Barry Gibb, Britain's Real 'Liquidity' Problem, and a Policeman Named Patrick

Today was kind of a lazy day. By lazy I mean completely useless and a total waste of oxygen. At one point I made my way to my kitchen and grabbed some peanut butter and a cracker, but that was about the extent of my output. That being said, I did have a chance to catch up some much needed news and internet surfing. So here goes, some b-side news from across the pond.

This past week I celebrated the 7 month anniversary of my last haircut. Now while it's my intent to make it a full year without chopping these flowing locks it is starting to turn into a bit of a rat's nest atop my skull. Therefore I have been keeping my eyes open for a certain 'look' that may just enhance the overall appearance I present on a daily basis. Enter Barry Gibb. Now for those of you who don't know this former king of pop here's a link to his Wikipedia page. Highlights from his past....formed the Bee Gees, married a beauty pageant winner, and was voted biggest heart throb ever in 2008 by Rolling Stones magazine (somebody should check me on that). Sounds like we've found a winner.

In an episode of this week's Colbert Report, Steven mentioned a story that was breaking in London. Apparently the British are low on sperm donors and their (sperm) banks are about to fail. Now, I understand that we are in the midst of a global economic meltdown, but come on....are we really that uneasy about the solvency of the banking system that we're unwilling to part ways with even these kinds of deposits? Ryanair (European discount airline) is having a 1 million seat blowout extravaganza all weekend long. You can book flights for Dec/Jan at incredibly low prices....for example, a flight from Goteborg Sweden to Frankfurt Germany is 2 euro round trip with taxes and fees if you book it before Monday. You can see where I'm going with this..... I'm thinking as a little Christmas treat to the Brits I use a few days of my winter break to jump on a jet...buzz over to Britain....fill a few tubes...take in the sights, snap a few pictures of Big Ben and make it back to Sweden in time for Christmas. As added benefit, I may be able to solve this little visa issue I'm still having at the same time. I mean, if I have a 'bun in the oven' in London I don't think the EU wants to kick the babies father back to the states before the 'big day' do they?

The second day after my arrival in Sweden I attended a welcome meeting for all incoming masters students. It was a basic meet and greet presentation. The highlight of the presentation was a policeman named Patrick. Typically I would be the last person to feel any bit inspired by the boys in blue, but this guy was genuinely great. He was funny and informative as well as (according to every female in Lund) incredibly handsome. On a side note, I recently joined the masses of people in this world that participate in the social networking site Facebook. So far my membership in this 'community' has caused far more trouble than good, but it is the single source of information about what's going on in Lund so I'm kind of trapped. The other day I was posting a note on the 'wall' of a friends profile in Facebook and noticed that she is a member of a 'group' called 'Patrick The Policeman In Lund'....this guy has his own Facebook group? Yes he does in fact, and he has 204 members (stalkers) who have joined the group. There are pictures of his patrol car as well as numerous threads about his ruggedly handsome good looks. I've begun working on tshirt designs to capitalize on this opportunity.....stay tuned.