När jag läser böcker läser jag tyst högt för mig själv, så därför påverkas min uppfattning av det jag läser mer av känslan i språket snarare än handlingen. Dessutom är jag så inne i handlingen så jag sällan tänker på vad som ska komma härnäst. Detta tjänar denna ok på. Handlingen är egentligen inte särskilt originell eller oväntad, de flesta kan nog lista ut det mesta, men jag tyckte verkligen om språket, tugget. Boken är skriven som att man läst av tankarna i karaktärerna. Så när man följer brat-wannabe-JW är det hans inre monolog man hör, hans observationer man får del av. I mitt fall blir det extra kul eftersom jag hör hans brat-stockholmska (egentligen kanske han tänker på norrländska i och för sig). När man hänger med Jorge - en latino med balle - hör man hans spanska svordomar och förortsslang. I huvudet på Mrado blir man cool och stark som Hulken och man bryr sig precis lika mycket om hans dotter som han gör. Och man knäcker lite ben, för det är ju faktiskt en nödvändig del av jobbet.
Detta är en intressant bok också för att man får en viss inblick i den kriminella världen - hur de tänker, hur stor den är och hur mäktig den är. Och man inser att i dagens samhällsklimat där man bara jagar pengar har vi inte en chans i helvete att någonsin ens minska brottsligheten. Detta patetiska fokus på pengar måste ersättas med högre, viktigare värderingar. Först då kan vi få en chans att göra världen bättre.
Och dessutom, i dessa nerladdningsdiskussioners dagar - är verkligen allt som bryter mot lagen verkligen dåligt? Kan kriminalisering rent av förvärra situationen? Eller borde man införa en nolltolerans?
Till sist lite bra-att-kunskap:
Finska rycket - att komma i handen
Stureplans partycentrum: "Kharma, Laroy, Plaza och Köket - högst upp. Rikast/brattigast/bäst.
Sturehof, Sturecompagniet, Lydmar Hotel - nästa nivå. Fint/brattigt/något äldre publik. Spy Bar, Clara's - Juggemaffians, muskelbyggar/kändis-lokus. The Lab, East - eget klientel. Undici, Crazy Horse - vanliga hederliga svenniga sunkhak."
Jorges tanke vid åsynen av köerna utanför dessa ställen - "feodalsamhället i repris".
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Hail USA - Hail socialism!
When Obama was about to finally end the Republican terror, I read somebody saying that the USA was the most socialistic country in the world. I couldn't understand it then, but now I do. It is a very bad idea to let governments run businesses, and now what do they do? They take over the formerly biggest car manufacturer in the world! It's insane! It's qualified capital destruction! And the worst thing is it's not even their own money! They have been living on borrowed money for decades, so this is foreign money being wasted on a company too bloody incompetent to make any profit even during good times! A bad company must die, to release its resources for better use. This is the very simple basis of capitalism, and it is the very best way to make sure resources are used as efficiently as possible. But it must be allowed to work, even if it sometimes pains.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Kladdkaka! (Mudcake?)
Kladdkaka
2 dl wheat flour
1 ml salt
2 tsp vanilla sugar
6 tbs cocoa powder (unsweetened of course, you have to say that explicitly???)
4,5 dl sugar (white sugar for old school people, raw sugar cane sugar (Rohrohrzucker) for the modern mind)
175 g butter
4 eggs
Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the eggs and the melted butter. Now taste! :) Enjoy! And then put the rest of the batter in a cake mold (with approx a 25 cm diameter) with baking paper in the bottom (this stuff sticks like glue (tastes nothing like glue, though)). Have it in the oven, 175 degrees Celsius, for about 30-40 minutes. Make sure it doesn't get too dry! If you manage to control yourself, this cake just improves with time. The texture the next day is just exquisite...
For those confused with the weird old stuff some English speaking people still use for measurements, check out this site: ConvertWorld.com
2 dl wheat flour
1 ml salt
2 tsp vanilla sugar
6 tbs cocoa powder (unsweetened of course, you have to say that explicitly???)
4,5 dl sugar (white sugar for old school people, raw sugar cane sugar (Rohrohrzucker) for the modern mind)
175 g butter
4 eggs
Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the eggs and the melted butter. Now taste! :) Enjoy! And then put the rest of the batter in a cake mold (with approx a 25 cm diameter) with baking paper in the bottom (this stuff sticks like glue (tastes nothing like glue, though)). Have it in the oven, 175 degrees Celsius, for about 30-40 minutes. Make sure it doesn't get too dry! If you manage to control yourself, this cake just improves with time. The texture the next day is just exquisite...
For those confused with the weird old stuff some English speaking people still use for measurements, check out this site: ConvertWorld.com
Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)is what our brain floats in in our skulls. Up to half a litre is produced every day (20 ml/h) and is then absorbed by the body. But it might also escape through holes in the brain cavity. Rhinorrhea means runny nose, so if you experience a runny nose for a long time, CSF Rhinorrhea might be what you have. This doesn't have to be as bad as it sounds, as en increased brain pressure could lead to the tissue weakening and in the end CSF escaping into the nasal cavity and out the nose. This is called a spontaneous CSF rhinorrhea. Of course you should check it out!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Svensk maffia - Lasse Wierup, Matti Larsson
This is a really interesting book about organized crime in Sweden today. After having read it I didn't ever want to go out partying on The Avenue (Avenyn, the main party street in Gothenburg) again, because these assholes are big in this huge village and you'd never know when you'd confront an idiot that would pull out a gun! But gladly justice is catching up. First some background knowledge, from the book, to explain how the tactics of the criminal gangs are hitting back at them.
As so much else, it started in the USA, back in the 19th century, when italian, irish and Jewish males formed gangs to protect their 'hoods. Later on some ex soldiers that couldn't settle with normal life formed Hells Angels, and later Bandidos. Hells Angels were made famous by Hollywood and are still trying to act like a gang of innocent bikers. Bandidos are more hardcore criminals, they often don't even bother having bikes, all they want is the cash (most of them are heavy criminals, often nazis too). Later many other groups have followed - Original Gangsters, Bloods, Crips, Naserligan, Brödraskapet Wolfpack, Fucked For Life etc.
In order to protect themselves, they use wannabes to do the dirty work. These poor loosers, lacking male role models, looking for a brotherhood, avoiding women (p14), entering crime to get some easy money and fame, do all the shooting, killing and other criminal activities, leaving the leaders "clean". The business idea, by the way, is to use the dangerous image they work hard on keeping up, to squeeze money out of people, but they also engage in drug and weapon trade, the sex industry, internet gambling (fruitpokercasino.com and zinba.com as two examples) etc.
Now, this is were it is now hitting back! Because the loosers are being pushed too far. For years and years they have to bring beer, wash the toilets, beat up and shoot people, and now they are fed up with it! So they squeek, because they realize there's no point - the easy money wasn't all that easy, the fame is far away and it's not all that cool being a criminal.
This setback is a very good thing indeed for the modern world, as justice and democracy is under threat by these gangs, making their own laws, following their own rules (p18). It is estimated that there are about 650.000 gang members in the Americas! The police has had a very tough time fighting these gangs too, as they (at least in Sweden) underestimated the threat. A very dangerous thing is that "normal" people and celebrities hang around these people. Examples are Frank Andersson hanging out with Thomas Möller (the leader of HA Malmö, the first club in Sweden). Hannah Graaf dating another criminal leader. In the US, Snoop Dogg, NWA and Warren G are backing Crips, while The Game, Dipsetand DJ Quik are backing Bloods. At the same time people sticking up against them, have not been backed up by ordinary man (Masoud and Khan Salar Garakoei in Gothenburg eg).
Rounding this off, some words from a man that got out of his criminal path:
"Man får aldrig tänka att man är säker, då är man farligt ute. Hela min existens idag går ut på att se värdet i att bara vara mig själv. Det är en oupphörlig kamp för att kunna vara vanlig. Jag var aldrig rädd för att få stryk eller ens att bli skjuten och dö. Jag var bara rädd för att vara vanlig."
As so much else, it started in the USA, back in the 19th century, when italian, irish and Jewish males formed gangs to protect their 'hoods. Later on some ex soldiers that couldn't settle with normal life formed Hells Angels, and later Bandidos. Hells Angels were made famous by Hollywood and are still trying to act like a gang of innocent bikers. Bandidos are more hardcore criminals, they often don't even bother having bikes, all they want is the cash (most of them are heavy criminals, often nazis too). Later many other groups have followed - Original Gangsters, Bloods, Crips, Naserligan, Brödraskapet Wolfpack, Fucked For Life etc.
In order to protect themselves, they use wannabes to do the dirty work. These poor loosers, lacking male role models, looking for a brotherhood, avoiding women (p14), entering crime to get some easy money and fame, do all the shooting, killing and other criminal activities, leaving the leaders "clean". The business idea, by the way, is to use the dangerous image they work hard on keeping up, to squeeze money out of people, but they also engage in drug and weapon trade, the sex industry, internet gambling (fruitpokercasino.com and zinba.com as two examples) etc.
Now, this is were it is now hitting back! Because the loosers are being pushed too far. For years and years they have to bring beer, wash the toilets, beat up and shoot people, and now they are fed up with it! So they squeek, because they realize there's no point - the easy money wasn't all that easy, the fame is far away and it's not all that cool being a criminal.
This setback is a very good thing indeed for the modern world, as justice and democracy is under threat by these gangs, making their own laws, following their own rules (p18). It is estimated that there are about 650.000 gang members in the Americas! The police has had a very tough time fighting these gangs too, as they (at least in Sweden) underestimated the threat. A very dangerous thing is that "normal" people and celebrities hang around these people. Examples are Frank Andersson hanging out with Thomas Möller (the leader of HA Malmö, the first club in Sweden). Hannah Graaf dating another criminal leader. In the US, Snoop Dogg, NWA and Warren G are backing Crips, while The Game, Dipsetand DJ Quik are backing Bloods. At the same time people sticking up against them, have not been backed up by ordinary man (Masoud and Khan Salar Garakoei in Gothenburg eg).
Rounding this off, some words from a man that got out of his criminal path:
"Man får aldrig tänka att man är säker, då är man farligt ute. Hela min existens idag går ut på att se värdet i att bara vara mig själv. Det är en oupphörlig kamp för att kunna vara vanlig. Jag var aldrig rädd för att få stryk eller ens att bli skjuten och dö. Jag var bara rädd för att vara vanlig."
Friday, March 20, 2009
Kärnkraft - nej tack!
Per Gahrton, ur Cogitos senaste veckobrev:
"De som vill satsa på kärnkraft är både ansvars- och hänsynslösa. De blundar för långsiktiga effekter på mänsklighetens överlevnad och struntar i risker för människors hälsa och miljö. De nonchalerar såväl risker för nya olyckor av Tjernobyltyp, som okontrollerad spridning av kärnvapen. Och allt detta för att upprätthålla obegränsad tillväxt i en begränsad värld hellre än att anpassa mänsklighetens förbrukning av resurser och miljöutrymme. Vem är det egentligen som är förnuftig och vem är det som är flummare?"
Den som är för kärnkraft är en egoistisk idiot utan förmåga att tänka längre än sin egen näsa. Patetisk.
"De som vill satsa på kärnkraft är både ansvars- och hänsynslösa. De blundar för långsiktiga effekter på mänsklighetens överlevnad och struntar i risker för människors hälsa och miljö. De nonchalerar såväl risker för nya olyckor av Tjernobyltyp, som okontrollerad spridning av kärnvapen. Och allt detta för att upprätthålla obegränsad tillväxt i en begränsad värld hellre än att anpassa mänsklighetens förbrukning av resurser och miljöutrymme. Vem är det egentligen som är förnuftig och vem är det som är flummare?"
Den som är för kärnkraft är en egoistisk idiot utan förmåga att tänka längre än sin egen näsa. Patetisk.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Boring life - boring music
I saw Sonja Aldén performing in the Annedal chuch in Gothenburg last night. A great singer, great musicians, great choir, superb performance, but there's just something missing. To be frank, if you live a content Medelsvensson* life in an average place like Huddinge, I don't think you're cut to create anything great. The best songs were written by others. Don't get me wrong, it's still super professional and very well done, but when it comes to music you need something more. After all, it doesn't matter how good of a sculptor you are, if the raw stone isn't good enough.
But how is this raw stone created? I don't know. But take Peter Le Marc as an example. He comes from another small place (Trollhättan), just as boring as his music was. But then Something happened - divorce, alcohol, inner struggle - and he creates a masterpiece, Det som håller oss vid liv, 6 years after his last record.
Bruce Springsteen is another example. His Nebraska album is a classic, but then he just got too rich, lead a too boring life and nothing really worth mentioning has come from him. Sure, some big hits, some very well made songs, but still - bad raw material. U2 after Achtung Baby. Depeche Mode after The Violator.
What happens? When they reach the fame and money they dreamt about they stop? My guess is they come into a crisis, realizing that life is still just the same - after all they are just the same they always were. The rest is just superfluous flowery surface. Then they need a few decades and then suddenly they do a masterpiece again. From Elvis in Memphis and Dusty (Springfield) in Memphis in 1969, as two superb examples. Johnny Cash through American Recordings from 1994 onwards, as another.
Good music is not born from easy lives. Sad but true?
* Medelsvensson is the Swedish Mr Smith, the average Joe.
But how is this raw stone created? I don't know. But take Peter Le Marc as an example. He comes from another small place (Trollhättan), just as boring as his music was. But then Something happened - divorce, alcohol, inner struggle - and he creates a masterpiece, Det som håller oss vid liv, 6 years after his last record.
Bruce Springsteen is another example. His Nebraska album is a classic, but then he just got too rich, lead a too boring life and nothing really worth mentioning has come from him. Sure, some big hits, some very well made songs, but still - bad raw material. U2 after Achtung Baby. Depeche Mode after The Violator.
What happens? When they reach the fame and money they dreamt about they stop? My guess is they come into a crisis, realizing that life is still just the same - after all they are just the same they always were. The rest is just superfluous flowery surface. Then they need a few decades and then suddenly they do a masterpiece again. From Elvis in Memphis and Dusty (Springfield) in Memphis in 1969, as two superb examples. Johnny Cash through American Recordings from 1994 onwards, as another.
Good music is not born from easy lives. Sad but true?
* Medelsvensson is the Swedish Mr Smith, the average Joe.
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