Sliced bread is now only second

Yesterday Joe told me about Stumble upon, a toolbar in ur browser that after you have told it about your particulat interests, lets you stumble on a random page within those parameters every time you click it. It is possibly the best thing since Google, I love it! Today I have read The ultimate rejection letter, the cost of the Iraq war been to the British museum, learnt muslim prayers, seen sign karaoke, read about unexplained mysteries and last but not least I have read the Table of CondimentsThat Periodically Go Bad.

Even if you´re only interested in on-line games, scientology, rodeo or botany it will be like a fat kid on a christmas day all-you-can-eat buffet!

More Economic waffling

When I went to university it took me quite some time to get a hang of the archaeological terminology (and lots of it still baffles me), so I guess I shouldn´t expect to be a vocabulary expert when I plow through my new growing collection of literature on economic theory. I am leaving contextual seriation, morphology, isotopic analysis and paleopathology, in favour of fiscal austerity, aggregate demand and devaluation. Neither of the groups sound all that exciting now do they?

But even though I need to consult my dictionary now and then, and even though I would turn and leave as soon as someone tried to talk economics to me a few years ago, I´m finding this new topic surprisingly interesting. To the degree that I sometimes have to shout straight out or underline whole paragraphs.


I have just finished Globalization and its discontents by the former head of the World Bank and winner of the Nobel prize in economics Joseph Stiglitz (who of course gave a talk at the Hay-on Wye festival this year. Why is it that everyone went there this year when I was too ill to join in?). I´m not gonna dwell long on what the book is about, but it centres mostly on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which was created after WWII to ensure global economic stability. Although it is a public institution, meant to serve the public, it is completely non-transparent and US holds the only veto. Those who hold high posts within the IMF are a pick from the US business community, and the minute they step down they re-emerge in to, for example Citigroup or other multinational corporations. As Stiglitz says, there is no doubt that the economic decisions affecting development countries all over the world, made by economists in Washington, are designed to firstly benefit Wall Street. In many cases of IMF involvement in development countries, it employs a narrow minded "cookie-cutter" approach, focused on privatization and capital liberalization meant to attract foreign investment, while ignoring social stability, market control and regulation, with disastrous results. The IMF has confused ends with means and are blindly forcing their ideology regardless of individual circumstances, and to this day they are very reluctant to admit to any wrong doing or will to change.

I was shocked to read that an institution with almost absolute power, can get away with so much incompetence, and cause, rather than resolve many development countries spiraling crises. It is so bad that the author argues that "today´s IMF has, in my judgement, not articulated a coherent theory of market failure that would justify its own existence and provide a rationale for its particular interventions in the market" (p.197).

Read it, I had problems putting it down.

The Podcast Virgin

I have a confession to make. I repel technology. Never ask me to have a look at your computer or tune your telly. It will always end up far worse than before. When I bought a new laptop I got it to blue screen within 3 hours, when I bought my boyfriend a mp3 player for Christmas I picked the one specimen that had a built-in bug, even when I change batteries in a remote control it deletes all settings, and never-ever could I connect to the internet on a mobile phone. Guess I have it after my mother who is close to tears when someone sends her a text message, or when the internet support people asks her to restart the modem (for the 6th time in two weeks), and she has it after her mother who´s sole technological career was when she 1986 killed our VCR by forcing in a tape without pressing "ON" first.
I´m owning up to this because of the phenomenon of podcasts. Podcasts have been on everybody´s lips for quite some time now, but because I never had a very good relationship with my iPod I´ve never bothered exploring it further than sometimes overhearing others raving about this program and the other. But today I took pitty on my poor and very expensive music device and downloaded iTunes on to the main computer of the house. As I wright this it is still updating and synchronising announcing and searching und so weiter, not sure for what anymore though.
I was always annoyed with iTunes because it locks the music and you can´t use the iPod as an external device copying it to other computers. And since I used to travel alot I met alot of iTune-less new computers in which I wanted to plug and play allsorts. But no, always getting the cold shoulder.
But after much hair-pulling I got on to my very knowledgeable friend Rich, who quickly got me to download Sharepod. And behold! I could then copy all the music I had on the iPod, and now have it safely tucked away in the computer´s music files (probably not legal at all, or? Its still for personal use with albums that I mostly have bought. Do everyone actually read the fine print for this kind of stuff?). I´m sure iTunes has evolved alot since I got the iPod about 2 years ago, and maybe now there are ways and means to fix these things without having to download other programmes, but regardless of means of conduct, I can now happily click OK for every odd question the programme asks me, and laugh confidently when it turns out that the command in fact recycled whole folders into virtual nothingness. I am now, so to speak, insured against my technological illiteracy.
So I then went to check out the whole podcast scene. If my legs take me out to the car in a few weeks, the plan is that I´m going to Denmark for a while, lazying about in our little brown house with brown furniture, brown water and brown neighbours by the beach on Langeland, and then I might need something new to listen to.
So I managed to sign up for a bunch of promising programmes, and it seemed easy enough. But no, that didn´t necessarily mean that they appeared on the iPod of course. So what do I do? I click and click and click. And now I haven´t a clue whats actually on there, but it´ll have to do, I need a cup of tea.

Knitting phase 3 and the spaniard

I woke up this morning without feeling like I got hit by a bus. Only people with ME can understand what a glorios window of relief that is. All I want is to get in the car and leave the house, visit someone or maybe walk in to a shop. But I´m terrified to do just that. What if I run out of steam while on the road, or what if I get through it alright, and then the next morning feel like being hit by a bus would be mild in comparison to the 15 carriage steam train that would sweep me in to conciousness (for the following 2 weeks).

So what will I do with my day of clear head and abillity to get up the stairs without trembling knees? Probably just have a shower and take the opportunity to wash my hair. Cook my poor over-worked mum a nice dinner maybe.

The knitting has moved in to the "prison" phase, i.e. sweater. Last night I had trouble holding my toothbrush cuz my fingers were arthritically stuck in various stitching terminology. Dunno really what will happen to the result in the end cuz when the recipe recommend something that seems like Greek to me, I simply ignore it and move on to the next set of instructions. But I admit it is sort of addictive, maybe I too will be one of those who knit to wrap lamp-posts or parking meters in the end (although I would have to do the domestic ME-friendly version instead and opt for kitchen chair-legs, the old TV antenna and bits of oven)...



My Spanish exposure project is also slowly progressing. I have decided to try and consume all the films by Pedro Almodóvar, and yesterday I saw Dark Habits (Entre Tinieblas) twice. Only in his films can the nuns raise tigers, take heroin and sew glittery costumes for the statue of the virgin. He seems to live in an alternative reality, and I mean that in a good way, no other director can tell a story with so much love and passion in situations that would make anyone else weep with despair. He certainly makes it easier to persevere with my Spanish and next I aim to get a hold of his first film Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap.

What is left for Zimbabwe?

My heart goes out to the people of Zimbabwe. Is there really hope for the future by pursuing these elections? Tsvangirai said yesterday that he is withdrawing, and anouncements today are saying that the elections still are on, without the leader of the opposition. So many of those who voted for the opposition the last time around have been threatened and even killed, almost every rally the opposition has tried to hold is sabotaged, and Mugabe has already made it clear that he won´t step down for Morgan Tsvangirai or anyone else anyway. Now he is certain of the smell of victory and has no interest in postponing anything.
It feels like repeating history to see Mugabe rise to such power, insane and at the same time very intelligent. By giving all his ministers land and riches he has them bribed in to remaining on his side. But one wonders how he expects it to last in to the future. The country is already on its knees, and eventually there won´t even be enough for him to steal from the people to keep his dogs happy. Then what?
I can´t help but thinking of the book (and later film) "The last king of Scotland". Doesn´t Mugabe echo Idi Amin? Doesn´t he also hide behind the argument that western Europe is trying to interfear with Zanu PF´s "perfectly humane and peaceful" business, and want to force back the old colonial relationships of oppression. And since Zanu PF controls the media it is hard for the people to believe anything but what they hear.
I hope that neighbouring countries stop trying to avoid their hands getting dirty, its not like they aren´t in it up to their eyeballs already.
I have nightmares that this is going to go as far as the final pursuits of Amin, or even Saddam, that Mugabe isn´t going to give in nomatter the sanctions.
And all we can do is watch it happen...

If you go radio - go SR Världen

Wherever I´ve gone in the world I´ve always brought with me my favourite swedish web-radio station, and I´ve even managed to spread the word and have friends all over who listen to it now. It may sound patriotic at first, and when i say that the station SR Världen (world) plays popular music it sounds very mainstream and non-me and rather un-appealing altoghether. But in saying popular music I`m not talking about much of the swedish or even european kind, but it includes top plays from anything from Brazil to Kenya, Irak to the US, and it is anything from rai to reggae, flamenco, kletzmer or jazz.

Its a great way to discover new music, and its so easy now when u can get all the songs listed on the website. To listen go to http://www.sr.se/ and klick on "Lyssna på webradio" on the top left. A new window opens and klick on "kanaler" to get a menu with all the stations. SR Världen is the very last.

It has made me spend many a krona on albums that have stuck in my head, and the reason I´m writing this now is because I´ve just been out emptying the mailbox, recieving a CD I´ve been meaning to buy for a long time, and completely fell for through this station. It is Simone Moreno´s Samba Makossa, and its great. She´s a beautiful woman from Brazil, where her musical roots are, but she´s been living in Sweden the past 4 years, and it makes for really cool mixes and collaborations in some of the songs.

Proceedings of the hammock society

I´ve been wanting a hammock since I was in Central America a bunch of years ago.
For Swedes, a hammock is something hanging down the back of the summerhouse, from the beginning bought by the book lover of the house with the illusion that they will have lots of "me" time during the holiday to contemplate their navel and snooze the days away with a 5 pound brick (think Crime and punishment) splayed over their face. But without fail the grass need cutting, the roof mending or you get dragged in to digging up the vegetable patch against your will (that is if you even can afford to fill up the car with petrol and even get out there this year).

So the hammock is forgotten by the adults, left to feign for itself in some trees, and only enjoyed by ice cream spilling kids, who forget how great it is when they get old enough to sneak away with the neighbouring farmer´s son/daughter on secret teenage ventures.

To sum up, the hammock culture of the Swedes is suffocated before it even takes off, and until a few years ago, I was not the one to oppose that holiday labour legacy of mine.

But after sleeping in hammocks on the Pacific coast of Mexico, in the jungle of Belize and porches of Guatemala, I realized that beds are redundant. Once you learn how to move around in it, there is no end to how it can please you.

So I see no reason to wait any longer. I had a look at the cheap places like Clas Ohlson and the likes, and they do sell hammocks. But they are tiny little ones that you couldn´t even share with a barbie, and they all stubbornly put a wooden bar in each end to "open up" the hammock. Well that might make them look more appealing to the Swedes, who just want something in as close similarity to their Ikea beds as possible. But you gotta think outside the box here, cocoon is good, and can open up to whatever you want it too depending on how you move in it.

A bunch of years ago I was out at wonderful Rosenhill on Ekerö outside Stockholm, and in the midst of all the trees the hammock shop Stora famnen had set out an out-door shop, and we spent ages trying out the entire range. They might cost a whole lot more, but they are all well made and since they actually behave like a hammock is supposed to, maybe more people than just me will be born again in to the world of swingin and chillin.

Now to the problem that might be one more of the contributing reasons why Swedes have such a crap hammock culture. In our vain obsession of tanning we don´t feel its really summer if we don´t optimize all opportunities of UV exposure, and subsequently demolish all garden plants reaching above the hips. I.e. there is nowhere to hang anything. Now some companies sell metal or wooden structures which allows you the choice to position yourself in the ideal Swedish position (in the sun), or the sensible position (in the shade), but the cost a fortune, and I´m not sure I trust them entirely. Of course is also the option of hooks that can be attached to anything from walls to inner roofs, but being an eternal rent-payer, that would reqire hefty discussions with the owners of said walls.

But again, shame on she who gives up. So watch this space for further proceedings in the search of the perfect hammock.