26th of November - ..and a star was born!

8:59 AM was the magic moment when my beautiful little daughter Klara Månstråle was — literally — lifted out to see this world as we know it. It was marvelous. I got to cut the umbilical cord, an old Swedish tradition. My daughter was now real, the sound of her baby scream made it clear to me. She weighted 1765 grams, and reached 42 centimeters from top to toe. Just incredible.

Now, there's just so much more to this. But due to some unclarity circulating around us, I'm still too anxious to spell my heart. Time will tell what the next move will be.

However..

Since we'll be stuck at the NICU for at least another week, I haven't had a chance on dragging the DSC photos we've taken over to my laptop (I forgot the darn cable). This snapshot (taken with a [VGA/640x480] phone lens) will definitely pass though.



Isn't she just wonderful?

Loveshots!

I'm happy to announce these images of my unborn baby.

29th of May

The summer hadn't even started yet.

28th of July

In the middle of the summer.
Baby has grown a lot since the last time.

31th of October

You can see the babyfoot clearly now, with toes and everything.

14th of November

An astonishing profile image.

21th of November

Another profile image, a so called close-up.

Lunch

Soup and a piece of bread with sausage.

Busy days!

It's been a lot lately. Helping my fiancé moving in to her new apartment. Lots of furniture to be assembled. Also, I've made my first masonry drill work (incl. wall plugging) ever. I feel like such a hardware expert. Even bought myself a cordless drill. Brrrrrrrrmmm... I'm also pleased to announce a few snapshots.

The great - full tower - fridge, holding its first item.

Assembling the kitchen furniture (table w. chairs).


Kitchen set complete.


Assembling the television bench.



Preliminary living room setup.

Form One isn't to be forgotten!

As I wrote earlier, Timbuktu released his new album ten days ago. Anyhow, also thge Swedish emcee Form One (previously known as Formula One) dropped a new full length album - Behind Blue Eyes - on the very same day.

I will definitely buy my own copy, very soon. Anyways, already this autumn Form One decided to make a pre-release available for free through Kingsize Magazine. I've made the image below a direct hotlink to the .zip archive. So, grab it and listen.

The show must go on

It's been two days since I went to my grandmother's funeral. The ceremony was being held flawless. It's the first time that I actually sit on the front row during a funeral. Felt kind of strange. However, my beloved grandmother reached a remarkable age, and will always be remembered.

Actually, I did videotape big parts of the ceremony. I had thought about doing this for quite some time, but I wasn't really sure. I asked my fiancé for guidance regarding standard ethics and suchlike. At first, she was like: "Say what?? Filming a funeral? It's really not something people want to look back at."

Made sense when I thought closer about it. Really wicked idea. But still, I couldn't drop it entirely. So, I brought the DV camera with me when I made the over-day trip up north. Then I asked my closest relatives for their opinion. No one was really sure about anything such as "standard ethics" on this. However, we very shortly came to the conclusion that it really didn't matter what people thought. We did it because we wanted to. Besides, the decision about right or wrong regarding this is really up to us. So, I did shoot it on tape, for the archive of history to come. Today, I feel that I would probably never have forgiven myself if I hadn't been filming. The result turned out great. Now, I will make the final cut out of the footage, and then screen DVD/VHS copies for relatives. Marvelous!

Today, Thursday, me and my fiancé laid our signatures on the piece of paper closing the issue of paternity. A day worth remembering.

New album with Timbkutu!

Swedish rapper Jason Diaktee a.k.a. Timbuktu new album had its release today. In stores now, in other words. Go buy it!



www.jujurecords.com/

Tic tac whooh!

First of all, I have to say I'm pleased to see that Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th American president. Some people believe that it's just a vision, but I honestly do believe that this is man we all have been waiting for. It's my honest belief that this is what you could call the savior of USA. Change isn't made over night, but eventually the nation will move against a more humane society. We'll just have to wait and see.

I'm also relieved that the other candidate was pushed out, because to be he was nothing but an old man out for war, and a steady flow of gasoline. To me, it's real logical that this is not the way of making a great difference in the 21th century. A war strategic with good chances on winning a game of Risk? Definitely. The answer on today's big issues? I very much doubt it.

So, first thing I had to do when I woke up this morning was to check the status. When it stood clear that Barack Obama was the champion, I was truly relieved. I had a silent breakfast and enjoyed every piece of it.



Yesterday? We bought icecream with cloudberry preserve, and snacks and fruit. Then we kept track on a group of adventurers who were climbing Mount Everest. It seemed rough on the lungs, but with an amazing view. I wonder if I will ever climb mountains. Maybe, who knows.

Autumn photos

Finally, I've managed to upload my photos to some sort of gallery.

Kingsize Magazine No. 5 / 2008.

In stores now!

---

Sorry, I haven't got much else to say. Things are moving, slowly. Next week my fiancé will be moving in to her new wonderful apartment. Also my grandmother's funeral is scheduled next week. This Friday the first snow fell, and a big cloud of misery hit me. I really hate snow. There's nothing cool about it. I'm to much of a coward to ride snowboard, or even snowmobile, so it's really nothing in it for me. Of course, the following day (Saturday) the degrees fell rapidly. Saturday evening the thermometer showed about -8° C. We had pizza, which actually did cheer us up! :-)

Rocky No. 7 / 2008

Out now!

More baby clothes!

Today we went downtown for some shopping. Found a nice little store that seemed to have just about everything.



This is what we ended up with.

Clip frames and a nice chicken dinner

A couple of days ago me and my beloved fiancé took a stroll down to a 2nd hand boutique not far away from me. The purpose was to find some decent furniture for my computer, but there wasn't any. Instead, I got interested in the art section. In my hallway, there has been two small hooks (for paintings and such) ever since I moved in. It's about time I hang something there. So, finally we agreed on two 21x29,3cm (A4 size) clip frames, which is really just a piece of glass on top of a wood board, making it really easy to change the content.

The current motif was Christian images. They were cheap, so it was a bargain without further hesitation. I hung them up as soon as we got home. It turned out nice, except that my fiancé thought they were a bit up high. I'm quite tall, so I didn't mind. However, after some reconsideration I found that the clip board was in fact hanging a bit up high. Besides, it felt like the distance between those two hooks was ..too much! I needed another clip frame. Where could I get it? So, today I found one. They're really cheap, and looks nice. A practical way of decorating walls, really.



I spent the evening on fixing the align on the wool string that the frames would hang on. It was easier said than done, really. I think I spent more than half an hour on this project. Anyways, turned out marvelous.

---

Later on this evening, my fiancé made a nice dinner with chicken, rice and vegetables.

How I fixed my first bicycle flat

It's been about a week since she left, and she still hasn't come back. I guess its about time to let go and move on. So, what's been up lately? Yesterday bad luck hit me. I was on my way to make the fresh bicycle trip (approx. 10 kilometers back and forth) to Willy's supermarket up at Ersboda. However, I decided to start by visiting the ATM machine up at Ålidhem C, just to assure myself of a decent account status. So, I did. Then, just when I got up on the long bicycle path leading me, I felt that nasty repeated sound under my two-wheel vehicle. A flat, of course. What tire? The rear tire. Oh my god, didn't I change it just this summer? When I get this feeling, I always dream about a miracle where it's just the valve. It never is. Gash.

The thing is, when it comes to fixing flats - I never pass. I've tried pulling this stunt about 10-15 times over the years. First time I couldn't have been more than twelve years old. Fixing a bike flat seemed like a piece of cake, especially when you were into the subculture of dirty BMX bikes. Anyways, it didn't ever work nicely. Those little patches always slipped - and so did the air. I got mad every time I failed on this. Then it went around two years, and I tried again. Every time I made the attempt - I failed. Last time now was around 2006, it was during the winter, I was heading to a friend when the sudden flat hit me. Stupid sharp pieces of ice, can you belive it? Anyways. I walked a couple of kilometers, and then that evening was ruined just 'cuz of a stupid flat. I couldn't get the fixing project out of my head. One thing lead to another, and twelve hours later a DUI made another friend of mine loose his drivers license. How? He gave me a lift to the gas station, just so that I could buy the third(?!) package of tube patches. Oh my gosh, how incredibly mindless, every piece of it.

Anyways,
I thought it was about time I gave it a try. I'm so sick of always leavinog the simple project of swapping tube to the local bike store, paying hundreds of crowns just for labor. It should be easy, really. So, this time I felt it was just about time I showed my best. I walked downtown and entered the bike store where I've done most of my business last year. I told them about how I used to take the backside of a spoon/knife/fork to get the last stretched piece of tire in place, always ending up with a [re]punctured new (or patched) tube inside. So, I asked them if there was any certain tools for this? The man threw a zip-lock bag of plastic sticks on the desk, and asked for 95 SEK for the tools and a brand new tube. So, now I was heading home, filled with excitement. Presuppose I would actually pull this one off, then I would have saved at least 100 SEK.

I removed the whole rear wheel and took it up. I made a workshop out of my toilette shower. About twenty minutes later, voila! The new tube, inside the old tire, pumped up, without any further mishaps. Incredible! I was so happy. I must say those plastic pieces made it real simple. I will never leave my bicycle to the shop for easy fixes like this one, not ever again. My next step now will be to use those tube patches. Hopefully, I will be able to fix the punctured tube, having a spare one just out of the blue. I'm the ruler! :-)

Everything comes to an end.

I'd planned my next blog post to be a collage with autumn photos which I've snapped lately. However, things doesn't always work out as they are planned. It was 2.33 PM yesterday I received a phone call from my mother. I must say, she was excellent in the way she delivered the announcement. A short greeting. Then, without further notice, "Your grandmother passed away at almost exactly 1.10 PM". About one hour and twenty minutes ago, in other words. This was it. I can not say I haven't seen it coming. I've been preparing myself for this day for a long time. The last year has been very rough on her, to say the least. The COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) that she has suffered from has de facto only one possible exit road. My grandmother reached the honorable age of 92. May she rest in peace, as she will always be remembered with grace.

It's getting colder.

Yep, it's definitely not those hot summertimes anymore. Today when I got out I [for the first time this season] saw frost on my bike saddle and handlebars. When I went on the road, I also saw frost lying on the grass fields around me. I better be careful, I told myself. I still remember the experience i had like five years ago, being really(!) close to a possible lethal accident. It was the first real icy day of fall, and I was going down a hill, where at it's bottom I was about to cross a busy road. The lights were red, but the only car in the visible(!) lane was blinking to make a left, so I thought it was safe to cross. Then, only meters before the crossroads, I see this other car, sneaking up from the inner lane, not(!) preparing to turn left. I hit the foot brakes, but I (of course) only slide. He sees me, and makes a sudden left right into the lamppost. Pang! By this time, I've stopped. I'm in the middle of the driving lane, stunned, even paralyzed. His car front is mashed in by the form of a "V". I just stand there, unable to move. Then the driver throws up his door, I hear him taking of his seatbelt. He comes out. "Hey, are you ok?", he asks me. I just stand there, first unable to speak a word.

However, this is a moment that I will never forget. When come thinking about it, this man may well have saved my life by making the impulse decision he made. He could have just ran on over me, and it still wouldn't have been his fault. It was me, being foolish, not paying proper attention to neither the road conditions nor the red light. Gosh. Things like this really makes you wonder.

However, back to today. Like I said, it's cold. Now (a little past 11 AM) it's probably a bit warmer. I'm planing on taking a walk down to Microshop to look on some hardware accessories, later on of course. So, a brand new Monday. A clean shave and a happy smile. Well, as you may have noticed if you've compared my last two posts, it's a lot of up and downs. Mood swings, you may call it. Understandable though, when you look at it rational. It's a lot(!) right now. I mean, really, a lot. All the pieces will fall in place, eventually.

So, I've been watching some TV series. Like I may have said, I've watched 'Kyle XY' since they first aired it on Swedish television, around spring last year. However, now I've watched all aired episodes. To the end of Season 2, this is. However, I must say I start feeling a bit ridiculous about the whole show. It feels like a real teenager thing, with a possible target group at the age of 13-15, something like that. However, since I've started watching it, I just can not seem to make a sudden stop.

Anyways, I've also finished the second season of British TV series 'Skins', which is really great, definitely a series that everyone should watch. To make a clean cut, I paste the plot summary from IMDb.



The Dawson Bros claim the series represents the everyday lives of adolescents: Skins revolves around the lives of a group of 16–19 year-old friends who live in Bristol and attend the fictional Roundview Sixth Form College. Each episode has a self-contained theme and focuses on a different character, although several story arcs span different episodes. Accompanying the episode title at the beginning of each episode is a short montage of that episode's central character. The show's co-creator Bryan Elsley said that as Series 2 ends with the cast going off to university, it will not be possible to keep on following them in the future, and the show will operate in two year arcs with new casts.

http://www.e4.com/skins/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skins_tv

Wee, soon time for another moving in..

My beloved fiancé is moving. Up until just now she's had a four-waller in a real central location (approx. 100 meters to Vasaplan; the crosspoint for all inner-city buses). It's been fine, with a smooth 100/100mbit connection, a minute of walking to reach city square. Well, the only thing is the size. 25 square meters, tops! I don't have the exact measurements in numbers, but it definitely feels cramped. Now, it's only a matter of weeks till she's moving in to her new apartment, which is definitely more of family-size. A two room w. kitchen apartment on 70 square meters. Where at? Check this out, only about 100 footsteps from my flat. Yeah, after rough consideration we've decided that it's best that we continue having two places - at least for now. However, we have a minute between our apartments, leaving us with over 100 square meters of space, when you add it up. It couldn't get any better. I take the liberty of posting the blueprint over her new apartment, on which she of course have scribbled down a possible way of placing furniture.

A shoutout!

Hiya.

Now I'm just hoping for this message to reach out to the target group. As friends may have noticed, I'm not taking any phone calls at the time being. I'm having a lot on my mind right now, the reason is simple as that. So, no hard feelings, it's absolutely nothing personal about it, just me; choosing the opportunity of having some "downtime", reflecting over those great things lying ahead.

So, absolutely no hard feelings guys. I'll hook up to you when the moment's right. Oh, in the meantime, why don't you follow Christoffer's nice example, leaving your commission (or a simple "Hiya!") on my voice mail. My recorded message may give real rubbish vibes, but I'm actually going through my messages every day. So, I hope y'all are having the best of time.

Caio now!

OpenOffice 3.0 - finally!

Gosh. First the launch date was set to 31th of September. I usually forget these sort of things. But this time I actually held myself up to date. At the given date, the date following the message "Preliminary release date for OpenOffice3 is currently..." had changed. Now it was the 7th of October. Aaah. Anyways, nothing more to do, but to wait. So, the 7th was the day of our flight, so I hadn't time to check it out then. However, the following day I of course see that the date is once again pushed forward. 13th of October. Aaawergh! So, yesterday I missed out on checking, being pretty sure about another postpone, anyways. Today, however, I thought I'd do best in checking the site out. Strangely, I cannot get through. Page errors. It then struck me. This is it. Page overload, of course. The release is a fact. Now, around half an hour later, I finally get in to their international site; to receive this message:

Apologies - our website is struggling to cope with the unprecedented
demand for the new release 3.0 of OpenOffice.org. The technical teams are
trying to come up with a solution.

Thank you for your patience.

However, they provide me with fully functional download links to the Win32 installer. Just great. So, I'm currently downloading it. Can't wait to see if there's any major updates in the appearance.

Movie: "Batman & Robin" (1997)

Once again we connect with Gotham City, the fictional city where the citizens are protected by the man of leather disguise - Batman. Now, it looks like he's found himself comfortable in running the show with a sidekick. The former circus artist, young Dick Grayson, is now - under the simple alias "Robin" - his faithful right wing whenever the heat is on. Chris O'Donnell still plays the role of this character, which we got to know in the last motion picture.

However, this must - truly said - be the worst Batman attempt ever. Now, the main character is suddenly played by George Clooney, and it feels really lame all the way through. I remember watching this movie in the cinema back in 1997. It did certainly impress me back then, but now it just doesn't cut it.

The story is about a deformed science researcher, Dr. Victor Fries, who spent all his time trying to find a cure to the rare disease which his wife carries. She's under cryo-sleep since years back, while he works on finding a cure. However, a terrible accident has Dr. Fries fall into a minus 50 degrees cold liquid. However, it doesn't kill him, but turns him into Mr. Freeze.

"In an other side of Gotham", an evil scientist is working with a toxic substance that will turn human beings into giants with enormous capacity and a rat's brain. In the greenhouse where his research assistant X (Uma Thurman) is eagerly working on finding a [chemical] way of make plants stand up against the evil vegetarians eating them. You see, Dr. X is obsessed by green. However, she's so curious about what her boss is up to behind that always locked door. So, one day she busts in on him. Of course, he will have no stupid witness to his hazardous way of dealing with nature, so he kills him. Of course, Dr. X doesn't die. She gets toxicated - yet alive - by the plants and venom snakes she's tossed into; and is from here on called... Poison Ivy!

The movie is filled with special effects and blows. Oh, regarding the characters, here's also where Master Alfred's niece (Alicia Silverstone) is being introduced. Of course, she gets a kick from speed and is eager to transform into Batgirl. Also, it'd be damned, but they have actually repeated the scene in which Batman pulls the zipper on his rubber suit, with full lens focus on Clooney's tight little ass. This doesn't feel like Batman anymore. Fortunately, the former director/producer's name wasn't to be seen anywhere in the credit roll. I guess Tim Burton had dropped out by the time they figured they would try to bring this forth chapter into motion print. God damn it, please stop it.

However, now I'm through with the "old" Batman films. Next thing is to repeat the first film with Christian Bale - 'Batman Begins' (2005). This will be the main project for this coming week. After that, it will hopefully just be a matter of time (hopefully not too many months) till 'The Dark Knight' is finally on Swedish DVD. I can hardly wait.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118688/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_&_Robin_(film)

Movie: "Batman Forever" (1995)

I must say this wasn't as perfect as the first two movies. I'm not sure if it's the fact that Joel Schumacher has taken over the director's wheel (even if he's still around somehow, name mentioned in the credit roll), or just the wheel of time. The mid-90's, with [to date] special effects impressing most teenagers around. This was not as amusing as the first movies. It's sort of the same layup as before, one Batman, one "batgirl", and one or more crooks to be caught. However, Michael Keaton isn't to be seen anywhere. Val Kilmer is Batman, and it's not quite the same to me. I remember when me and my fiancé watched 'The Salton Sea', and she told me about Val Kilmer being a man of almost mid-age, whose had plastic surgery up to his nose throughout the years. I must say, I started getting the creeps from there.

Here, in one scene where Batman is suiting up, a noticeable close-up on his rear behind, a tight little ass is what you get as he pulls up the rubber zipper. Gash, felt like the whole thing had somehow turned rubbish. Not sure whether it's just my imagination, but it doesn't feel right anymore.

Also, this time Nicole Kidman plays the psychiatric doctor who secretly fancies the mysterious night-bat. The first evil crook is Harvey Dent (Tommy Lee Jones), formerly side-kick of a crime boss; but now having his face deformed since the boss thought he'd been bad somehow. Acid attack, yeah. Half Harvey's face is mutilated, giving him the wicked nickname "Two-Face".

The second crook is science researcher Edward Nygma, played by Jim Carrey. Nygma has been working on an invention, connecting one's mind to a television box, which would enable "live" television in form of 3D things - literally - jumping out of the screen. However, his invention lacks support from multi-millionaire Bruce Wayne, who thinks playing with the human mind is too risky. I must say, Carrey's character is the most entertaining. Here, he freaks out, since he had once looked up to Bruce Wayne, thinking that the major head of the firm he's been working with is the one who would finally make his dreams come true. Here, when he gets rejected, he loses it and turns to someone else. The Riddler is born.



Also, here is where Batman's traditional sidekick - Robin - comes into play. Young Dick Grayson is running a freaky circus show with his brothers. When he loses them, suddenly being all alone, without anyone to rely on, he's saved by the arms of Bruce Wayne, or should I say Batman.

Too freaky effects, the melodramatic noir feeling of the first two films are not to be seen, plus some Bat stunts (like jumping from roof tops without even using the cape) seems a little bit far out the edge. However, it's Batman, hr..

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112462/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Forever

Movie: "Batman Returns" (1992)

Wow. Seen [from what I consider to be] the first two Batman movies now. I must say, the sequel holds the same quality as the first one. Still Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne, with his alter ego, the flying bat. This time, we will get acquaintance with The Penguin, played by Danny De Vito. It's a dull story about a deformed baby, whose parents chose to leave him in the city canal to die. However, he doesn't die, little Cobblepot stays down the city sewer during his whole childhood, getting raised by the penguins living down under. So, around thirty years later, he's back for revenge. Also, in this picture the mysterious Catwoman will enter the picture.



Of course, from the beginning she's nothing more but a scatterbrained secretary assistant. However. The movie is really beautiful. The same dystopian picture painted by Tim Burton as you saw in the first movie. It's brilliant. Now, I see over at IMDb that this is the last Batman flick that Burton directed. From here on, the story takes a shift. No more Michael Keaton. In the next movie we will have Val Kilmer as Batman/Bruce, and in the forth film he will be played by E.R star George Clooney. I have to say I laughted when I read it. Damn it, how come I don't remember. I've seen all these movies - like ten years ago. Strange indeed. However. I can guarantee the masterpiece status of the first two movies. Well see what I have to say about the others.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103776/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Returns

Movie: "Batman" (1989)

This is a real classic. I remember watching is as a kid, I was amazed by every scene. I must say the scenes from this movie is really nailed deep into my mind. I know it's something sspecial, 'cuz with lots of movies I've seen over the years, it's like I'm having real difficulties recalling scenes/plot when I rerun them after only a couple of years. This is different. Take [for instance] when Jack is being treated by the quack plastic surgeon. Only here is a little Burton mystery. Where did the quack find the mangled Jack? While he was taking his daily evening walk down dumpster lane? This is the parts I loved, already as a kid. A while ago, I was talking to a friend over the phone about the new Batman movie. I told him I was preparing myself for running a Batman marathon. "Oh, but are you really going to beet through those old films with Michael Keaton?", he asked me, almost sounding surprised. I simply told him the task was not at all unbearable to me. Anyways. So, now I've started this little marathon on my own. Too bad my beloved fiancé doesn't approve the Gotham style. You can't have it all, right? Anyways, she tells me that I'm her little Batman. Sounds bearable! :) Anyways, this isn't really the first Batman movie. Back in the 60's, there was this "The Movie" with Adam West and Burt Ward casting as Batman and Robin. Anyways, these two films are not to be compared. Say what you want about neat nostalgic films, but "The Movie" was way too much inplanted comic-style bubbles with "WHOOOM!" "BOOOM!" sounds, almost making it ridicilus. Anyways, this is not just a sweet script, dealing with topics [not the least of current interest] such as greed and vanity over looks. Everything wrapped in a neat shell with beatiful photography. I mean outstanding(!) photography. The bat-mobile, the bat-aeroglider, the dystopian industrial scenery. It's brilliant, all the way through.

The plot on this one? Well, Gotham City is in a state of chaos. The mobster affiliations has dug a black hole of corruption in the city. Multi-millionaire Bruce Wayne is of course the savior of the city. Since he was just a little kid, watching his parents get mercilessly executed after a robbery, he swore that he will get his revenge. Now, his dark alter ego is the scary crime-fighting bat of the night. Carl Grissom is the crime boss of the city. Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson) is only one of his puppets, even though Napier has always thought about himself as something more. When Napier becomes a casualty of a bust, his(!) dark alter ego will take form - The Joker.



Batman of course has to have a lady. Here this is Kim Bassinger, playing Vicky Vale, a journalist on the hunt for more. Of course, with Bruce Wayne alias Batman, things will develop a bit personal. It's going to be real interesting to watch the sequel.

PS. Click the poster image for the mind-blowing trailer!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096895/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_(1989_film)

A pleasent yesterday and a cold day today!

Yep, that's about it. Yesterday, we stood ready at the airport at a quarter past six in the morning. At 7 AM, the flight that was about to take us to UME->ARN took off. I must say, it was probably the longest flight I've ever been on. It took like 1h15m, instead of the usual approx. 50m. We even missed the scheduled airport bus. Anyways. Back to the flight experience. You know sometimes when you're just at the same level as the clouds, it's all blurry, to suddenly get that "clear tree view" when the plane has gone below. Well, it was the same this time. Except, before we entered "cloud level", I thought that the sea of clouds was really beautiful. I can't recall ever having seen such an amazing view of clouds. It was like a huge white ocean. Wild. Really wild. So, slowly we went down. Into the clouds, covering all plane windows with blur, we were not able to see anything(!). Then, suddenly, BUMP, BUMP. The sound of the aircraft hitting the runway under us. We had landed. Oh my gosh. The fog was bizarre. Cabin crew sent out the message that we (for some [not explained; yet explicable] reason) had landed on the international flights runway of Arlanda Airport. They would sent buses to come pick us up, dropping us of at the domestic terminal. Is it necessary for me to mention that we missed the airport bus that we had scheduled? Anyways, no big deal. We had a great time in Uppsala, as our destination for today wasn't the capital. Oh no. Gosh, I have not been in Uppsala since the Reggae Festival a bit more than a year ago. The city is really beautiful, when you look at it through the right dimensions. Later on, we had lunch on Burger King, a pleasent meal. Yummy. The afternoon flight back home was better. We even arrived five minutes ahead of schedule. In the evening, we celebrated a successful day with order pizza. One traditional kebab pizza, and one with fresh tomatoes, Bearnaise, and fillet of beef. We cut them to halves and enjoyed.. Yum!



Today, Wednesday, I woke up looking at the thermometer, slightly shocked. At a quarter past eight and it showed minus degrees. This is the first time I actually see the minus sign in a half-year or so. This was truly going to be one of these really cold days. Brrr. I had breakfast with a cup of strong coffee, and left for the daily routines. I must add, half an hour later the temperature had raised to like +1°.



Laters!

The exquisite ice cream drink

Preparations.


Blending it.


Ready to drink.


This is a must-try, that much I can guarantee you.

The construction of a new railroad platform

The downside of living in the north of Sweden is bad traffic communications. From Sundsvall (around 170 miles to the south) it gets much better. The daily train traffic from there is a lot more frequent. From Umeå, only like 2 trains a day stop for travelers, with Gothenburg (via Stockholm) as only destination.

However, the plans on the Botnia railway has been around since the late 90's. Now, around ten years later, it has finally started to happen things. I must say this really amazes me. The new "Botnia" line will evidently have at least one additional stop (compared with today's trains, stopping only at Umeå C). The construction work of a whole new platform is fascinating. It's called "Umeå Östra" (Umea East) and will be located just beside the University Hospital. In other words, really not that far away from where I live. As I pass by this spot more or less by daily routine, I can't have escaped the progress of the construction work. I'm so impressed, I've actually started taking photographs of it. Here, I post some of the pictures.



It's truly amazing how they're going to blow up a new tunnel, really not sure where it's going to lead. The preparations seems to lead under the car roundabout which lies between the becoming platform and the hospital. Well, I won't say too much, since I really don't know. Anyways, it's exciting.

Movie: "Mio In The Land Of Faraway" (1987)

Amazing adventure film. I can't remember ever having seen this one as a kid. A real shame, 'cuz I know I would have been really impressed. The first thing that struck me was when "Christian Bale" turned up at the credit roll in the beginning of the film. How funny, another Christian Bale, appearing in a piece of film created after a novel by Astrid Lindgren. It was first when I recognized the [at this time] around ten year old Christian Bale I was truly stunned. Wow. Funny indeed. In the beginning of the film there were a bounce of scenes with skylight view over Stockholm city. I wonder if they actually filmed the "saga stuff" in Sweden, or if the Stockholm from above view was only cut in, whereas the rest of the film was filmed in America, or someplace else. Oh, that's right, Christian Bale is actually not American, but Brittish. He was born in the UK, I read at the IMDb mini-biography. Perhaps not such a big effort getting him across Europe after all. Anyways, the film is great. I will definitely show this film to my children, and I know they will sit there, filled with exitement. So, what was it all about? It's about little Bosse, a young boy who has been placed into a fosterhome since his mother died giving birth to him. His father? He's not around. Life's hard on Bosse. The kids from the block bully him a lot, probably 'cuz his status isn't exactly top ten, being orphan and all. Anyways, suddenly, some sort of magic wind (metaphoricly speaking, see the details for yourself) sweeps over him, taking him to the magic Land of Beyond, where his father holds the kingdom. The only enemy is Kano, the evil ruler over the adjacent kingdom. Kano is [litterarly] a man with a heart of stone. Now, it turns out that Bosse's real name is Mio. His father will (giving the movie it's title) repeatedly call out "Oh, Mio min Mio..", embracing his son. Remarkable. Wonderful.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093543/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mio_min_Mio_(film)

A long walk incl. baby wear shopping

A dull Friday afternoon. The weather wasn't something to count on, and the radio wasn't playing anything interesting in particular. So, what was we to do? Well, we decided to go for a walk downtown. With bicycle, this trip is 10-15 minutes. Walking, however, makes it more about half an hour. Heavy winds as an extra spice, gosh. Well, we made it without any trees falling over us. So, we went to Åhléns and bought some clothes for our unborn baby. It's the second time we do this, it feels really awsome. Here's what we got on yesterday's trip.

A nice brown sweaater.


I personally loved this sweater.


White soft pants to feel comfortable in.


So, I will probably post snapshots on other baby wear later on, as I hadn't really made anything official (other than by burying a post-stamp blog like half a year back in time*) that last time. Anyways. There will be more!

As we got home again, sausage stroganof came as a blessing. Unfortunately, while everything was in the stew, she noticed we were out of mashed tomatoes. Damn, I had to jump on the bike and go back into the cold outdoors. Supermarket ahead. Weeha! However, as the stroganof melted inside my mouth, I felt that it most definitely hadn't been for nothing! ;)

Smile of today! :-)

Movie: "Rain Man" (1988)

Haven't had the great opportunity of watching this classic until now. Strange, really. However, it was beautiful. It's about Charles (played by a young Tom Cruise), a car salesman who runs his own company, but is obviously on his way down the drain. Deals knocking down on him, the DPA failing his imported cars, loan givers being ready to pull back. Everything looks bad.

So, suddenly Charles receives notice that his father has passed away. His first reaction is, well of course a bit chocked, yet it doesn't seem to bother him that much. As his fiancé [riding in the car with him as he receives the news over the 80's-styled car phone] reacts on that he doesn't seem to show the usual emotions, he explains how come the father-son relationship hasn't exactly been all that idyllic.

Anyways, they go for the funeral. It shall be revealed that Charles is more concerned about any possible heritage than the act of mourning. So, he goes there, really just to find out that his father had written a special will leaving him with less than he had thought. Let's say he'd been thrifty with the liquid assets. However, another not yet known factor also comes to Charles knowledge - he has a brother. Not just any brother, but an autistic brother which his/their father had not ever spoken about. So, what's an autistic person like? Well, there are several types of autism. Raymond here is dealing with the savant syndrome, which I personally find really amazing. Savant persons are somewhat a computer system. They do advanced math problems like 2+2. They also have the capacity to store huge amounts of informations in their "hard drive". Like, phone books, history, whatever. However, human emotions and social behavior just doesn't click right. Therefor, savant persons have great difficulties living in a normal society.

However, it will get obvious that Charles isn't the most caring brother at first. His company is on the edge of falling, and he needs to think of a way to get his hands on the three million dollars of liquid assets that his father had left behind. However, a interesting journey begins from here. Towards the end, things will look somewhat different.

A great movie, that everyone should go see. Dustin Hoffman makes a great role as Raymond, the autistic brother. Like I've said before, it has to be a real struggle to fit into a role as mentally otherwise. This is the second time I see this (the first one I mentioned was Sigourney Weaver in 'Snow Cake'). However, really great film. Go see this one, if you haven't already.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095953/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_Man

The Ecologist

Yesterday took a warm turn in environmental movement.

When me and my fiancé were at the hypermarket, I noticed they had sales on Low-Energy light bulbs. I've considered changing my light bulbs for a long time, it just hasn't happened. This was a good time. So, I picked the 11 watt lamp, which is equivalent to a 60 watt environment-hazardous bulb, and my excitement began to rise within me.



I [of course] changed the light bulb first thing as we stepped inside. Then hitting the switch, and tada, the warm light increasing by degrees. Amazing. After less than a minute, the light felt just as usual; consuming only ~1/6 the power resources. You really start doubting why this change isn't enforced by the government. The next generation will think of us as real madmen, gaining light from these [obviously over-devouring] pieces of vacuum content. Feels great to be on the track. Today, I will go buy more LE light bulbs; I would not be able to sleep with myself if I left a E27 light bulb socket with a environmental risk. Not a chance!

I must also [like I marked out like half a year ago already] point out that I'm recycling all garbage since I moved in here. Hard plastic, glass, pasteboard, sheet metal. Everything in it's assigned container. Gosh, I get the creeps when I think a couple of years ago, living in my first apartment. I mashed everything(!) down in the garbage can, and threw the bags directly into the container for inflammable stuff. Not a very smart way of taking care of ones waste disposal, now is it? One thing is for certain, I will never let my kids hear about that. How could I have lived with myself, acting like I had no respect at all for our next-coming generations?



Hail the environment.
Together we can make things happen!