Postcards from the Edge (of Greater Stockholm)

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My iPod arrived today, so let's start with that.
For the last week or so, I've been wondering exactly which kind of iPod would be meeting me in the mail, as I got a Fourth Generation iPod last February, *right* before they introduced an all color iPod that played videos. I didn't know whether they still made my version, so maybe, just maybe, I would get an iPod that was much, much better than the one that crapped out on me the afternoon before I left North America.
As it turns out, they sent me the same model that I had. Makes sense, and I'm not disappointed or anything; it's shiny and new and it works. I have my music back in portable form for the first time in a while, and for the first time since maybe November, I'm not afraid of my iPod doing random and inexplicable things, like erasing all of my music overnight. Hopefully this new one can avoid the jinx that I seem to have when it comes to technology. Though my digital camera is working just fine, so we'll see (knocking on wood).
The package that I receieved also contained my camera-to-computer cable, so I was able to upload the first batch of pictures from my trip. Though, as this blog is visible to anyone who has an internet connection, I'm probably going to leave out the more personal pictures. I wouldn't want to find my face avaliable for download on Napster or something...
Anyway, I think you can just access them by going to the "Galleries" screen, or something like that. It seemed rather straight forward, though I can't recall how to do it right now.
I had Swedish again today, and I was ontime this time, which was a welcome relief. I've only had 2 classes so far this week, though I have another tomorrow, so tomorrow night I might actually have some new stuff for all of you. Though I could give you a better idea of where exactly it is that I'm staying. No, I'm not talking about *just* the city of Stockholm; after all, I'm not even living in the city limits. So here's Part 1 in a 290-Part Series, "Better Know a Swedish Municipality" (I know, the Colbert Report allusions are rather heavy-handed...I'm just seeing if they work):

The Sundbyberg (Sun-bee-bare) Municipality represents the local branch of self-government in south-central Sweden. It measures 8.8 square kilograms, making it the smallest Municipality in the entire Kingdom. Within the bigger Municipality is the smaller city of Sundbyberg, which borders both Solna and Stockholm to the southeast. The area was used mainly for agriculture, but was developed in the 1970s as part of the Million Programme, a Swedish socialist project to provide housing for its rising population. My particular section of the city, Hallonbergen (Hallon-bare-yen, meaning Raspberry Mountains), includes a T stop on the Haunted Blue Line of the Stockholms Tunnelbana. I live in a very common housing development, of concrete and glass that was constructed for the Million Programme. Check out my pictures, and you'll see what I mean. It's not bad, and my Swedish roommate described this place as the "Swedish Ghetto". It's funny, because I can see what he means, though this place is nicer, cleaner, and safer than some lower-middle class neighborhoods back in the States. It's almost enough to make a man vote Social Democratic. There's a lot here that makes one think about whether the American way is *really* the best way to go about things. Of course, one of my professors told us that he's seen both ends of a reaction to this kind of Welfare State: Super-Conservatives who come here thinking that any kind of national social program is the gateway to Communism end up thinking this place is a lot better than they thought. Conversely, Ultra-Liberals who think that Social Democracy is Paradise come away with a better appreciation of the American world of free enterprise and low taxes. I'm in the middle, as I've said, so hopefully I can see the best of both sides (And an aside: to those who complain about hight taxes in the States; Shut up. Swedish taxes are between 45-55 % of one's income, though a lot of that goes to state healthcare, state, education, state daycare, and welfare. My professor said that if anyone says 'Free Healthcare' or 'Free Education' in a paper for his class, he fails them. That stuff ain't free. Also, Gas here is about $6.50-$7.00 a gallon. So there.)
In other American news, I saw my first Ford Expedition today in Gamla Stan. There are Fords and whatnot here, but the models they have are for the European Market, so they look like clown cars. Except for this Expedition. It looked like a tank, no joke. Of course, I've been anti-SUV for quite some time, as I think that they represent everything that the rest of the world hates about America. but it turns out, there are a few of them here, too. They just look like one of them could eat three or four Peugots before the police could take it down with tranquilizers and stun guns. Especially in the Old City, where it seems like you'd have about 3 centimeters (look at me use the metric system!) of clearance. Whoever owned that thing must have a bank account set aside exclusively for buffing and dent repair.

Let's see...anything else in my life I can ramble on about? Maybe not right now. Though from my Scandinavian perch, I have an interesting view on a breaking scandal involving Denmark and , well, just about the entire Muslim World. As it turns out, America isn't the only country that can anger an entire faith based on its actions. Apparently, the Danish equivalent of the New York Times published a series of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Now, this is taboo in Islam anyway (except for some Shi'a schools), so that's bad. Also, one of the cartoons depicted Muhammad wearing a turban that was a bomb, complete with lit fuse. So that's bad.
There have been calls to boycott Danish goods all over the Muslim world, in particular in Egypt, apparently, and I've heard that Libya as withdrawn its embassy from Copenhagen. So that's bad.
People are standing by the right to free speech that Denmark has, and an apology has not been, and probably won't be issued by the Danish Government. This is what most people calling for a Danish boycott want (according to my Swedish professor, anyway).
So we'll see where this leads. Now, I'm not scared in the least, as Muslims are angry at Denmark and not Sweden, but it's an interesting story over here, and it's everywhere in the news. And, of course, I'm not meaning for anything in this blog to be anything but my uninformed take on a news-worthy event; I'm not trying to be a journalist here. So don't cite me in anything.
(c) Me, February 1, 2006.

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Comments

[AnnLind]

So that's what the Danes did...
I saw a news photo of a grocery store somewhere the Muslim world with empty shelves and "boycott Danish goods" and had no idea what it meant. Thanks for explaining... Ann Lindblad

[anonymous]

Heya Matt! Glad to hear that you're hanging in there, and nice to read a bit about your experience. Keep in touch, -Winslow