll see, though I will have some deciding to do.  Let's hope for a better day tomorrow all around.

peas

Hello everyone! I'm terribly sorry I have not made a new post for a while, but I'm afraid not much has been going on in Sweden besides the usual college life of studying and socializing. I did just get back from a nine day dream trip through Europe though! I went to six different countries, with stops in Göteburg, Københaven, Amsterdam, Bruges, Luxembourg, and, for the ultimate finale, Munich for the last weekend of Oktoberfest. I took over 500 pictures, so I have decided to split the trip into two posts: this one for the first half and another for the second half. (WARNING: Both posts are extremely long, so you might want to take them one section at a time if necessary. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Stop #1: Göteburg

My trip technically started Thursday night with a pint of Guiness with my dutch friend Marc in Karlstad at my favorite pub, Pitcher's. I say it started then because I was going to try as many European beers as possible on my trip in order to educate my beer-tasting palate before I return to America for my 21st Birthday, and if you are going to compare beers, Guiness is the standard by which all other beers are judged (so I have heard). The next morning I had to run to catch the train to Göteburg, which I jumped on as it was pulling away from the station. Three hours later I found myself in the second largest Swedish city, and I decided to head straight for the coast of the North Sea. At 9am on a Friday, the streets were fairly empty.

On my way to the sea.

I was hoping to see the open ocean, but instead I saw some pretty huge boats in the docks.

I didn't really enjoy my first hour of walking around because the streets were empty and bare near the ocean. I did end up finding the last standing part of the wall that used to surround the city, so I climbed to the top to see what I could find.

The Wall

Door towards the top of the wall

From the top of the wall I must say I was impressed by the views.

View from the top

Once I descended to the other side of the wall I found inner Göteburg to be a beautiful, inviting city. Here are some pictures from my walk.

Statue 1

Statue 2

What I realized on this trip was that I was traveling to all of these European cities in the peak color seasons for the fall. Although it may not of had the overwhelming power of autumn in the Elk Range, it was still pretty beautiful and I was lucky to be there for it.

Autumn colors near the University

I found my way to what they Swedes planned to be their version of the Champs Élysee, and instead of the Arc de Triomphe there was a statue of Poseidon and a history museum.

Poseidon and Museum

Looking back from the museum

I then walked to the Latin Quarter, where the University is located, and could not get enough of the trees there.

The only place I had read about in Göteburg was this place called the Fish Church, which used to be a church but is now a fish market. It was the best sushi I've ever had.

Fish Church

Swedish Sushi

Fish inside

After lunch I continued my walk through the parks that line the canal. The art and the nature was fantastic, and, although I came to this conclusion after I got back from Munich, I am falling in love with Swedish nature.

Park Art #1

Park Art #2

I made it back to the train station, and four hours later I arrived at

Stop #2: Københaven

Københaven, or Copenhagen, is a pretty cool city. I planned to spend the night at my friend Will's place (he is a DU student spending the semester abroad in Copenhagen), but he was on the night train back from Munich. Being the incredibly nice person he is, he told his friends that were in Copenhagen to let me in and take care of me, which they did extremely well. I wanted to experience some Danish beer while I was there, so after I dropped off my things at Will's dorm, I rode the tram back into town. Copenhagen is a great place on a Friday night, and my first stop was at a great pub that had some folk music playing and where I met some Icelanders (meaning I met more people from Iceland in Denmark than when I was in Iceland. Go figure).

The Pub

Folk Band

After this pub I walked even farther into the heart of Copenhagen where I found another pub, and it was here that I actually met some Danish people! It was the first time that I have traveled to a country and met locals, so I was very stoked. It was after this, however, that my luck finally ran out in terms of the solo traveling I had been doing. Here is the story:

At midnight, I decided that I should head back to the train station because the last tram to Will's dorm was at 12:30. As I turned the corner of the pub, I saw a map that told my my location was much, much farther away from the station than I though. I tried with all my ability to make it back in time, but I ended up missing the train by ten minutes. Looking at the schedule, I realized that the next train to Will's dorm didn't leave until 5:10am. With no other options, I decided to walk around the city for the four and a half hours I had to kill. I also thought it would be an opportunity to take some night pictures, but only a few came out decent. Here are some of the pics (but the story is far from finished).

Construction Site

Tower at night

So, after a long walk, I found myself back at the train station at 5:00am, ready for the train. As soon as I boarded the train, however, I immediately found myself fighting sleep. Sure enough, I suddenly awoke with a start as the train was coming to a stop, exactly one stop further than the stop I was supposed to get off at. I got off, of course, and to my dismay, there were no trains back to the correct stop for another hour. So, seeing how I was well prepared for walking, I thought it would be an easy task to walk back to the last stop as long as I stayed in view of the train tracks. I followed my ears in the still-dark Zealand countryside, and I kept hearing what sounded to be a train, or at least a large, quickly moving object pass every 20 minutes or so. When I came to clearing, however, I saw before me a highway, and the large, moving objects I was hearing were actually semi trucks. Having no idea where I lost the train tracks, I cut to the direction I thought was east, both because that is the direction the tracks were supposed to go as well as the fact that is where the sun was rising. After an hour of walking and no train tracks, I discovered a beautiful lake which made for an amazing sunrise.

It was at this lake that I realized "Holy cow, I'm completely lost in Demark," as well as "Holy cow, how many people get lost in Denmark? That's awesome!" I then retraced my steps, rather chipper from this newfound realization, and on the way found this cool tree-tunnel path that led me straight to Will's dorm.

Tree Tunnel

After 4 hours of sleep, followed by the arrival of Will fresh from Oktoberfest with pictures and tips, I returned to the city to do some sight seeing in the day. Here are some pictures of Copenhagen.

Tower

City Life

Royal Palace tower (under construction)

Art and Architecture

Looking out from the Palace Tower

Seeing how I was on a trip for beer-education, a trip to the Carlsberg Brewery was in order. And no, unlike they clam, it is probably NOT the best beer in the world.

Brewery Street

For a public album of photos from Göteburg & Københaven, CLICK HERE

After the brewery, I made my way back to the train station for a delightful 14 hour night train to

Stop #3: Amsterdam

(So I just realized this is an obnoxiously long post, but keep reading! Or just keep looking at the pictures! Or just stop, go outside for some fresh air, and pick this up again later when you need to procrastinate some more)

In Amsterdam I was able to meet up with Cate, who is a student from Canada spending the semester in karlstad with me. She wouldn't arrive until that evening, however, so I made my way to the hostel, taking pictures along the way.

Main Street in Amsterdam

City Hall

Important Building to turn right at to get to our hostel (I did not know that at first, so I took a long detour)

Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Bruges all claimed to be "Venice of the North" but the only one that came close (in my mind at least) was Amsterdam.

Canal

Rijksmuseum

The Heineken Brewery, which was closed.

Sculpture and Buildings

After finding the Hostel I did some exploring, and found Rembrandt Square and the Rembrandt house.

Rembrandt Square

Sketch at the Rembrandt house

Rembrandt House

That evening I was able to meet up with Cate at the train station, and we were treated to a nice sunset on the way from the train station.

We were also treated to some spectacular lights on the canals that evening.

The next day Cate and I went on a tour of the city where we saw all there is to see in Amsterdam. No pictures were allowed in the Red Light District, however, so you'll just have to go yourself to experience it.

Cate and a Canal

Canal

Me in Amsterdam

The National Post Office (built when the Dutch ruled the world in the 1600's. They traded it all for Suriname)

The red building is the narrowest house in Amsterdam

After the tour we went to the Anne Frank house, which was a very serious place, one that made me realize that Europe has had some hard times. I'll never forget how I felt in the tiny apartment that two families lived in for two years before being dragged to a concentration camp where they lost their lives. It was pretty strong stuff.

Anne Frank House

After the Anne Frank house we went to the Rijksmuseum where we saw "The Nightwatch," which is considered to be Rembrandt's masterpiece. We also saw some cool architecture, most of which looked like it was about to fall over.

And so I will end this extremely long post with me in front of the "I AMsterdam" sculpture. If you want to read another novel about the second half of my trip, click on the link "Part 2" below.

For a public album of photos from Göteburg & Københaven, CLICK HERE

For a public album of photos from Amsterdam, CLICK HERE

Now there is the harvest for apples in Sweden. I saw one of my neighbour picing apple from her tree. This was the first time for me and I must have been staring. The next thing I know me and my good friend Karin  who was visiting in Norrtälje were invided in to her garden and now I have lot of new fresh apples.  They taste so good straight from the tree.

xoxo

Annie

I came across this interesting letter of Abraham Lincoln's, which is currently being auctioned off at Sotheby's.  It is currently valued at between U.S. $250,000 and $350,000.  I really enjoyed seeing it!

Since  I teach cursive writing, I'm always interested in looking at handwriting samples.  I showed this lettter to my daughter to see if she could read it.  She could read some of it.  However,  some certain specific flaws, paticularly with proportion of letters, make certain bit hard to read (especially if you're not used to deciphering handwriting, as most teachers are used to doing).

Here are some examples of problems in Lincoln's cursive writing.  Most d''s are missing their tall stems (for example, look at the words understand and husband's, both in the second line of the body of the letter).  His y's at the end of words look almost like u's with a scratchy tail (see the word enemy in the fourth line of the body).  Most of his l's are no taller than his other small letters (see the word helped at the end of the third line of the body, where the l should be as tall as the h, but intead, barely surpasses the e in height).

Lincoln's slant, however, is good (correct amount of forward slant).

This particular sample of cursive writing would not pass my third-grade class.  However, it might not be his "best" writing--few of us use our "best" writing on a daily basis, as it's too time-consuming.

The reason I'm so particular in teaching handwriting (I'm sure some of you are wondering) is that in our American school, the teachers often change from year-to-year.  Sometimes we never know who we'll get until almost the last minute, or even what country they will be from.  (We've had teachers from English-speaking counries all around the world.)  Often the teachers from other countries don't even know cursive (much less American cursive), and sometimes the younger teachers now arriving from America don't know cursive either!  So of course they don't give their classes any instruction in it, nor do they use it on the board.  So whatever cursive my kids get in Grade 3 is often all they will get, ever.  That's why I teach them well in Grade 3, and get them to a standard that will serve them the rest of their lives before they leave my class.

Eileen

Observing animals can be quite as interesting as humans - from smiling alpacas and synchronized guinea fowls to monkeys guzzling down soda.

Taken in Norrbotten (Sweden) over the summer, I kept wondering what these cows must have been thinking or saying to themselves.

My caption - Honey? What on earth is she wearing?!

Any ideas for a caption?

If you liked this post, please it.

Sweden is pretending to be at the fore-front on the issues regarding the protection of the environment but there are several things happening in Sweden that indicate otherwise. The most prominent aspect where the government or politicians have failed the people is in the area of public transportation. I will use myself as an example.

There was a time I was living in Vaxmora area of Sollentuna. I had rented a room in a bungalow house. I later found out that this is one of those places called villa-område which means that it is an area dominated by villa or big houses.  I realized that public transportation to this area was very poor. The place is about 15 minutes from the nearest train stop by bus that doesn’t go frequently. If you go out at night, there will be no train to return after midnight. If you take a night bus, you will trek half an hour to get home to where I lived.

I have since switched to a number of different places in Sweden and the system is such that if you live in an apartment of in a congested area the tendency is that you will have nearness to public transportation and the train station. The buses will run for 24 hours and getting home after late is not a problem.

I have now found myself living in another area which I can say is dominated by villa. In short, the people who live in my area in Skälby-Veddesta are sort of classified as rich people who have decided to move away from the city to the country side. This gives them calmness and allows them to raise their children in a safer and more serene environment.

But you know what? Public transportation to this area is the WORST I have seen in Sweden. The bus goes from here to the nearest train station once every hour. It goes twice during the hours of 7 and 8 in the morning and 4 and 5 in the evening.

After 5pm there is no bus transportation to this area called VEGA in Skälby. This is happening in Sweden in 2008. This is a country that wants to tell the world that it is interested in protecting the environment. You cannot live in Vega area if you don’t have a car. I have seen people in this area who have up to 3 cars in a family. Perhaps there are people with 4 or more cars depending on how many people are in the family and if they are 18 years and above.

I am quite convinced that the people living in Vaxmora and other villa areas of Sweden are also driving as many cars as possible especially during the weekend when public transportation is a nightmare, almost absent. You could get a heart attack trying to make a bus that goes once every hour. It is shameful and pathetic. There was a place in Viksjö where the resident protested and got a better but not excellent service from SL the Stockholm Transport Company.  

There was an article today (6TH OCT 2008) in the Stockholm City Newspaper where a 14 year old boy Simon Magnusson brought the attention of everyone to the regular increase in the cost of Public transportation. To some of us, the cost of travelling in public transportation is equal to the cost of buying petrol to run the car every month. According to this young boy, more and more people are driving their cars because of the exorbitant cost of public transportation. The crazy thing is that the tendency is always that the cost goes up annually. A monthly card that cost 500kr in 2003 is now 690kr in 2008. This increase is unjustifiable.

In summary, the importance of this message is that Politicians should stop making empty promises when it comes to public transportation. The Moderata are out now saying that they want to improve on what we have today. The question is if they think that rich people have the right or the privilege to continue to pollute the environment. If a man can buy 4 cars to solve his family’s transportation problem then there is serious problem in Sweden. If these rich people think that because they are rich then they don’t have to complain about poor public services, then I think that they are all stupid.

And if SL thinks that everything is fine with these shameful situations since no one is complaining like me or the 14 year old boy, then they are making a silly mistake because the sum of all the evils in a country like Sweden is significant on the long run. Since no one knows exactly how much the impact of man has on global warming and environmental changes, then not doing anything about limiting the use of cars is definitely a sad omen.

Prince can be reached at prince0772@gmail.com

Stockholm, Sweden

What a fun colorful postcard!!

postmarked with a Sommarglling, (yellow bird) stamp in 2008

the sender of the postcard sent me this message with the translations with websites for more information!
(Kilona and misterteapot - thank you  ;-)

Ballonsfard = Hot Air Balloon Flights
Stadshuset = Town Hall
Stocholm i mitt hjarta= Stocholm in my heart
Katarinahissen = Katherines elevator (sightseeing and high rise restaurant)
Globen = Entertainment Arena
Vasa = Vasa ship - a museum and the ship herself
Malardrotiningen = a Ship hotel and restaurant
Gamla Stan = Old City
Skansen = Skansen Zoo

Tunnunelbanan = Subway
Kungen = King
Drottningen = Queen
Slottet = Castle
Vaktparaden = Changing of the guards

The question is why Sweden, as a brand name in general, our regions and most of our tourism attractions in particular, still are more or less unknown to most people abroad according to a number of market analyzes. I believe there are lot´s of possibilities for improvement of Swedish tourism marketing. But, unfortunately, problems are built into the system.

Tourism marketing doesn´t really fit in to traditional marketing models, for a number of reasons. One is that nobody “owns” the whole product – in this case a chain of services, consumed by the guest in the very same moment(s) it´s being produced by a lot of different people and companies providing ingredients for an outstanding travel-related experience.

Swedish micro tourism businesses cannot simply afford the costs required for effective marketing. So, except for some DMC´s and VisitSweden, tourism marketing has become an issue for the local tourism information centres. Who are employed by the local community. They don´t own the tourism attractions or enterprises they are supposed to market. They are also expected to make sure that everyone involved get a fair share of the marketing, as it´s paid by tax money.

Consequently, they can do market research, strategic plans and general marketing but are very limited when it comes to implementation of marketing strategies on an operational level. So they work primarily on the supply-side, putting together ads, brochures and tourism websites, PR and events. Expensive and long-term. Then there´s the political aspect. Tourist information centres are often seen by local politicians as a shopfront for attracting new businesses and citizens to their town, which is a complete different story.

What to do?
Well, considering the organizational circumstances it´s not easy to get the show on the road. Too many chiefs and not enough Indians. The Swedish Institute, VisitSweden and other national bodies are doing an important job, but to get a leverage effect I believe we need the locals on board.

Where applicable, I´d suggest a market oriented perspective, based on market demand:

• Separate tourism business administration and the public economy. Be loyal to the market, not society.
• Forget about the equal fairness thoughts. Promote selected local “honey-pots” and allow them to grow by employing or incorporate suppliers.
• Educate or relocate incoming tour producers to your region.
• Use more of relationship marketing methods, including customer databases with in-depth client information and dialogue with guests.
• Use modern tourism statistics and communication tools. Not only traditional guestnights and passenger-figures from visitors. Measure those who thought about coming, but never showed up.
• Use internet better. Today, anyone can be a virtual tourist. Google Earth, Skype-cast, blogs, online movies, internet-TV and radio offers a range of possibilities for promoting a destination at low cost.

Next time I´ll let you in on some successful examples.

/ Curt Landin

Take care, and have a nice Monday, I will, even tho i dont feel a 100% Im a bit shaky and dizzy hmm...

xoxo

Annie

On Friday I left to go on the Körhelg (Choir Weekend) with V-dalakören (V-dala choir) to Järlåsa and I just got back yesterday~

I think it was an adventure from the start. I met with Evelina who had brought me a sleeping bag and a little blow up mattress type thing that Ulrika had let me borrow, but she wasn't going to come until Saturday.  Anyway, yes so we met at Ekonomikum and took the Sala bus line to our little cabin/house dealio.  It kind of reminded me of our old girl scout cabins and such.  But, the place I guess can be rented out for weddings and all that fun stuff.

So, we took a looong walk into the woods to find the cabin thing and when we did we all got settled in.  And of course, we sang!  It's choir practice/weekend/fun/adventure after all.  It really reminded me of band camp.  We would sing, eat, sing, eat, and that consisted of our time.  So, we had hot dogs our first night, I don't usually like hot dogs, but these were really good haha.  And on Saturday we also did the same thing and we had fika as well.  2 fika in one day, it was like a dream come true!  I love fika cakes and cookies.  So delicious.

Anyway!  The real adventure came on Saturday night.  Saturday ingeneral was a bit hard to focus on.  I didn't sleep well the night before because my makeshift bed fell apart in the middle of the night and I ended up on the floor, the room was also extremely hot, (which I personally think is better than extremely cold, like here at Flogsta) and yeah...so I got maybe an hour or two of sleep that night.

Saturday we practiced more, but then we all split off because us newbies to the choir weekend had to perform a Spex, which is a funny comedy of sorts, usually a parody of something, but this time it was just a funny skit.  We decided to have a circus theme since 3 people in our group can juggle.  Martin is especially good, he can juggle 2 balls and an apple, and take a bite out of the apple, and keep going, without dropping anything.  He really belongs in a circus.  So yes, we had jugglers, Maike, Eugene, and I formed the exchange student triangle, and Gustav was the "lion" lol.  After that we all sang a song from Monty Python, though the beginning part 2 of the swedish guys changed the lyrics to funny stuff in Swedish and yeah.  So, that was our plan for our spex later in the evening.

After our practice of the spex, we all got dressed up and went downstairs for our "formal" dinner.  We had a weird way of picking who we would sit by.  We all had to draw a paper, the guys I believe had a character, and the girls had to sing the theme song from whatever was on our paper.  I got Beauty & The Beast, so I sang that and I ended up being paired with Marvelous Martin, not to be confused with Machine Dish Washer Martin who I was going to do the spex with, though he did sit across from me.  I also sat near Amelie and Karin who has the 3rd best dog in the world, Ville! Sooo cute~! Before I forget, earlier in the day we had learned everyones names by going in a circle and playing a game like "Patrik the penguin" etc etc... So, if I describe people later by that, you'll know why: hence Marvelous Martin and Machine Dish Washer Martin.

So, dinner was delicious.  It was like a gasque.  We had a 3 course meal (Bread-stuff that tasted like licorice to me because of the olives (starter), Salmon & Rice (entre), and New York Style Blueberry Cheesecake (dessert))and plenty of singing and toasting.  I drank water mostly, aside from a drink I had before the actual dinner, which tasted more like delicious juice! Alcohol is usually nasty, but this was actually pretty good.  So, while people were getting drunk throughout the night, I got to laugh at them, because I uh...wasn't?  But, basically after you sing a song you do this formal way of toasting, that's really a process.  I'll show everyone once I get home.  But, yes you sing after a speech or something special, then you drink.  Or you make a "tsss tssss" sound, and the person in charge (Sofia) gets up and starts a song that we've been learning in choir or something most people know, and after that people drink again with a toast.

There were 3 songs that were especially fun to sing.  Helan går (toast song of sorts), the ABBA parody song, and Circle of Life.  Circle of Life was the most entertaining though because out of nowhere Fabian (I think?) got up and started singing it and then the rest of the choir joined in, so I joined in with the sopranos singing what I thought they would be singing (which luckily they were haha).  It was so much fun.  A few more songs that came about just in our little section of the table was 'Bumbi Björnarna', the swedish version of Gummi Bears, which I just so happen to have! I was amazed, because I knew it and I didn't learn it at choir.  And also when Machine Dish Washer Martin and I sang Aladdin's "A Whole New World" together, but I did English Jasmine parts and he did the Aladdin parts in Swedish, so it was amusing. XD The most funny though is still the ABBA parody song about spanking and stuff lmfao.  This choir loooves ABBA. Smiska här, smiska där, piska mig, piska dig~HEJ~ (Sing it to the tune of numanuma...and stuff lmao)

After dinner, we all did our spex and that was entertaining, I think the others watching were amused. So yay~  Aaand yeah, then it became more chaotic and we eventually cleaned up and I talked with Kool Karin (not Ville Karin) and we all danced a bit or went and sang.  Eveeentually we all went to sleep.

Then the next morning, the sopranos (meee) had to get up and do breakfast and such.  We all cleaned up then and played some games before heading to the bus stop to go back home.  It was pouring cold rain that day, so yeah.  Some people drove back, some people offered to take people, but after all of that cheesecake and stuff, I just walked to the bus stop.  Probably not the brightest idea with only having a hoodie and such on.

When I got home I definitely had a warm shower and it was amaaazing, let me tell you!  I also found out when I got home that Matthias will be going back to Germany with his mom, so things are all packed up.  I hope he doesn't have any brain damage and gets out of this okay. =\  He'll be in my thoughts.

Also, my doorbell was rang a few minutes ago, so I went to check and see who it was.  We don't have a peep hole, so I couldn't tell if I knew the person or not.  Well, they started to speak to me in french, and then realized I wasn't french.  Which was fine, and I thought maybe they would leave. But, no.  Instead she whipped out her bible.  And they started asking me about what I thought about the future and if I thought it was scary or something.  I told them no, the future isn't scary when you live in the here and now.  So she read me some prophecy in Isaiah. Or something.  And asked what I thought of that and if I thought it was a real one, and I said no.  Because I think to make the world perfect and nice we have to work towards that.  I think the bible is a fine guide, like most mythology books on morals and stuff, but I don't think it predicts the future.  Theeen after a few minutes, she whipped out The Watchtower.  I'm not even kidding.  Back home I just don't answer the door if they come, so I've managed to not get involved, but it majority athiest Sweden...this happens? What's going on?  It's especially amusing because I watched 'Zeitgeist' last night (well part 1 & 2, I need to finish it) which taught/reminded me of a lot.  Put puzzle pieces together, that I didn't know where to put before.  So, I have an even different view on Christianity than what I had before I left for Sweden.

Gotland Ring from Anders Bäckman on Vimeo.

Simply:
1. Download MySQL 5.1 Community Edition and GlassFish v2 Update Release 2 (UR2).
2. Develop a cool web application using the combination.
3. Create a project of your application at java.net.
4. Write a review of these products and post it in your blog.
5. Submit your java.net project's URL and your review's URL.
6. Do it before October 22, 2008.

How to Enter

To participate, do the following:
1. Develop an innovative web application that uses MySQL 5.1 Community Edition database and GlassFish v2 UR2 application server. You can develop in any of the following languages: Java, PHP, Python, or Ruby. You must submit complete source code of the application, user documentation, developer/administrator documentation including application installation instructions, and appropriate executables. You must make all these deliverables available as a project at java.net. Provide your project's URL in the Submission Form below.

2. Write reviews of MySQL 5.1 Community Edition database and GlassFish v2 UR2 application server based on your experiences as you developed the web application. You must post the review in a blog or on a web page, and you must provide the corresponding URL in the Submission Form below.

The developed application and the reviews must be new material that you have written and not copied from something that you or others have already developed or published.

Finally, complete the submission form, and if you have any questions, submit a contact request.

Deadline
Contest starts: September 2, 2008
Submission deadline: October 22, 2008
Judging period: October 23 - November 20, 2008

Winners announced: November 21, 2008

For more information please look at here

Data Provided by Bridges TV- American Muslim Lifestyle Network

8 Million Muslims in North America

• 7 million in the U.S.; 1 million in Canada.
• Larger than Norway, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland & Sweden.
• Annual growth rate of 6% versus 0.9% for total U.S.²
• Interaction between Indigenous and Immigrant Muslims is limited.
• Same size community as Hispanics 25 years ago.

¹Zogby International, August 2000           ² U.S. Census Data 2000

American Muslims are Younger

• 67% of adult American Muslims are under 40 years old
• 67% of the adult American population is over 40 years old³
• American Muslims are younger and future of America:

¹Cornell University ²Zogby International, August 2000           ³ U.S. Census Data 2000

American Muslims are Well-Educated

• 67% of American Muslims have a Bachelor's degree or higher
• 44% of Americans have a Bachelor’s degree or higher³
• The Variance for Advanced Degrees is even greater.
• One in ten American Muslim HH has a physician / medical doctor

¹Cornell University ²Zogby International, August 2001     ³ Statistical Abstract of the U.S. 2001

Full article: www.insight-info.com

This weekend we went up North. In the North the already quiet Swedes are notoriously quieter. There is a lot of “ahh..,” heavy breathing in to signify a yes, and long “yoooooooo” to signify a gap in conversation. For a somewhat overly gregarious American, this takes a while to get used to. Indeed, it seems we always find some question, story or remark to get the conversation flowing. Luckily, since this weekend was conducted entirely in Swedish (up North there isn’t really the option of easily switching to English) the quiet moments gave me a mental break from all the melodic highs and lows, the new vocabulary, the intricate grammatical structures. I spent a lot of time listening; To the wind in the trees, to the birds, to the grasshoppers, to the Swedes. When you listen without thinking something miraculous happens; you feel peaceful. We walked through the forest, I played card games with a six year old (who didn’t seem to notice my lack of Swedish skills), we shot at trees, ate lots of cookies, and came within just a few feet of some elk. To be honest, I am not 100% sure what everyone was discussing, and you know it doesn’t really matter. God knows my imaginings of their conversations were probably much more interesting than what was actually said. On the way back to Stockholm we turned off the radio, I read a while, chit chatted a bit in Swedish, but mostly looked out of the window, noticing the way the sun danced across the hill covered horizon. Taking in the simple pleasures without many grand discussions can be rather therapeutic. Maybe I should shut up more often.

]]> http://swedenfinest.wordpress.com/?p=85 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:14:15 +0000 swedenfinest http://swedenfinest.da.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/swedes-%e2%80%93-the-trendsetters-of-the-world/ It is a well-known fact that Sweden attracts many famous people. Michael Kanyon is one of the more renowned names that have established a solid professional career in this country. Considered one of the top hairstylists in the world, he has styled celebrities like Jessica Lang, Kate Moss, Jack Nicholsson and Paris Hilton. Read more at swedensfinest.net

You thought the Premiere games in Sweden and the Czech Republic this past weekend were exciting events for the NHL? Those were all great and good, but I doubt they'll be anywhere near as fun as this weekend's Inaugural Gridice Game, which pits Vincent Lecavalier and the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning against Jake Delhomme and the NFL's Carolina Panthers in a bold communion of physical sport.

The traditional hockey markings on the St. Pete Times Forum ice will be converted to that of an American football grid, with seats behind each goal removed to allow for a 100-yard ice surface and 10 foot wide hockey goals. An oversized puck will be used, though scoring will not be determined by how many times it enters the net, but rather the number of casualties on the other team.

There will be no time element to the game; the two leagues could not agree upon quarters, halfs, or periods, so they will rest and pay homage to the dead after 5, 10, and 15 deaths. The game will be over when the other team, their fans, and their ownership are completely annihilated.

"F*** the Lightning," remarked NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at a press conference. "I created them so I could destroy them."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued similar sentiments about Carolina while lighting a growl towel aflame.

Fox has picked up coverage of the game, replacing its regularly scheduled Cops marathon.OK, OK... The Lightning will be opening at home against the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, not the NFL's Panthers, but I didn't Photoshop that picture at all. That's what it read during a pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. We had a good laugh about it.

I'm curious to know who was responsible for the blooper, whether it was a sleep-deprived staffer, a non-hockey fan or what. Not judging that person whatever their reasoning may be, but I gotta say if I was working there, I wouldn't let that go up.

Unless they really were hosting the Gridice Game, which is a terrible though intriguing idea.