something to keep in mind...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8385795.stm

Music vs. Writing

Pluggandet står högst på listan av saker som måste göras denna soliga, lediga morgon. Medan datorn startar och teét brygger så känns det tomt i lägenheten. Man sätter på radion för lite sällskap och distraktion från tystnaden i byggnaden. Mellan tjattret av djarna och snacket av reklam så spelas lite poppig repeterande musik. Man blir frustrerad av den dåliga musiken och känner att man kan göra bättre själv. Man vänder sig till den godtrogna Spotify. Listan är oändlig, timmarna flyter snabbt iväg och teét har hunnit bli kallt medan man lyssnar igenom gamla barndoms minnen, nya låtar och listorna av favoriter som både man själv och andra har skapat.
Jag har aldrig varit en stor musik entusiast och om jag var tvungen så skulle jag välja penna och papper över musiken, men jag har också märkt hur beroende av musik jag har blivit sedan skrivandet blev passionen i livet. Det är svårt att avgöra vad som har störst betydelse: orden eller rytmen. För att få in den rätta känslan i texten och för att få orden att flyta på så är det väldigt beroende på vilken musik man spelar. En mening i sång texten kan inspirerar en att skriva flera sidor om orättvisorna i världen eller en studsig rolig sång med glada minnen kan få en att orka med alla grymheter som studentlivet drar med sig. Ibland kan det helt enkelt vara rytmen och melodin som får en att krama om ens liv och vilja ge sig ut på lång promenad med ens närmaste.
Musiken har samma inflytande på mig som en god bok. Den behövs för att man ska orka med livet. Ett sätt att komma ifrån verkligheten och ibland se saker från ett annat perspektive. En att dela sin sorg, glädje och roliga tider med. En som vet precis hur man känner sig vid just den tidpunkten. Men en boken man läser, lika så musiken man spelar, kan inte väljas bara hur som helst, den måste fokuseras på, man måste vara på ett visst humör och den måste få en att må på ett stätt som inget annat i världen får en att känna.

Sam Savage 'Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife'

A story about a perverted and pretentious rat. Bohemian my ass! Trying too hard to be sophisticated. Really liked the idea of the book, obviously otherwise wouldn't have bought it, but really didn't feel that it was pulled off well. Didn't like Firmin at all, no connection and didn't feel especially sorry for him. At times wanted it to be typically rat like, but then didn't follow it through. Where was the book and literature passion I thought I would be getting?

Aravind Adiga 'The WhiteTiger-A Novel'

Brilliant book. Funny and memorising. Defiantly teaches you more about India than a touristy trip there would do. I'm guessing. Personally never been there myself. Language and the true accent of the people comes through very strongly. Exciting and brave.

Markus Zusak 'The Book Thief'

If you consider the fact that the book was intentionally written for adults it's a bit too descriptive and plain language. But you can really understand that young adults would really like this book. I would have liked more from death since sometimes he spoke from first person narrative and you had to stop and think who 'I' was since it couldn't be the main character.
I would have liked a quicker beginning and a slower ending. I think it went too fast once you had finally started to like the characters. I also found it difficult to realise that Liesel and Rudy were growing up. For me it felt like they stayed the same age throughout the whole book. Although that might have been something to do with the time it was set and also because of the war.
The metaphor and symbols were too obvious and at times Markus Zusak felt the need to explain them which might be good for young adults but not if the book was intended for grown ups. At times it felt slightly forced. It ruined the feeling which was building up to then have someone spell it out to you. It was as if it was just using up pages and space. The book could have been a lot shorter for just this reason. But it was funny at times, the relationship between Liesel and Rudy was done very well and it felt although very foreign to me very realistic.
I loved the fact that for once a different aspect of WWII was being given. From a German population point of view. Different, and gave the German population sympathy as well which of course isn't common. One wonders how much research has been put into writing the book. I also found it interesting that although it was from a German persons point of view the aspect of criticise the Allies never happened. There was a feeling of sympathy for the British and Americans and hatred towards Hitler and the Nazis which somehow I don't believe. Surely the amount of propaganda the Germans were receiving would have made them think that everything was the Allies fault. I would have liked some comments about the opinions about the Allies. And of course it has been written by and Aussie so he won't be to quick in criticising the Allies, since Australians were helping out to fight. But I wasn't alive then so I don't know.

Overall I thought it was a good book but slightly too sad towards the end, but still realistic, unfortunately.

Books about sex and Nudity

Due to today’s liberal printing freedom in Sweden censorship here is less than in other countries. Literature is not scrutinised by a government-run authority. The book publishers or the editor in chief is in charge of the written content. Censorship of sex and nudity in today’s literature most of the time involves unwanted pornography. Especially pornography where children are victims or violence is glorified. Discussions are also often held in relation to if pornography is insulting and objectifies women.

The Life and Adventures of Fanny Hill by John Cleland, written 1748, is often seen as the first modern erotic novel in English and was banned for a long time for containing descriptions of sex scenes of men with men. The complaints over D.H. Lawrence’s book Lady Chatterley’s Lover, published and forbidden in 1928, were however aimed mainly towards the inappropriate usage of the English language when giving detailed descriptions of the sex scenes. It was also seen as a disgrace in Britain to discuss the sexual activities of the middle class which was the backgrounds of the main characters in the book.

In Sweden Hjalmar Söderberg published Den Allvarsamma Leken in 1748. The female lover in the novel was based on Maria von Platen who was Söderberg’s real life lover. Söderberg wrote openly about men and especially women’s strong sexual desires as well as openly discussed the commonness of adultery. This was received with great upheaval during these times.

In Great Britain the debate has been great revolving around the book: Belle de Jour- The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, which started as a blog with the same name. The call girl Belle, can be seen as a modern Moll Flanders, the book about a British prostitute in the 18^th century, written by Daniel Defoe. The discussions were not as much about the intimate sex descriptions contained in the book, but the accounts of her clients who were real life high achievers. She also writes idealising about a job which is seen as controversial in ‘we don’t talk about sex’ England.

In Sweden several handbooks have been published about how to get a better sex life, both together with someone and on your own. Katerina Janouch’s The Orgasm Book which was published 2006, is consider an informative book about orgasms and tips on how to climax. The Great Sex Book for Girls- who have sex with other girls by Helene Delilah and Malinda Flodman came out 2007. This was the first book published in the Nordic countries which was aimed specifically towards girls who have sex with girls.

When sex and nudity is shown, described and discussed more in our society and is mixed with our culture it becomes less alienating and taboo. Our fantasies often run away with us and through uncensored material we are free to challenge this more freely. We learn to explore new areas, get to know ourselves better and in many cases feel a lot better as well. Our world is developing and it is our responsibility to lead this change no matter if it is in a political ideology or sexual.

The grass is always green.

En lite tankeställare för er naturvänner därute. Varför går man över gräset när det finns en helt duglig stig vid sidan om? Har vi verkligen så pass bråttom att man inte kan ta den redan cementerade vägen bredvid?
En person promenerar längs en väg minst två gånger om dagen, till och från jobbet/skolan. Och man tänker: nå jag går den här vägen över gräset för då kommer jag fram 2 minuter tidigare eller jag är så pass lat att jag inte orkar gå runt och använda mig av vägen. Nästa person kommer gående ser att det långa gräset är ner trampat och tänker samma sak. Den stigen går de sen varje dag i alla årstider i flera år. Fler och fler gör likadant.
Tillslut är den lilla nertrampade stigen genom det långa gräset inte längre det, utan en djup gångväg som promeneras på, cyklas på, och barnvagnar med dubbdäck skjuts fram på. Sen kommer hösten och för att folk inte vill gå i leran som har bildats går man vid sidan om så att stigen växer. När isen sen börjar lägga sig och leran bli hal så, för att staden inte ska bli stämd, sandar, eller snarare grusar man den nu nertrampade grässtigen. Gräset får aldrig en chans att växa tillbaka, leran torkar aldrig bort helt och man bestämmer sig för att cementera. Tillslut kommer det finnas så många småvägar att man inte kommer se skillnad på den orginala vägen från alla genvägar utan hela området kommer bli ett enda stort cementerat fält.

Always blame the women?

Finally the responsibility doesn't only lay on the women. The man plays a part as well.

"Perhaps we have been blaming the women as couples get older but perhaps there's a contribution from the male because we're not behaving as we should be." BBC News.

Here you go guys a perfect excuse: "I just want to remain fertile!" I'll keep that in mind.

Has a man conducted this research?

I wonder though if the research can be turned around...does this mean that men who have a high fertility count, have several ejaculations per day...the question probably remains....

If only someone would do a similar research for women! As always the female sex drive is non-existent.
I don't know if this is true, but I read or heard somewhere that there is a greater chance of a woman conceiving if she has an orgasm during sex. Now these are the kind of statistics I enjoy, probably conducted by a woman, I guess I have to mention. But, then maybe only a woman would be interested in finding out the result.

Equality is always the best medicine.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8125934.stm

Lloyd Jones 'The book of Fame.'

finished the 'The Book of Fame' by Lloyd Jones the other day...
not sure I'm going to recommend it to be honest. The topic was so interesting. It was about the first time the All Blacks (NZ rugby team) left New Zealand for Europe. I'm all for rugby and thought this was going to be an exciting story with a lot of action involved which is why I (before I had read it, stupidly) recommended it to a bunch of manly rugby enthusiasts.
I take that back, none of you would enjoy it.
I think the only people who might enjoy this book are literature people. The book is written in a colourful prose and in a constant present plural. Which it could be read for in just that case. One never finds out who the author is though which makes it feel quite distant which might be the point since it is set so long ago and not a lot of information is recorded for the travels which the team made.
On a more personal note I think the book could do with some more action and description and to bring out a possible connection with the characters more.

so the day has finally arrived...

the rain is hitting hard up against the window, the clouds are so thick it looks like the sun will never return, the temperature has fallen and I wouldn't be surprised if snowflakes would soon start falling....

earlier today i had a three hour exam which had cost me my whole sunny weekend and that i think i've failed

i have another exam in a week, which i'm not looking forward to start studying for tomorrow, when i also have a dentist appointment....expensive

i'm still in a job i hate and doesn't get me anywhere, although i'm quitting tomorrow

but...i'm happy...i am content and filled with joy and peacefulness

everything isn't perfect, but i'm looking forward to the future and i want to be part of it

life is only what you make it to be and sometime in the future my struggles will have paid off
...if they haven't already....

London

enter into londontown
as the fumes, pale faces and grey sky hits you, you remember back to when this was called home.
is it still?

the beating of children and pets, the smell of urin in the alleys, the silence of not wanting to get involved in other people's lives, the fear, the competition, the transport, the need of money, the cold houses, the dirt, the ignorance, the sadness

but quickly you become blinded and you see only what you want to see

the cultures: the dutch, ethiopian, mexican, bangladeshi, french, lebanon, south korean, and the english, and those are just the restaurants, the possibilities, the events, the parks, the river, the people, the 'i'm sorry', the books, the museums, the festivals, the styles, the food, the markets, the clothes, the energy, the struggle, the belief, the love, the dreaming, the hope...

hope of making things better, hope for a better system, a better way of life, hope to believe...

WHY?
you're one in a million, you don't stand out, you don't get stared at, what you are trying to achieve the person next to you is trying to achieve as well, you're not an individual...

The people in London are the dreamers, the fighters, the ones that want to make a change and aren't afraid to work hard for it, they are not scared of a struggle, whether it's going to work in a suit as a bankman or demonstrating against the suit...
they will decide the fashion, the modern technology, the ups and downs of the stock market the ins and outs of the politicians and the ones that set the way and standard of life. They will put up with the hardness of what life brings.

If you're not a hard worker, a listener, a demonstrater or a believer, london is not for you...

can we write joy?

why is it we mostly write when we're sad, pondering or in two-minds? why do we rarely write when we're happy and screaming with joy?

busy being in a jolly state of mind....

next time i'm happy or at least content, i'm going to write. will i be able to remain in a good mood or will my constant analysing kill it? can i express my warm thoughts without considering next days downfall? will the unreliable future bring me down and remind me of how short lived my happiness might actually be?

the irony of fate which always seems to track me down....

white fog

there is a blank sheet of paper in front of my window
i see no difference between the wall in my room and the window
i can't see outside
i feel my eyes have been covered up and i'm sheilded. What am I hiding from?
at times i think i can see it shifting but the paper lies thick
the whiteness brings with it the silence,
i can hear the ships struggling through their blindness
blindness to an outside i want to take part in, i want to see and experience
white
shadows moving
stillness
struggling
fear
fear of what can't be seen or known
if i open my window will it come inside? will i put out my hand and touch it? will i know when it's here? will it have a smell, a sense, a sound, a taste? will it catch me off guard and impose on me? will i find my way out?

noisufnoc

is it?

the direction of life...which way to go..how to turn...around and around...updown..hmm

does this make it better? does it solve the problems? it makes no sense...as does everything else.

how can i make it better? how can I see forward when I'm already here....

back, future...present?

up
up
up
up

circles, dizziness and blankness.

Vad blir en litteraturvetare?

Det är få förunnat att kunna kalla sig litteraturvetare till professionen. Det är egentligen bara lärare och forskare vid universitet och högskolor som på det sättet har litteraturvetenskap som sitt yrke. Men många fler har glädje av litteraturvetenskapen efter avslutade studier. Lärare i för-, grund- och gymnasieskola, bibliotekarier, journalister och kulturskribenter är några yrkesgrupper för vilka ämnet är av stor betydelse. Till den gruppen kan man också foga förlagsanställda, informatörer, reklammakare och andra.

Men även inom andra yrken har man nytta och glädje av att ha läst litteraturvetenskap. Litteraturvetaren lär sig inte bara litteraturhistoriska fakta, han eller hon besitter inte bara kunskaper om enskilda författare och verk. Litteraturvetaren utvecklar också viktiga färdigheter som förmågan att kritiskt analysera texter av olika typer, organisera ett stort textmaterial och presentera det muntligt och skriftligt. Den som studerar ämnet lär sig både detaljerad analys och att dra stora historiska linjer. Litteraturvetaren kan betrakta texter ur en rad olika perspektiv, och utvecklar sin argumentationsförmåga, sitt eget språk och sin språkkänsla.

Dessa färdigheter och denna språkliga kompetens är viktiga egenskaper i hela det moderna arbetslivet. Också litteraturvetaren är alltså anställningsbar: en litteraturvetare kan saker, är en högt utbildad och kompetent person. Så framhåll detta kunnande när du söker jobb eller sitter i anställningsintervjuer!

http://www.littide.su.se/pub/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2450&a=26341

Global Nomad

Where are you from? Where do feel most at home? Where did you grow up?
If you have trouble answering these questions, or have experienced trying to answer them and testing your listener’s patience—or find yourself getting more attention than you really wanted at that moment, then maybe you are a global nomad.

A global nomad is anyone of any nationality who has lived outside their parents’ country of origin (or their “passport country”) before adulthood because of a parent’s occupation.

http://www.globalnomads-dc.org/

7 days to go

i'm so excited

and i just can't hide it

i'm about to lose control

and i think i like it!!!!

7 days to go and the lovely Obama will have taken a big step not only for himself but for his own generation and the ones to come. It will be difficult to follow Obama. He is idealised and has become almost like a god figure. The expectations of him are now high, will he be able to achieve everything he has set out to achieve and everything which is expected of him? Hope. Is he already backing down from the things he promised? It will take a long time to close Guantanamo he has said. A long legal process. Is this new information? Did he not know that when he spoke about closing it down in the first place? Or is he trying to wind down the expectations. Change. Will he and Hillary Clinton be able to make a difference in the Israel/Palestine conflict. I believe they can. President Clinton came a long way. Wouldn't it be so cool if his wife then finished the job! As always the women are picking up the broken pieces which the men have left behind. Strength.

I'm scared. Scared that Obama will turn out like all the others. That as soon as he comes to power he will forget about the people and his well chosen advisers opinions and only do what looks good and not what actually needs to be done. Fame goes to ones head and so, for that matter, does power. Although they usually go hand in hand so it's difficult to separate the two.

I have reached the point of blankness in my mind...