Moto Boy

Hörde Moto Boy för första gången igår, en svensk musiker tydligen, som jag vill slå ett slag för. Han spelar nämligen i Malmö och Stockholm i dagarna. Är du där så gå dit!

I januari byter vi ut klockspel mot hårdrocksgitarr och placerar Moto Boy, några stråkar och ett piano i en kyrka. Den 27 januari blir det stämningsfullt värre i Caroli Kyrka i Malmö (och den 25 januari i Uppenbarelsekyrkan i Hägersten i Stockholm).

Moto Boy släppte sitt debutalbum i januari 2008 och rundade av året med minialbumet For Martha. Det innehåller fyra klassiska stycken, bland annat "Ave Maria" och "Pie Jesu", och en helt ny Moto Boy-låt.

Konserterna blir en unik chans att uppleva minialbumet med stråkkvartett och klaviatur i sitt rätta element! Välkommen.

Konserten börjar 20.00
Inträde: 100 kr

There's a reason Tam opens at 9 in the morning

Den här inbjudan skickade jag ut till kompisar här i Boston i förra veckan:

One of the recent snowy nights me and Steve were sitting at the Tam when, after one thing had led to another, we realized what the subject says, there's a reason Tam opens at 9 in the morning!

Whether this is a strike of genius or stupidity we aim to find out. Next Saturday (the 17th) at 9 AM, to be precise, and we'd like for you to join us!

Let me know if you're coming and whether you're bringing anyone - all are naturally welcome, just because I don't have someone's email address doesn't me that person is on my shit-list. I don't have a shit-list. But, unless we're too many Steve has promised to bring breakfast (you know, as in there's a reason he lives around the corner from the Tam), bacon and eggs or similar. You'd want a hearty breakfast a day like that! What happens later in the day only time will tell. Perhaps we stay there, perhaps we make a crawl out of it, once the pansy-ass bars in the area decide to open.

Cheers,

Filip

PS In case you're unfortunate enough to haven't been there, Tam is located at 222 Tremont St in the Theatre District, and is not only my local but the divebar (in all the good senses of the word) of the area.

Så ifall du har vägarna förbi ses vi imorgon bitti. :-) Vi är ca 20 pers nu så det kommer bli grymt kul kan jag lova!

Put your money where your mouth is

Varje år donerar jag en procent av min nettolön till organisationer som på ett eller annat sätt bidrar till en bättre värld. I år går pengarna till Middle East Children's Alliance, den organisation jag fann bäst hjälper lindra lidandet på Gaza-remsan just nu. Vill du också donera till dem, behöver så klart inte vara en procent av din lön, gå hit. Vill du först läsa mer, kan du göra det på deras hemsida.

Med hopp om ett bättre 2009.

Africa Reading Challenge - reviews

Well, with two days to go I finished book six and hence the Africa Reading Challenge. The night before the year's last night I cannot help but thinking of the year that's soon behind us, though, and I think it's extra accentuated by the choice of my books. Sudan, Zimbabwe, Congo, Palestine, my heart goes out to the millions suffering, again and again. I crank Atari Teenage Riot and wish myself out of here.

Scroggins, Deborah: Emma's War (Sudan)

I didn't like this book at first. It couldn't find it's own identity, but alternated constantly between biography, history and fiction and just simply couldn't make up its mind. But slowly a story emerged, and once finished, I'm glad I read it. It gave me insight to a Sudan I only briefly knew and I grew to appreciate the voice of the story and the relation I gathered from the story and Emma's position. It's a unique insight for a reader and it comes off as a recommend.

Courtemanche, Gil: A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali (Rwanda)

Before, or shortly after, I cannot remember which, I read this book, I watched Hotel Rwanda, and it was fascinating to read and see two views of the same story. It was a grim picture Mr. Courtemanche painted, so more sad to know that it's a true one.

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi: Half of a Yellow Sun (Nigeria)

"Finally" a book that wasn't all hardship. I find it hard to relate to the main figures at first, but as I delved deeper I got to know, understand and appreciate them. I wonder, though, is that how a typical person (me?) would respond to hardship? The main characters are strong, stronger than I could ever wish to be.

Coetzee, J.M.: Waiting for the Barbarians (South Africa)

The book echoed of other books I've read, most notably Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Cormac McCarthy's Blood meridian, or, The evening redness in the West. I enjoy good travel fiction and this was certainly it. It was also a relief, I must admit, to read something that doesn't painfully resemble reality, but was mere a mirror of it.

Coetzee, J.M.: Foe (South Africa)

I confess to reaching the end of 2008 here, and started to chose books that I wanted to read, but also had the extra benefit of being short. After having just read a brilliant book I was brought back to what I felt was a really immature author, a student to become an author really. It felt like I was reading a school exercise, and even though I could catch glimpses of an author to be I fail to see the greatness of either the author or the book.

Coetzee, J.M.: Age of Iron (South Africa)

This book really echoes the last. In the beginning. This is a work by a dawning author, not by an established one, and I'm astonished by the fact he won the Nobel Prize a few years back. Give the price to Auster or Murakami or deLillo or Glass or someone much more accomplished, and give Mr. Coetzee 20 more years or so. I found it extremely hard to relate to the main character, although I attribute that more to the fact how different we are, me being a young male and she an old woman, with vast different life experience than my own.

Jul? Du skojar.

Igår när jag köpte min lunchmacka på Lamberts så spelade de julsånger (att det var All I Want for Christmas is You av Mariah Carey lämnar jag därhän), och idag sätter Boston upp sin julgran utanför kontorsfönstret. Julkataloger har dimpt ner i grannarnas brevlådor i veckovis (jag vet det inte för att jag spionerar på dem utan för att vi har kommunal post för "stora" brev och paket). Thanksgiving är inte förrän nästa vecka, efter vilket julsäsongen officiellt sätter igång. Så lite tidigt kanske? Jo jag tackar. Kanske ska ta med tomteluva till Jamaica imorgon? Dricka tomtegrogg kan vi nog glömma däremot, julmust känns inte som en jamaicansk företeelse direkt.

Sådan här är jag som bloggare

Typealyzer analyserar din blog och beskriver bloggaren. Det här är jag:

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Efersom Typealizer analyserar orden (vad annat har de att gå på?) och därmed ämnena man tar upp mer än hur man är som person så misstänker jag att det är något missvisande, men lite kul kan det ju vara för det.

Nucular - what Bush and the McCain campaign have in common

So the Internet is awash today with comments on how Sarah Palin said nucular in last night's debate, a funny pronunciation of nuclear favored and I believe coined by Goerge W Bush. Makes you wonder who's schooled her the last couple of weeks... My bet is that this t-shirt will yet again peak in sales.