The Final Hours...The Final Post (maybe)

We've just about made it. Election day is in sight. Obama holds a comfortable lead in the national polls and all signs point to a democratic congress to boot. My fingers are frail from the typing and my voice is horse from telling the same story, "America has problems right now, there's no doubt about it....but, give us a chance, give us another look come election day as we vote in a new era in our country. Don't give up on us yet (insert country from where listener calls home)." This is the political turning point in my generations lifetime. We've cast our ballots before, but many of us have never been on the winning side of the coin flip. It's a disconnect that infects the wounds that one day we (not the older majority that passed on this burden to us) will attempt to stitch shut from our salaries and daily salt. Bitterness aside there is one last stake I must drive in this fight.

Nazi, socialist, communist.....80% of the American population couldn't accurately detail the differences between those labels and over half probably don't know there is a difference in them to begin with. Oddly enough, that same counter cult insists on blurting them out at McCain/Palin rallies in defiance of any mention of that tickets current election opponent. Joe the plumbers, Tito the construction workers, and all the other single name + the + occupation puppets that have sprung up in the waning hours of this campaign can rest assured that Obama doesn't intend to take their wealth and redistribute it....No Joe, your wealth has already disappeared. There's nothing left to spread.

The concept of wealth distribution has been publicized by the 'right' media ever since the race took an undesired turn to the 'left'. The image they present involves the 'left' taking everyone's money out of their pockets, laying it on a table, and dividing it up equally. Overnight you'd have a homogeneous society that occupied a tightly constricted wealth band. A kitchen table cure to the age old disease of 'mo money, mo problems'.....I bet you could even find a few bankers that need a day job who could help out with bean counting.

The real redistribution of wealth, that is mis-represented by the above portrayal, involves fundamental class warfare waged on the lesser by the more over the last 6-8 years. It's a bold claim, but luckily I don't have to make the point alone. My alley in this cage match is none other than the much published, always feather ruffling, Noam Chomsky.

Noam Chomsky is a well known MIT professor whose published work spans the better part of 6 decades. He's known for his controversial stands on American foreign policy, his philosophical views on humanity, his contributions to modern linguistics, and last but not least, his infamous cameo on Ted Kaczynski's (Unabomber) hit list.

One of Chomsky's greatest works (in my opinion) over the last decade has been his American Empire Project. This work is a series of papers, books, interviews, and muses related to our countries actions in a global world since early 2000. A recurring theme in these works is the relationship of social inequality to the puppet strings our government pulls to dictate which direction we'll move. Let me explain in a bit more detail. Picture the annual tax revenues (regardless of their source) that the government collects. Picture those same revenues being pressure loaded into a giant fire hydrant with a hose attached. When budget time comes around the government basically decides which direction they're going to point the hose, how wide open the valve is going to be when they finally turn it on, and how long they're going to let it run to ensure the 'fire' is out. In recent history, democrats (Clinton) have pointed that hose at domestic issues that needed addressed in hopes of having a bottom up effect, whereas republicans (Bush I, Bush II) have pointed it at defense spending and institutional subsidies that are intended to trickle down (from the top) through society. Nothing stimulates an economy like fighting a war (especially on credit)! Current history aside, there are completely valid arguments on both sides of this debate as to which policy is better, when and why. I could make a case for both...this is not the point.

What is the point? The downside is the point. What happens if you bet wrong as a nation? What if what is behind door one turns out to be a lemon? Then what? Under the one scenario you get limited return (if any) when it fails. You get softening in the overall economy, you get some cooling in consumption and perhaps some new strains on social (oh no, not that word) welfare programs. Bottom line, is you're not really that much worse off than when you began. Failure under scenario two leaves a bit more of a wake. One side effect, and perhaps the most notorious, is the potential to accumulate a massive national debt. Now, who ultimately gets to pay for that? That's right, Joe the plumber, Tito the construction worker, (insert name here) the taxpayer. Yes Joe, you get to make payments on this well into the future....long after the smoke cleared from the fire fight it funded you'll get to pay for that fighter jet instead of receiving an SBA loan that may have been used to grow your business. Tito gets to pay for it by footing the full bill to send his kids to college whereas before there may have been educational assistance programs that could have helped him out. So, the next time you hear something about wealth redistribution from the McCain camp, spend less time thinking about what they'd like you to perceive that Obama is proposing to do and spend more time thinking about what HAS been done to you already. I rest my case...go vote.

Pucko..... That's What I'm Talking About

Ah yes....Sunday funday. Oh what a day. It was a pretty typical Sunday here in Sweden. I woke up (to the sound of the rain) and looked outside to the gray skys above. At that moment I decided today was going to be best spent in front of a computer and a book. After I checked the news of the day I decided to see what I might have in the fridge and make myself some breakfast. The usual, yogurt, toast with a bit of (illegally imported) peanut butter, and to chase it all down....a smooth glass of Pucko. What's Pucko you ask? Good question, and even better lead in to today's 'A Cup For Your Cups'.

Pucko is a chocolate milk who's lore is legend in these parts. I've heard it's known to cure colds, warts, messy relationships and small motor squeaks if added to the oil in the crankcase of your SAAB. It comes in a number of containers....single serve glass bottles when you're on the go, 1 liter tetra pak boxes to stock the fridge, and even 2 dl boxes that you can....... ok, I really have no idea why you need this container as an option, but so be it. I typically buy the liter box so I'm sure to have it on hand when I need a glass. A slight rip of the sealing foil from the spout and you're in. Now, once inside the box the journey continues. You have the option of pouring yourself a glass of the chocolate goodness or simply put your lips on the spout and tip it to the sky. Ummmm....yummy Pucko. I've attached a link to their web page below. Feel free to order yourself a t-shirt or equip your cell phone with their ring tone? Either way you can't go wrong with Pucko. So, to Pucko. Skoal! Today's 'A Cup For Your Cups'.
http://www.pucko.se/

It's Friday....How About A Beer For Your Cups?

Today's submission is in part thanks to my uncle who I picked up the feed from. It had been rumored that there was a magical brew available in Europe known as Boza. The brew claims to have 'breast enhancing capabilities' when consumed. I had heard rumors of such potion for sometime now, but thought they were mainly an urban legend. Could there really be such a thing? I hit google to see if I could find out. Here's what I came up with.....

The brew itself is a long standing Bulgarian tradition where you simply combine the standard ingredients of flour and sugar and allow to ferment (with the aid of a fermenting agent). The brew can contain up to 4% alcohol by volume. A number of different flours are possible to use, the best (and most favored) is however, millet flour. Below is a standard recipe for those 'do it yourselfers' out there. Please note, I'm not responsible in any way for potential gut rot resulting from a bad batch, nor responsible for any slaps to the face when you try to serve this to that 'special someone' in your life.

Ingredients:
5 l water
2 teacupfuls flour
2 teacupfuls sugar
1 teacupful boza or home-made ferment

Directions:
Slightly roast the flour (to become rosy in colour). Take care not to get it burnt. Mix it with only a bit of lukewarm water. Pour the mixture into the pot filled with the rest of the water and put it on the plate. Add the sugar and leave the liquid to boil stirring it once in a while. Keep boiling for 5-6 minutes still stirring. Remove the pot from the fire and let it cool. Add 1 teacupful boza or home-made ferment. Leave the mixture in a warm place for 2-3 days to cause fermentation. When the boza is ready, pour it in bottles and store in a cool place (refrigerator).

Ingredients for home made ferment:
1-2 spoonfuls slightly roasted flour
1 teacupful tepid water
1 spoonful sugar

Directions:
Mix the slightly roasted flour (take care to keep it from burning) with the water and stir well. Add the sugar. Leave the mess in a warm place for 2-3 days to ferment, stirring it from time to time.

Ok gang, there you go. Boza, one of the many benefits associated with Bulgaria's joining of the European Union. Now, whether it makes you more plump or not will have to be left to some empirical trial and error on your behalf. Enjoy, and Skoal a big glass of Boza to 'A Cup For Your Cups'.

'A Cup For Your Cups'

Today's cup comes from a little corner of the world that I'm quite fond of: Fort Collins. Yes, when you want to combine brilliance with a steady dose of goodness look no further than the little foothills community nestled in Northern Colorado. Today I will introduce you to a concept that is absolutely brilliant. The company: Quattro Vino. The concept: deliver wines for a reasonable price in packs of four.

Now, you're probably thinking to yourself how is this special? Well, here's how. Quattro vino allows you to select 4 packs of wine by your favorite grape, your favorite region, or your price level. They also offer packs you can select that they put together for special occasions like holidays and what not. What's cool about this is that you don't need to be a wine expert to pretend that you are. It's one of the greatest concepts I've ever seen in action. So, spend a few minutes and check out their site. Lift a glass to the misses and have 'A Cup For Your Cups'. Skoal!

http://www.qvwines.com/store/

Lund University - Research You Can Grab On To

In today's Local I picked up an interesting article about some monumental research that was conducted at the prestigious Lund University. The research was conducted by Helena Jernström whom is a lecturer in experimental oncology. Helena's research led to the conclusion that "drinking coffee can have a major effect on breast size". Now, before all you men out there start paling around with Juan Valdez and grinding beans by the kilo let's note that the 'effect' is a reduction to breast size, not an increase. Studies carried out on almost 270 women showed that there was indeed a clear connection between coffee and smaller breasts. The work has been published in the British Journal of Cancer.

It's not my style to take news like this and let it roll off my chest. No, no, there is a need here to help the woman in our lives drop the joe like a bad habit. So in response I have decided to promote a full fledged (week long) campaign titled: 'A cup for your cups'

'A Cup For Your Cups' has a simple mission: to promote non-coffee beverages to the world that may (god willing) be more appealing to the fairer sex than coffee.

Today's find comes from Nantucket Nectars. The company was started by two men (Tom & Tom). It's a wonderful tale of classic juice making with a certain down home feel that only Nantucket seems to be able to provide. The companies motto is 'real is better'. How appropriate. Here is a link to their site http://www.nantucketnectars.com/home.php. Spend a few minutes checking these guys out. They've got a great business story and (I say this seriously) a great selection of products. Oh, and did I mention that under each bottle cap there is a fun fact for you to amuse your friends with? Let's raise a cup to Tom & Tom.

Sweden's On Sale!!

I had the opportunity to have lunch with some of my peers last week. It's something I try not to get in the habit of, as it can be pretty expensive (compared to what you get) to eat out here, but last week I had to say yes to the invitation. So, off we went to the cafeteria that's nearest to the main economics building at Lund. I skipped breakfast that day as I had a hunch we may be going to lunch and wanted to maximize the potential value I could obtain from the event. The lunch that we go to is buffet style and includes salad and coffee. I've been able to condition my body so that I can go there on a day when I skip breakfast and not only get my fill for the first half of the day, but get my fill for the whole day by successfully pulling off a 'one meal deal'. I guess some things about college never change (regardless the level of study).

The meal itself was nothing special. Pasta with a chicken veggie mix, rice with a veggie chicken mix, and a vegetarian option pasta with a rice veggie mix. Variety is not the spice of life in Sweden. After fully drenching the meal in tabasco it was time to enjoy. As we sat around the table talking about the news of the day and the news of the weird one of my peers gave an insightful quote that just about caused me to upchuck a broccoli spear across the room. Ernst (Sweden) was describing how he had prepared for the current economic downturn by simply quitting his job before he could be fired from it. Brilliant we thought!! Simply brillient!

Reflecting on Ernst's comment I thought it would be a good idea to check the current dollar to kroner exchange rate. It's the single most important number to myself and all my fellow American exchange pals. To my surprise it's now 7.5sek to $1. Yahtzee! That's a whopping 15% appreciation from when I first hit the shores of this foreign land. As with any 'gravy train' you know it's eventually going to hit the 'end of the line'. But for now anyways, it's living the good life. You want to eat an extra packet of top ramen with your lunch? Go for it! How about a banana when you wake up so you don't have to listen to your own bowels eat themselves all morning until lunch? Have two!

What's Mine Is Mine.....

Sweden has some of the cutest kids I've ever seen anywhere in the world. They're all blonde haired blue eyed cute as can be. The colder climate forces mothers to dress them in all sorts of silly hat and glove combinations and various full length snow suits (even though there's no snow here - yet). It's a daily parade of comedy as the kids waddle along with their mothers in route to wherever they need to be.

This picture made me laugh everyday last week as I passed it on my way to the university. On the morning after, having watched (for the hundreth or so time), the Big Lebowski I couldn't help but be reminded of the brillient quote in that flick by Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) late in the movie when the dude, Donny and himself are under attack from the Nihilists after setting the dude's car on fire (finally killing it). Walter (while winding up to hurl a bowling bowl into the belly of a sword wielding Nihilist) says calmly, "What's mine is mine". Notice the bike lock. Classic!!

As Defined By Webster

His´to`ry
n. 1.
1. A learning or knowing by inquiry; the knowledge of facts and events, so obtained; hence, a formal statement of such information; a narrative; a description; a written record; as, the history of a patient's case; the history of a legislative bill.

2. A systematic, written account of events, particularly of those affecting a nation, institution, science, or art, and usually connected with a philosophical explanation of their causes; a true story, as distinguished from a romance



I usually don't post other peoples work on my blog figuring that if you wanted to see that work in the first place you wouldn't be on my blog. Today I'm breaking my own rules.

The above definition Webster provides defines history as a 'true story, as distinguished from a romance'. The irony is that the history of wars is always presented as a romantic affair. Media helps the masses fall in love with the technology of wars, heroic moments of bravery within the wars, the triumph of good versus evil. They strike upon our emotional chords when we are most vulnerable to let us know that we are good, we are upholding the laws of liberty despite the costs. Whether it be our living rooms or our school rooms; romance, not truth is the special of the day. We balk at the idea of teaching children sex education at an earlier age; while at the same time we insist on the prostitution of their minds with an endless supply of media propaganda that makes any Playboy look like a Nancy Drew novel. One sided media blitz's help to secure our insecurity as a nation about what we're doing to the world. The close minded, eyes half shut, snow globe that plays out on nightly television is a promotional catalyst to ensure our ignorance to what the rest of the world knows is the 'rest of the story'. Media romance must die if we are to move from the dark of ignorance to the light of enlightenment.

Buzzkill In The Baltic

Here's a brief recap of October 15th, 2008.

5:30 am - Awaken by rowdy corridor mates who were just turning in from a long night celebrating a mates 21st birthday.

7:30 am - Wake up to shower. Hit head on lamp next to bed on my way out of bed.

8:00 am - Attempt to make single egg on stove to eat with a tortilla. Stove is broken and doesn't heat egg.

8:10 am - After finally getting egg cooked on the second stove I place in tortilla and bite into it. Yolk was still runny and scalding hot. Burn top of mouth on molten yolk.

8:11 am - Step outside to rainy weather.

9:00 am - Arrive at my destination (relatively damp)

9:02 am - Receptionist at Ideon informs my partner and I that our meeting this morning has been canceled since the lady we were going to meet with is home sick.

9:10 am - My partner and I decide to get a cup of coffee from the Economics building and talk about our assignment.

9:11 am - Accidently hit girl with backpack and cause her to spill coffee on her shirt.

10:25 am - My classmate and I go to the computer lab to work on our assignment.

11:30 am - Message comes on computer screen that says all systems will be shut down at noon due to administrative rebooting.

12:01 pm - Computers shut off.

12:30 pm - Decide to walk over to technical college to see about a cheap sandwich. Apparently today was popular sandwich day with the students. All that was left was a liverwurst sandwich and some rolls. (I opted for the roll).

12:45 pm - Return to computer lab to work on assignment.

4:30 pm - Leave lab to attend final meeting of the day. Realize that today was an innovation bar at the Economics department where they have food and booze and networking starting at 4:00pm. Too late now. We're off to our last meeting.

5:00 pm - Show up to final meeting of the day. Realize that I misread the schedule and the seminar is solely in Swedish.

7:00 pm - Seminar ends and walk home (in the rain).

7:45 pm - Warm up bowl of soup. Burn fingers when pulling soup bowl from microwave.

7:46 pm - Burn mouth on hot soup while forgetting about molten yolk that burnt mouth earlier in the day.

8:45 pm - Log into hotmail account to check on days messages.

8:46 pm - Realize Skype is giving me fits and not sending messages through.

8:47 pm - Open email from consulate informing me my visa application has been denied.

8:50 pm - Look on yahoo finance and see market is off 500 points with no floor in sight.

8:53 pm - Decide to have an overpriced beer and call it a day.

Dow's Up 900? I'm Going Long On BigFoot

Tonight's news will inevitably be dominated by the record day on wall street. Dow Jones Industrial Average closed a lofty 936 points higher than it closed on Friday. Not bad for a Monday. The real story of the day however, comes from our friends down in Georgia.

You may remember back to a breaking story that took place August 15th of this year. Two Georgia hunters claimed to have stumbled upon a pod of Big Foot's (Saschwatch for you Canadians out there). The hunters found the pod huddled around one of their own that laid dead. Despite the hostility of the remaining Big Foot's (or is it Big Feet's) the Georgia hunters carried the corpse back to their shed (house) and made the announcement to the world that they had discovered and recovered a real Big Foot. They made the announcement complete with pictures and well coordinated stories. The story set off a firestorm of news coverage (translate: FoxNews sent two vans to the area) as well as an all out man hunt for the hostile pod of remaining creatures. Since one of the brave hunters was a local police officer the boys in blue joined in the hunt. While the world (isolated southern part of Georgia) sat on the edge of their seats glued to the coverage of the would be events. I immediately dismissed the story as false.

Now, you're thinking to yourself, how did I know that a story about a 500 pound corpse of a gorilla like man being bravely wrestled from a hostile pod of his brethren in a remote Georgia forest by two 'hunters' with bourbon stains on their t-shirts was fictitious? Here's how.... It's a known fact that Big Foot exists and has been sighted in numerous locations as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida. It's also a known fact that Big Foot is a large creature (500 pounds as an adult). Those details of the story are accurate. What's not accurate, and why I immediately dismissed these guys as frauds, is that Big Foot is NOT a hostile creature. You're asking yourself how I know this? Four words: "Harry and the Henderson's".

Anyone that has seen this non-fictional documentary about a Big Foot that was innocently hit on the open road by a family traveling on a road trip knows the story the lads from Georgia told was a lie. Despite the initial rampage that Harry goes on upon his revival from unconsciousness at the Henderson's home, he quickly assimilates into a functional member of their family unit. He shows compassion and kindness towards the children, and even lends a helping hand with household chores. Reports of such a creature turning hostile in a Georgian forest are as far from the truth as one can get.

As the summer wore on, and the heat intensified on the two hunters they finally admitted that the whole thing was a hoax. Big surprise huh? The 'body' that they claimed to have found was a costume they purchased and filled with road kill possum guts. There was a rubber mask involved to give the thing a face. They stuffed and arranged the 'work' into a large ice chest from which they shot the pictures to provide to the news media (Fox News). Remember, these are southern boys we're dealing with here.

The one participant, Matt Whitton who was the cop, lost his job on the force, and the other party, Rick Dyer received a slap on the wrist. Finally to today's story. The party that was damaged in this whole mess the most was an Indiana man that fronted the money to pull the whole thing off. While it's tough to have sympathy for someone whose buddies come to him to request a $50,000 handout to buy a gorilla suit that they're going to stuff with possum and parade on national television, these are tough financial times and every bad loan must be looked at the same if we're going to dig out of this steaming economic heap of possum entrails. Whitton and Dyer are obviously no good for the cash, or they wouldn't have asked for it in the first place, so the only logical solution is to generate some cash flow from the hoax.

Enter to the story a serial entrepreneuer named Joshua Warren from North Carolina. This financial wizard comes up with a fool proof plan to recover the losses and square the tables. Sell the (slightly used) suit including the basement freezer it was stored in on Ebay for top chop...entrails sold seperately. Now, before you start to draft paperwork to annex this entire quadrant of the United States to Cuba, let's look at the results. The ebay listing has a current bid price of $85,100 (as of the time of this posting)!!! That means that these idiots, minus the cash due to the original financial backer of this project stand to make $35k for this deal. Oh, and that's not the best part even. The best part is that if you are the winning bidder of the auction you get all the stuff mentioned above as well as a guest appearance by Dyer and Whitton who will come to your home with papers of authenticity to be proudly displayed next to your purchase. I hope when they're at the winning bidders place they also dole out a swift kick to the nuts and french kiss the guys wife while they slap down a flyer on the counter for the exact same suit that you can pick up on http://www.horrordome.com/ for $450 (delivered).

A Date With The Danes

A couple weekends ago I set out for the small Danish island of Bronholm. With the help of Uncle Keith I made contact with the distant relatives that we have on the island. They were happy to host me and told me to come on over! I had been excited about this opportunity since the day I decided I was moving to Sweden. I rushed out of my late Friday afternoon class, caught a bus to Ystad and caught a ferry from there that took me to Ronne, Bornholm.

The ferry ride itself was quite an adventure. It was the first time I had opted for the high speed catamaran style ferry (usually I save the money and take the 'slow boats' in this part of the world). As we left the harbor the sun was starting to set and lit the sky a blaze with a collection of pastels that highlighted the undersides of the low hanging clouds over the Baltic. The boat itself literally launches out to sea. By the time it hits full speed you are working to keep yourself on balance on the top decks of the ship as the wind coming across you works its best to push you over. The spray rises 3-4 meters off the back engines of the boat as it cuts this enormous wake in the rolling waves. The boats themselves are always a strange mix of characters. Half the people were Danish, half were Swedish, a handful of Americans, and some other vacationers from places in between. I bought a beer from the bar and settled in for the short ride.

Arrival:

Kenn-Erik and his two children, Kevin and Naya, greeted me at the ferry dock. Naya was carrying an American flag and Kevin had a sign with my name on it. Classic! All of us jumped in the car and we whisked away from the harbor up the steep streets of Ronne to the top of the hill where their homes were. We went directly to where I would be sleeping, Kenn-Erik's parents house, Carl and Lydia. I was greeted with open arms and kisses on the cheek. Wine and candles on the table, cheeses and meats, breads and spreads, grapes and fruits, I was in heaven. We ate, we drank and got to know one another until the wee hours of the night. Kenn-Erik and Carl planned out an appropriate route for us to tour the island the next morning. Kenn-Erik then took his children and went home for the night. I thought I would get to turn in as well, but Carl had other plans. Carl is this salty sailor type that made his living as a photographer. He's incredibly knowledgeable about the island and the history of Denmark. Thanks to the few glasses of wine he had during our evening snack he was now starting to open up a bit and trust his English a bit more. We sat by the stove for several hours looking through history books and newspapers about Bornholm and it's role in the second world war. Now, as a general rule of thumb I don't care much for history. I prefer to look forward and not back, but it is an interesting subject when you hear stories from Europeans. They lived in it, while we simply participated in it...there's a big difference in perception of the events. Bornholm was bombed heavily by the Russians two days before the surrender of the Germans (who were maintaining occupation of the island). The German refusal to surrender to the Soviets led to two days of sustained bombing raids that took out 4000 civilian homes in the two major cities. The casualties were mainly collateral and included woman and children. During the raids, the radios that transmitted communication to the mainland of Denmark were silenced as the government didn't want to spoil the liberation dances happening in Copenhagen.

Day 2:

I woke up right on time and began preparing for the day ahead. As I made my way from the small little shed that I had slept in to the kitchen I stopped by the bathroom to try to calm my unruly locks and brush my teeth. We ate a typical Danish breakfast of toast, spreads, a sweet roll and a couple pieces of salami and cheese. Lydia packed Kenn-Erik and I a lunch and we were off. From the north to the south of the island it's really a tale of two islands. The landscape changes dramatically from one end to the other. The north is dominated by a midevil castle and jagged stone beaches. The south has white sand beaches and reed grass that blows gently in the wind. Along the way you find true Danish charm around every bend. Along the roadside there are makeshift apple stands where the owners simply leave a box of produce and a can that you can deposit some money into if you feel like a snack. City after city the island builds on its character. All roads seem to lead to harbors within the small city centers. Some hold only a few boats, but all cities have some form of a port. Salty sailing vessels sit silent from the crashing waves thanks to the protection provided by crudely constructed rock walls that break the ocean waves. Each city has several herring smoking houses that would have run at full capacity when herring was the primary commodity of the island. Now, with the globalization, the fishing industry has taken a huge hit. The herring became less and less in that part of the Baltic and with the price of labor being so much cheaper in eastern Europe the fishing has moved to other countries like Poland and Estonia. Kenn-Erik use to work at a fish processing plant, but since the plant shut down he had to examine his future and is working to obtain a teaching certification so he can make a career change and stay on the island.

A quick jaunt up the ultra steep (14% grade) streets and we quickly find ourselves high above the villages along the shore. Once there the view is amazing. Red tiled roofs stacked in tightly with the ocean in the background. Postcard after postcard shows itself as you make your way around the island. The highlight for me was on the south of the island where the landscape turns to white sand beaches and reed grass. Rolling sand dunes that lead down to the water. I dipped my feet in the water to say that I dipped my toe in yet another part of the Baltic. After we watched the waves crash for awhile we headed back home for dinner.

Dinner was a great combination of chicken, potatoes, red cabbage, and gravy. Dessert of course, and coffee was a must. After the meal I entertained the kids with some 'magic' tricks and taught them how to make fart sounds with their armpits. I fielded questions about home from the adults into the late hours of the night. I had been in Europe exactly one month that day. It was the first time since I got here I felt like I was 'home'.

Day 3:

Lydia decided that since it was my last day on the island we were going to start the day with some schnapps. A shot or so later topped off with two cups of strong coffee and a sweet roll, we set off for a short tour of the interior of the island. The interior of the island is a forest mixed with farm fields that are scattered about. Fall was in the air as the temperature was cool as the farmers were plowing under the crops from the summer in prep for the winter ahead. Our first stop was a lookout tower that is the highest point on the island. As we climbed to the top the rain picked up. When we got to the top the view was gray and drab on this gloomy morning. After the tower it was time to see where our family hailed from. The church Hans Theodore was married in, the house he grew up in as a boy, and some spots along the way. It was a short trip as I had to catch an early ferry to head back to Sweden. We wrapped up the day with a feast of Thai food that Kenn-Erik's wife Nit cooked for us. I gave the kids some chocolate bars that I brought from Sweden with me and thanked the family for hosting me and showing me such a wonderful time. I have an open ended invitation to come back anytime I want. Perhaps I'll try to make it back over in the spring when Carl-Erik launches the sail boat for the summer.

The ride back:

As I sat on the ferry watching the sun set over the ocean I thought about the sterotype that gets told a lot in this part of the world....the stereotype that Danes are the happiest people in the world. Since I haven't been everywhere in the world it would make it hard for me to make an accurate assesment, but if I had to pick between the folks I've met from across the Nordic countries I've been to, I would say that in fact the Danes win the prize.

Captive Audience

Found this little gem on FoxNews today. This is a photo taken October 8th by a Reuters photographer on hand for a Palin campaign stop in Pennsylvania. Captions are below.

- "I won't be able to go to college now that I blew my tuition savings on the campaign dinner ticket that got me into this deal, but man, these seats are great!"

- "Lucky bastard that gets to put the shine on those heels."

- "Dude, we've been here an hour and she hasn't even taken her top off. There's bouncers everywhere, and the drinks are way over priced. How much did you pay for this gal?"

- "I wish I could sit down, with all this blood rushing from my head it's a bit hard to stay upright."

- "Mr. President, do those legs go ALL the way up?"

- "I wonder if the girls are having as much fun at the bachelorette party?"

- "Cheney is such a prude."

And finally....

- "I would be SO dead if my mom knew I was here on a school night."

Condi Rice I'm Coming For Your Job - Part Five

It's hard to remind ourselves during these times of economic meltdown that despite all the bad in our wallets and red in our investment accounts most of our lives are quite good. Yes, an occasional blunder on a poorly timed ag sector investment or perhaps a few extra bucks for a bag of groceries sure does complicate life...there's no doubt about that. But, at the same time there is a population on our globe that prays and wishes those were the kind of problems they had to deal with. Thus the segway to this edition of Condi Rice I'm Coming For Your Job.

Googol (note the spelling) is a mathematical term that is equivalent to a 10 followed by 100 zeros. It's slightly more than the US deficit (keeping in mind that McCain has another $300 billion waiting in the wings that should get us fairly close to that if it passes). Google (the company, not the number) decided to showcase this number by announcing a contest to save the world as a 'present' to themselves for turning the ripe age of ten. I think I got a Bart Simpson t-shirt when I hit that milestone. Must be nice to be Google huh?

Here's a link to the contest http://www.project10tothe100.com/...check out the site, watch the clever youtube video and let your creative juices start flowing. No problem too big, no problem too small...the point here is impact. Who can we help the most? Oh, and did I mention Google is throwing $10 million bucks into the ring for project funding and implementation? Well they are. Again, must be nice to be Google huh?

Since my current residence is abroad, I thought it would be wise to enlist the help of the international community (my corridor mates) by having them participate in some good old fashion brainstorming led by yours truly. I called an impromptu meeting of the corridor that conveniently revolved around the dinner hour. Genius!

As folks wandered into the common area looking to prepare a hot meal I quickly pounced on them for their knowledge and know how. I explained in detail the plan (that we were solving the worlds problems) and asked them if they wanted to help. Mixed reactions....Nico (Germany) asked me "If this was like the time I wanted to calculate the break even point for how many liters of alcohol we would have to bring back with us to sell in order to pay for a trip to Poland?".... similarly Amandine (France) asked me "If this involved Iphones?"....and Emma (Canadian) mentioned that "The last great plan I suggested involved 5 of us buying a 5 kilo cheese wheel and splitting it 5 ways thus freezing the part we didn't eat that week and saving 'big bucks' by buying in bulk". Fine, I thought, we don't need their help anyways. Fewer names to fit onto the Nobel.

With the advisory board assembled (5 of us in total) we began. I scribbled notes on the white board with my new dry erase markers (thanks Linds) as we talked. While we didn't really come up with a one gun solution we did manage to spend three hours chatting about the problems and opportunities we see in our countries and places we've been. No one pointed fingers, no one tried to 'sell' anything to anyone, and no one felt uncomfortable in sharing. While we probably won't win the Google prize for our efforts, our efforts may have yielded the magic bullet that can be the backdrop for the winning submission. At the end of the night we all decided that 'despite our problems and despite our differences we are far more similar to one another than we are different'. Despite the challenges we think we have in our lives, and the conflicts that our countries have with one another, we would do far more good in this world if we worked in cooperation with one another as opposed to wasting our energy against one another fighting over things we can't define.

Albert Einstein once said that "If I had only an hour to save the world I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and 5 minutes solving it". Perhaps that's the google prize.

That's My Girl...

This last Sunday was a cold and rainy day here in Lund. It was the kind of day that you curl up in your room with a hot mug of tea and some youtube videos. When I first entered the site the video tag 'Couric on Palin' immediately sparked my interest. Talk about a 'win-win' if you know what I mean. The interview was a wonderful display of catty nail scratching, clothes ripping, mud wrestling, sorority style slip and slide. Keep the 'straight talk express' running outside John, you can sit for the first few minutes, but after that this is the girls show.

While I won't recap the entire ordeal, I'll highlight a couple of wonderful points and sound bites the lovely Ms. Palin made. Take note, there's some things we all can learn.

- Foreign policy....when asked specifically what newspapers and magazines she reads to keep up on the issues, she responded with "I've read most of them, all of them, any of them". As an avid reader and consumer of such fodder I find this amazing. I struggle to get through The Economist, Business Week, Inc. and Wharton's Know publication in a timely fashion. So, in response, I have decided to skip eating breakfast and will add Far Eastern Economic Review to the weekly mix.

- Foreign policy part deux....when asked how Alaska's proximity to Russia enhances her foreign policy credentials, Palin explained that "Well, it certainly does. Our next door neighbors are foreign countries." Following this logic, here is the list (in no particular order) of additional states in which governors would have equal foreign policy credentials....Hawaii, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Conneticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Oregon.

-Economy....when asked about the bailout proposal Palin insisted on bringing up John McCain's leadership with regards to regulation. When Couric countered with the factoid that John's record has almost always put him on the side of less regulation Palin responded with "John McCain is the maverick. Taking shots from both sides, trying to get people to understand what he's been talking about...." This point really made no sense what's so ever, but I think after several rewinds I can now officially translate. I think what Palin was trying to say is that "If you take enough shots of anything (preferably Russian vodka to stick with the foreign policy theme) and watch the hit film from 1984 staring Mel Gibson titled Maverick, you will see that a simple game of poker can solve domestic challenges. Now that's what I'm talking about."

As the days drag on, with November no where in sight, this campaign continues to be a boil on the ass of America. The only good that seems to come from it is Tina Fey's continued role as Ms. Palin on late night television. I think this has to be one of the few times in the history of Saturday Night Live where the writers simply can transcribe what comes from her mouth and put it directly on the air.

Coffee with Kofi

Tonight was a special night in Lund. The city was graced with the presence of nobel prize winner and past secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan. This was the second part of a multi part lecture series sponsored by Lund University. Needless to say I made it a priority to attend (despite a final exam tomorrow afternoon). I arrived a little more than 2 hours before the event was scheduled to start. That proved not to be a minute too early as the que was already nearing the outside of the main university hall by the time I arrived. Another 15 minutes of delay in my arrival and I would not have been granted entrance to the lecture hall. As we filed into the large ballroom of the university's stately looking main building we knew we were in for a treat. The balcony was packed to the brim and the aisle ways were standing room only. I picked a perch near the front, about 20 meters from the stage. I wanted a clear view of both Kofi and the audience. I really enjoy observing the audience at events like this. You can tell a speakers abilities by watching the way in which people are engaged by their words.

After an introduction by the president of the university it was time for Kofi to take center stage. He started out with a typical ice breaker about being confused for Morgan Freeman by some tourists after he retired from the UN. The crowd loved it. He then moved into his speech. The topic was "Establishing a Culture of Prevention". The nexus of the speech was centered around the idea that "There is no peace without development, there is no development without peace, there can be no security without development and there is no security without the respect of basic human rights".

Now, say what you will about the UN. Their hesitation to aid in Rwanda during one of the worst genocides of our time to lack of resources available to aid in the conflict in Darfur to the minimal power they can exert on world leaders intertwined in the Arab-Israeli conflict....it's easy to argue that as an institution they are becoming less of a power as the clock ticks. What can't be argued though is Kofi's vision that he guided under. Despite potential missteps and hind sighted criticism that is easy to proclaim when the past is available for critique, he made a commitment to serve and enforce the umbrella policy this world agreed to known as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document could be argued to be one of the most significant pieces of legislation that the world has come to know. Kofi believed in this and made it his mission to protect its enforcement.

It was that document that supported the outspoken criticism of the United States invasion of Iraq. Kofi made 100% clear that he was not in favor of this form of diplomacy in the instance of Iraq before the invasion was initiated. His speech tonight centered around this injustice the United States committed. He stated that "we will feel the ramifications of Iraq for years to come. The illegal invasion has drained resources from the international efforts to protect from injustice everywhere. The effects are being felt far from the center of the conflict in places like Georgia where Russia committed equally hasteful actions despite international resistance."

As I stood there and listened I felt a sense of unease spread through me. It's a feeling I'm becoming more and more accustomed to as the image of our country is presented in different contexts. It's now a daily event where I can find strong dissent and disappointment for our actions in the global arena. Whether it be newspaper headlines or comments from my peers, this is undoubtedly not our finest hour as a nation.

As an editorial side note I personally think all is not lost. Far from it I would argue. But I know that the rest of the world is not willing to play dead and lay along side our feeble remains as we engineer a plan to improve ourselves. If we rely on our historical dominance and an ethnocentric attitude that we somehow 'deserve' to be the world leader based on an ancient manifest destiny than we will undoubtedly find ourselves right where we deserve to be....not at the top, and not at the bottom, but somewhere in between as an ambiguous shell of a once world power.

Kofi ended his speech with words that can serve as a battle cry in the months to come...... "A government that is accountable to its people remains as desireable as ever."