TrUlster on the road

Have your pet immortalised in a fine art oil painting

2011-11-20T20:40:00.009+01:00

This remarkable specimen of a flyer arrived through the NW London mail slot today. Indication of an overly affluent neighbourhood? Maybe. Hard to believe, but this offer does seem genuine and is not a parody.

Well, I suppose if you can afford a gold collar for your pet, the least you can do is get a fine art oil painting commissioned. Even if it risks inviting serious ridicule in these times of financial woe.

Now why does this gold-digging doggie remind me of the man himself Tony Soprano's ludicrous attempt at immortality through art:

So all you cat lovers out there, this is your chance to portray your pet's unique personality in a painting you will love and cherish forver. Likeness is even guaranteed. What are you waiting for?

Ridicule aside, perhaps the author is just a poor art student trying to make ends meet, happy to have chanced upon an untapped market?

Taipei teppanyaki: Purchasing power and quality of life

2010-09-08T09:08:00.005+02:00

The price/quality ratio of food in Taiwan must rank among the world's top. A recent excellent 'light' lunch at a teppanyaki restaurant in Taipei was food for thought.

The meal started off with a salad, then a garlic bread with soup. Followed by fish, king prawn, mushrooms and broccoli - then the mains of two juicy slices of sirloin. Add a plate of bean sprouts and finish off with the dessert of fruits and "lapper" (no clue what is the English word for this pancake/waffle hybrid also popular in Norway). And yes, the after meal milk tea. Impeccable service and presentation all for £10, other places will sport versions with less items for as low as £5.

Enjoying this quality offering brought out thoughts on what money can get you in Taipei compared to London. Naturally a Londoner can count on a higher income after tax. However, what will those extra pounds actually buy? The average citizen of Taipei can enjoy a much cheaper AND better diet, not least in terms of quality and healthiness. In addition to restaurants, also housing is vastly cheaper and frequently more modern. In short, the local purchasing power for a person in Taipei is greater than that of the Londoner.

Verifying this on the useful Numbeo site provides interesting results. The local purchasing power of a Londoner is indeed 22% lower. A huge part of this is of course due to the certifiable insane rental prices in London, but also aspects like local transportation costs being six (!) times higher must make a dent. It gets worse when you consider the decrepit state of the stuffy London Underground with frequent delays and cancellations compared with the super clean, air-conditioned MRT (Mass Rapid Transportation) in Taipei.

So is life in the west then, still the best? Maybe not, but there are of course other more intangible features of London to which Taipei cannot aspire. London will always remain the more cosmopolitan metropolis with a world class cultural scene, for one.

Bread and circus

2010-03-15T14:53:00.006+01:00

Christina Kirchner's government has been beset by scandals, as is par for the course in Argentina. To drum up support, in 2009 the government made the populist move of announcing free football for everybody. Widely advertised as fútbol para todos, the formerly pay-per-view matches of the Argentinian league could now be seen by everyone. Argentinians being extremely passionate about their football, this would seem to be a brilliant strategy.

However, that thing about free lunches quickly reared its head. When signing off a big fat check to the AFA (Argentinian Football Association) for the broadcast rights on public TV, the wildly optimistic government announced it would not cost the treasury a single peso. In fact, it would reap profits, to be given to amateur sports, through ads and sales to international markets.

This business model turned out less than satisfying. Almost no ad time was bought by the private sector (representing a meagre 0,24% of income needed to balance the books), so the slot had to be filled by government ads like the striking, nation-building "Do we have what it takes to be a Great Country? The answer is, YES!". Even with government money paying for screen time, more than half the bill for "free football" was unaccounted for.

End result was that last week the government had to reroute 144 million pesos earmarked for the provinces, sustainable development and coordination of environmental policies. Fútbol pagan todos (football paid by everybody).

Industrial eating at The Wapping Project

2009-12-26T18:25:00.008+01:00

I am a sucker for inventive renewal of old industrial properties, turning defunct factories into libraries, museums, shopping centres or restaurants as in the case of the London-based Wapping Project. Located close to the canals of St. Catherine's Docks, the project is an amazing mix of restaurant, bar and art gallery.

You eat under a high, bricked ceiling surrounded by the machinery of the hydraulic power station. A magnificent space and best of all, the food is of a very high standard, easily makes my top five in London. A bit out of the way, but the Project as well as the interesting walk through the docks make it a strongly recommended outing.

Civic conscience

2009-11-06T12:07:00.002+01:00

Few things put a downer on your day more than stepping on dog shit. The frequency of this hazard varies wildly from country to country, but it should come as no surprise that it is almost non-existent in Japan.

Witness this woman walking a dog in the northern town of Otaru. While in some countries you might come across the conscientious owner carrying a scoop and a doggy bag, this woman additionally brought a big bottle of water for splashing posts, corners and other spots the furry friend chose to urinate all over!

Most impressive, a challenged city like Buenos Aires, mired in dog poo, could do well with an export of 10,000 ladies like this one.

Moon

2009-09-11T00:27:00.004+02:00

Just when you thought it was all lost to infantile effects-centered trash like Transformers, this year's unexpected sci-fi pleasure is British sci-fi Moon. Remniscent of 2001, Bladerunner and Alien (yes, there has not been much in the vein of intelligent sci-fi for that long a time), Moon is a film stuffed full with ideas and questions, as well as a masterful use of a relatively small budget.

Moon follows a lone lunar worker, extracting energy to keep Earth going, only accompanied by a cheerful computer. His three-year posting is coming to an end, when things start to happen. This definitely is one of those films where knowing as little as possible of the plot greatly enhances the experience, so I will leave it at that. A must see.

"Tonight Whites only pay a fiver"

2009-08-14T15:37:00.001+02:00

It was a Friday night in the posher parts of London nightlife. Walking past a club, the very friendly tout approached our diverse group of near dozen people, promising a discount to the Caucasians, seemingly oblivious to the fact some of us were Asians.

"You pay only five, cause on a Friday we like 40/30/30, and now it is more like 20/40/40". When asked the meaning of these numbers, he eagerly explained it meant the percentage distribution of Whites, Blacks and Asians! Needless to say, a rather surprising concept in multicultural London.

The tout? He was Pakistani.

The poker kids of Buenos Aires

2009-04-29T19:27:00.003+02:00

They come primarily from the US, but some also from a smattering of European countries. Almost exclusively aged between 20 and 25. Their mission? Making it as professional poker players.

The last couple of years have seen the virtual establishment of a colony of expat poker players in Buenos Aires. Between 50 and 100 live in the city, less when the brief, mild Argentinian winter sets in.

What drives them to Argentina? Motivation is served by reports in an internet poker forum of reasonable living costs, great steaks, never-ending nightlife and hot women. As well as an established community of fellow players, making for a less scary transition to the unknown, since for many of the Americans this is the first step on foreign soil.

The actual setup varies between the ones who play for smaller and bigger stakes. While some go for relatively mundane housing, others rent luxury apartments far beyond what is possible in Europe or the US. Rooftop jacuzzis, maids - even hiring personal assistants and chefs to facilitate spending as much time as possible playing online poker.

The fact that Argentina boasts a pleasant climate and is close to both the European and American time zones makes Buenos Aires a convenient place to live for the poker pros. Some plan to save up money for starting different careers in the future when the poker boom may wane, others just stay afloat to enjoy the lavish lifestyle possible in this great city. A way of life most guys in their early 20s can only dream of.

Korean e-sport bizarro

2009-04-01T00:34:00.002+02:00

Expanding on the previous post on South Korean TV's live transmission of so-called "e-sport", this is the studio found on top of a shopping mall in central Seoul. The show featured two contestants along with promogirls and three quite enthusiastic presenters.

The live audience largely consisted of teenage girls and nerds like this. Like most others in the audience he had made a sign cheering on his favourite player, ready to lift it up to when the cameras required. Sadly for him, the cameras preferred to focus on the girls' elaborate anime-style drawings of their favourite cute player.

Worse, when two professional players appeared to take a seat in the audience, they pointedly ignored his attempts at communication, understandably rather opting for flirting with the female presence. Nice social microcosm right there.

No introduction of players complete without screams.

Game over!

Global TV: Starcraft, mail-order brides and food porn

2009-03-17T15:03:00.002+01:00

While I have not been watching a lot of TV on this round-the-world trip (apart from Argentinian football of course), what I have seen does grant some insight into different cultures. And as always, it is the weird shit that tickles the interest the most.

In South Korea for instance, there are multiple channels broadcasting live matches of the 10-year old computer game Starcraft, still massively popular on the peninsula. The best players are treated as minor celebrities, as I saw when happening upon the TV studio on the top floor of a huge shopping mall. The production was very dramatic and came across as an enthusiastically nerdy sporting event.

The weirdest thing to be seen in Taiwan's late night TV are long shows of Vietnamese brides, who get a five-minute segment each to dance around semi-provocatively in flimsy clothing, while the essential figures about them are displayed, including the number to call if you feel like marrying one. Taiwanese men will spend close to 10k USD for a marriage to be set up, and the business is popular enough that the ethnic demographics of Taiwan are changing. Crass commercialisation of human relations or just efficient marketing?

Cooking shows are also widely popular in Taiwan, but not to the insane degree of Japan. Food porn is always on, and while given the extremely high standard of Japanese cuisine a certain focus in understandable, but not to the obsessive degree of these shows. Frequent, loving pornographic closeups of bubbling dishes are accompanied by tacky music and idiotic commentary. This is all a build-up to the money shot of a celebrity or just an average Joe finally tasting the dish, unfailingly exclaiming "Oishii!" (delicious) with an orgasmic grin, non-pixellated. Apparently this is what Japanese viewers want, certainly there is a telling lack of a debating public sphere in the media. Harmony and harmless food is the order of the day in Japan Inc.

Over in Argentina the national obsession of Maradona-land is of course football. It is everywhere in daily life and of course all over the media. In addition to fluff like interviews on the daily lives of players and their families, there is an in-depth show called "Ping-Pong", which shows every goal chance of the match, adding them up and coming up with a ping-pong score of missed chances, thereby providing an analysis of who really should have won. The ball is, as we know, round. I eagerly await the hypothetical Hooligan: The day-to-day life of an Argentinian mobster.

Love in Lima

2009-01-17T00:36:00.005+01:00

Call me a romantic sap, but I found this Peruvian declaration of love rather sweet. Located in the district of Miraflores in Lima it has at least lasted three days at the time of writing, forever might yet prove wildly optimistic. Perhaps a modern-day inspiration from the Nazca lines a bit to the southeast?

Slippery when wet: Taiwanese dating tricks

2008-10-20T16:39:00.003+02:00

Getting a scooter is something of a life-changing event for Taiwanese guys. Suddenly they are able to engage in the dating game, and what is more, be assured of actual physical contact with a female, as she bravely holds on. Taiwanese culture dictates a more careful, roundabout approach, far from the rather overt tactics used in Europe, so the scooter ride is a much-needed excuse for closeness.

For some Taiwanese however, this just ain't close enough. Incredibly, a common trick is to oil up the back seat, forcing the girl to slide into the guy whenever he applies the break. And he will, often. When speeding up she has to tightly grip the rider or risk disaster. Which is what happened to one poor guy, asking for a ride with his mate. The seat was prepped for a female and all slippery, however the passenger was less enthusiastic about gripping his buddy. Big mistake, as the first turn saw him flung from the seat, breaking an arm!

Taxi stories

2008-09-28T14:30:00.003+02:00

Taxis are naturally a necessity for any traveler, most of the time a fairly routine affair, but what sticks in the mind are the offbeat characters. To wit:

The black Panamanian in Medellin, Colombia. Definitely on something, this guy was the definition of a midnight party taxi. Speeding at 120+ km/h is one thing, but braking in time with the earsplitting techno beats from the solid sound system is quite another!

The Madonna-loving and English-speaking (1 in 100 for Taiwanese taxi drivers) guy in a tiny town in Southern Taiwan. Entered the taxi to "Like a virgin" and proceeding through "Material Girl" and the greatest hits, he kept humming and chatting away in meagre English. Possibly not entirely straight.

Classic porteño driver, who spruced up the ride with a monologue on the merits of salsa vs tango for female sexuality. More specifically, on which dance practise makes for the tightest ass (it is a Buenos Aires thing)! Sadly I have forgotten his eventual conclusion.　

Death by overworking

2008-08-26T11:52:00.003+02:00

Probably not for this gentleman, dozing off the effects of soju on a sleepy summer sunday in Seoul. However, a friend of a friend working in Korean company Samsung revealed that last year 16 people died on the job, found slumped on their desks. A number the company has been keen to keep internal to not make waves in the media. Considering Samsung is just one, if a huge one, company among thousands in Korea, 16 is a crazily big number.

The Japanese of course have a word for this manner of passing on, karoshi, and at least some kind of official recognition of the problem, for instance lawsuits have succeeded against some companies. The extremely hardworking Koreans though, seem to have a ways to go still. Putting in an average of 2357 hours a year according to Forbes makes them top of the OECD countries and comes out at almost double that of those lazy Norwegians, Germans and Dutch. Work to live, people.

It has come to this

2008-08-23T08:18:00.004+02:00

With the People's Republic putting on the totalitarian excercise in massive propaganda also known as the Olympics, what is the response from unassuming Taiwan? Prepare to be overwhelmed by the 2009 Deaflympics!

Mind the gap

2008-06-12T03:19:00.003+02:00

Educational toy of the day is the gapminder. Worth spending some time with the animated national deveolpement from 1950 to 2005 in the two axes of life expectancy and income per person.

For instance, while countries like Japan and Norway sport steady, linear development, Argentina has a zig-zag pattern in tune with the extreme boom and (more likely) bust nature of that economy.

My destination of today, the Baltics, display a circular movement as they struggled to cope with the transition to capitalist economies in the 90s.

And interestingly the awakening bear, Russia, is probably one of very few countries north of the equator with a negative development in life expectancy! Easy on the vodka consumption, Mr Putin.

Are you man enough...

2008-05-02T17:35:00.003+02:00

to travel with a huge, pink Hello Kitty suitcase? This Brazilian guy in Salvador sure was.

Furthermore, props to the Salvador airport for having the fastest luggage delivery I have ever seen, when disembarking it was already being loaded unto the conveyor belt. Plenty of smaller airports think 15 minutes is an acceptable wait.

Cash is king

2008-03-31T02:55:00.003+02:00

Bring cash. Argentinian confidence in banks rival their lack of faith in the military, police and politicians. All for quite understandable historical reasons of course, having banks literally steal your account does not make for credibility.

Renting apartments for example, is done with cash. Stranger still is the fact that cash is also used for buying apartments. While the process of buying a house can be nerve-wracking enough in Europe or the US (especially these days), imagine the added stress of carrying around a briefcase of 100k+ USD on the streets of Buenos Aires. The atmosphere is pretty tense with buyer and seller sitting around a table counting a wad of notes before the final signatures can be made.

Buildings are popping up all over there place, especially in the trendy bubble of Palermo as in the picture. Prices have been rising phenomenally, but there is a limit to how much influence foreign capital can have. At the moment the costs of apartments are very much out of whack with the general Argentinian economy. So even though prices are still stupidly cheap from a European viewpoint, it is buyer beware, given the extremely cyclical nature of the Argentinian economy. The next crash could see prices dropping 20-40% and with the current centre-periphery conflict the situation is dicey. Rent, with cash.

Love means having to say you're sorry

2008-03-11T21:35:00.003+01:00

It is peace in our time, though no love lost, as Uribe wisely dropped the machismo all too common in South-American politics and issued a formal apology for violating the borders of Ecuador. Also dropped were plans of dragging Chavez in front on an international court over his support to the FARC guerillas. The lowering of tensions welcome for Venezuela, who get a major part of their food supplies from Colombia, empty supermarket shelves not uncommon even when normal relations.

The tense meeting of the Organisation of American States in the Dominican Republic ended with the stone-faced trio of Uribe, Correa and Chavez shaking hands, but not until plenty of remarks were exchanged. Highlights include Ecuador's Correa dryly remarking to much laughter that the Dominican hosts better be sure that there were no terrorists on the island, or Uribe would come and bomb them. Uribe was not amused. Later on Argentina's Christina Kirchner scored a gender goal in honour of the International Women's Day, when observing that while women were often accused of hysterics, looking at the reactions of the three implicated heads of state caused one to wonder about male hysteria.

Finally, while tensions are momentarily down, these issues at hand are by no means resolved and are certain to emerge again in the near future. Ecuador is asking for UN troops on the Colombian border, while Colombian plans to publish incriminating evidence from the FARC laptops captured in the raid are sure to again aggravate the neighbours. Interesting times ahead.

Colombia: Friendly relations?

2008-03-04T17:54:00.005+01:00

The situation is currently heating up in Colombia. Violating another country's territorial sovereignty is simply not the done thing. And that was what went down a couple of days ago. Colombian planes, while not themselves crossing into Ecuadorian airspace, their payload certainly did, and duly obliterated a patch of Ecuadorian soil. The target was FARC number two man Raul Reyes, who was killed along with a dozen guerrillas. Colombian forces then crossed the border to retrieve his body. The whole operation acted upon CIA-provided information, and was hailed as a successful blow against FARC by the Uribe government.

Naturally Ecuador did not enjoy this brief incursion, issued a strong complaint, closed the embassy and mobilised forces along the border, as did Chavez. Venezuela of course has a long history of unfriendly relations with their neighbours, and the Colombians presenting evidence of Chavez funding FARC is not improving matters. Worse, according to Bogota FARC has plans of building a dirty bomb, although the use of such a barbaric weapon seems extremely counterproductive to gaining popularity in a civil war.

At the moment then, tension is high. All the other South-American countries are appealing for peace and to avoid a confrontation. An armed conflict is simply bad for everyone, particularly so for Venezuela, whose military though much touted by the US as a major threat, is really something of paper tiger despite Chavez’ money-spending policies of guns over butter. In addition to the purges when Chavez took power they have no combat experience, in contrast to the Colombians who have been fighting a low-intensity civil war for decades. And of course, Colombia can rely on assistance from their big brother gringo allies, who would see a war as a wonderful opportunity to finally topple Chavez.

But a war would also be a tragedy for Colombia, its economy been steadily improving the last decade, crime has been massively reduced and generally people are positive about the future. An example is Medellin, where the local government has a commendable progressive policy of building libraries in the poorer areas, as pictured above. Furthermore, in spite of the horrible image the country has abroad, it is not any more a dangerous place to visit than say London or Barcelona. Unless of course, one has a particular predilection for long jungle treks. The country is something of a rare beast; a stable country in a civil war. A real war could destroy much of the gains from the last decade of reconstruction.

Colombian fireworks

2008-01-23T17:04:00.001+01:00

The hour is three at night in verdant Medellin, when suddenly someone in the neighbourhood sets off a sizable fireworks display. A celebration? Yes, they just received a call confirming the latest shipment arrived safely in the US! This is a crazy place.

Dancing painter kid

2007-12-31T14:30:00.000+01:00

Ginza shopping mall; this amazing multitasking dancer/painter/dj kid drew some crowds. Here painting a portrait of lady in the audience before progressing to landscaping. Yes, I am too lazy to search for a "rotate video" program so just tilt your heads!

More moments of cuteness

2007-12-30T17:27:00.000+01:00

Road works is no exception from the cute overload, in this example also pretty practical in the many narrow streets.

And how about this Hello Kitty laptop?

These aren't the terrorists you are looking for

2007-12-18T05:44:00.000+01:00

The black-vanned nationalists at it again slap bang in the middle of Shibuya, as always garnering less attention than the most mediocre of J-pop singers.

Since November Japan has adopted US-style immigration procedures including fingerprinting and photographing. Takes a bit of time and also includes a short interview as to the purposes of the visit. The fact that I flew into Nagoya but my hotel and destination was Tokyo caused some problems, having to explain that the reason was a air miles bonus ticket which only applied for Nagoya.

Of course, all officials were ever-so polite, but I cannot help think that the procedure cannot increase the tourism to Japan and most of all felt quite ridiculous. Particularly considering that the only terrorist act perfomed in ultra-safe Japan was done not by foreigners, but by Japanese citizens!

Forgotten movie magic

2007-10-16T02:53:00.000+02:00

As the film festival is hitting town, I came across the relatively unknown Abel Ferrara effort The Funeral which turned out to be quite the gem. And with stellar performances from an amazing cast of Christopher Walken, Benicio del Toro, Vincent Gallo, Isabella Rossellini and not least, the late Chris Penn in loose cannon modus, how can you go wrong? A decidely unglamorous mobster drama, this is truly a movie for Men. Goodfellas too light-hearted for you? Watch this one.

Bergen Victor!

2007-10-14T17:42:00.000+02:00

The unexpected wins are always the sweetest. This time the occasion was the return leg of the UEFA cup, Brann Bergen facing Club Brugge as clear outsiders. After wandering the medieval streets and canals of quaint, if touristy Brugge (not unlike Bergen in fact), the stage was set for some serious football.

Plainsclothes coppers insisted on us taking one specific bus to arrive on the designated part of the stadium. After hearing about the wrong-part-of-stadium Turks who got beaten within an inch of their lives a couple of years ago we were inclined to agree. Having encountered elements of "Flanders' finest" before I'd hazard there was some racist element to that event as well. In fact that's one anecdote that demands a write-up.

With Brann playing the best match I have ever seen, the 2-0 at half time atmosphere was one of intense euphoria among the less than 100 away supporters. Red card, a fully deserved 2-1 win and progression to the group stage crowned the night as police motorcycles prepared the escort into town. A tasty bit of frisson for the ultimately boringly safe life of this Scandinavian.

Note to self: Belgian beer sporting an average alcohol percentage of ca 7% can force less glamorous consequences.

Lost in translation?

2007-09-21T19:40:00.000+02:00

Several people have asked me, Tokyo/Japan, is it like in the movie? The answer is yes and no.

First off, as a film LoT is definitely solid work, nice visuals and the charms of Miss Johansson do not hurt either. Recently watched it for the second time, this time after having visited Japan. Which naturally made for a quite different reading.

As a representation of Japan? Not good. But, as a representation of Japan seen from the viewpoint of a fresh-off-the-boat Westerner, it is quite accurate. The crazy J-TV channel switching, the karaoke-scences and the club Air are all right on the money. Bewildering alienation and the situation of being adrift in a very strange country, it is all there.

In my opinion however, you can be allowed this feeling for max 2-3 days, and then you will start understand how things work (using the subway, taxis with automatic doors, the no-tip system etc). Japan is different yes, but not *that* different. Being totally lost after more than one week means only having your own close-minded ineptitude to blame. Harsh but true!

Also, the film overly exoticises Japanese society but understandably so. I am certainly guilty of the same. After all, not very interesting telling people stuff like "you know traffic lights back home? In Japan they are exactly the same". So it follows that one focuses on the odd bits. And indeed there are plenty to go around, particularly on the margins of day-to-day life.

Kamikaze cookies

2007-07-28T12:32:00.000+02:00

The gift culture is huge in Japan, sometimes with absurd results like these boxes of cookies commemorating the kamikaze museum at Chiran. When the salaryman takes his vaction or even a business trip, it is expected to bring gifts for his colleagues and most importantly, the boss. So every small place of touristic interest will have a gift shop attached. Or like this one, at the Kagoshima train station for the discerning business traveller who didn't have time to actually see the sights themselves.

I fought the law

2007-07-24T21:00:00.000+02:00

Wanted posters are fairly common in Japan, even this one found in the ferry terminal on the remote island of Yakushima. There is no escaping the law, though coming to a small island where everyone knows eachother would be fairly stupid in any case. I like the iconic style of the photos on the top poster, almost Warholian. Doesn't hurt that the female criminal is hot in a sort of a dangerous way either.

And this is the typical Tokyo lawman. No, in reality more of an imperial guardsman in parade uniform on the one day of the year that the emperor addresses the people.

PR Robot

2007-07-13T21:27:00.000+02:00

One of the most prevalent cliches about Japan is the robotmania. In fact robots are fairly rare, though there are some fanatics out there. This roboty contraption patrolled around outside a Shibuya shopping mall, sirens blaring and shouting something in Japanese.

In touch with the elements

2007-07-05T16:06:00.000+02:00

Onsen, the refreshing Japanese hot spring baths. This is from the remote overgrown island of Yakushima, one third of the way to Okinawa. The island is mostly known for the gnarled 5000+ years old trees, but these onsen right close to sea are just fantastic. Note the divider between male and female sections.

This one is special in that it can only be used at low tide, at this moment it was about the be flooded by the sea, naturally salinising and dropping temperature drastically. There was no one around, lucky for me since my knowledge of the all-important onsen etiquette is somewhat lacking. Like the struggling English-speaker at the hotel said: "Please to relax yourself sir!"

Scandinavian invasion

2007-07-04T10:37:00.001+02:00

Plenty of Scandinavian influence in Tokyo. Sweden brings culture and design to the party.

While Norway, as befits an economy based on natural resources, brings fish, as seen on this truck in the world's largest fish market at Tsukiji.

Big city, small world

2007-07-03T10:42:00.000+02:00

Last December I went to see the very British garage punk outfit The Horrors, which were extremely fascinating live, though maybe too much playing at poseurs for some, but hey!

Funnily enough, at a bar last weekend a guy comes up asking if he "didn't see me at the Horrors concert". After a few seconds I remembered him as the same person who in December asked if I was a in a band... all of which goes to show two things; it is easy to affect a rock star image in Japan, and that you run into people again in this vast metropolis!

Accident at the crossing

2007-07-02T14:02:00.000+02:00

Today I witnessed an unsual sight at the audio-visual excess that is Shibuya Crossing. Some manner of accident had caused a VW van (must have been one of very few units in the country) to start burning, police cars lined up to block the crossing with fire trucks on hand as the firemen worked to put out the fire.

But more interesting were the hundreds of people milling around, in an orderly fasion of course. Absolutely everbody were taking photos/movies of the happening, never have I seen so many mobile phones and cameras held aloft. I would have taken a picture of the people taking pictures, but sadly I was all out of battery juice... sucks.

Vulcanos rule

2007-06-28T15:40:00.001+02:00

Sakurajima seen from the southern city of Kagoshima. Norway may be full of stunning mountains but suffer from an acute lack of vulcanos, whereas Japan due to tectonic placement is "lucky" enough to possess a number of the lovely lava buddies.

Sakurajima is one of the active ones, as seen up close with smoke billowing forth. Used to be an island but a violent eruption connected it to the mainland. Covered in volcanic rock and strangely enough, the place where you can find the world's smallest mandarins and the biggest radishes, reaching a diameter of 60+ cm!

Tiniest beer in the world

2007-06-24T14:24:00.000+02:00

Must be. It is common knowledge that many things are miniatuarised in Japan, but 135 ml beer cans? One sip and finished. Then again, the market has spoken so there must be some demand.

Return of the kamikazes

2007-06-22T11:13:00.000+02:00

Maybe the one Japanese word most foreigners would know, divine wind and all. Down in Chiran in Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese main isles, they even have a "Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots". A somber memorial affair, with portraits and stories of the 1036 pilots who took off on one-way missions bound for the Allied fleets at Okinawa. Especially poignant were the many farewell letters, ranging from "I'm going to die in the Okinawan Sea. Even after my death I protect my country, Japan" to "How many people will cry for me when I die?"

The kamikazes return from time to time in Japanese debate on how to represent the war and those who fought it. This May saw the release of another kamikaze film, "I go to die for you", which received some criticism for glorifying war and the pilots. Maybe due to the fact that known nationalist and Tokyo governor, Ishihara Shintaro, was instrumental in producing the film. Trailer here, but like most movies in Japanese cinemas no English subtitles are available, so obviously it will be somewhat difficult to grasp any political subtext!

Sacred gateways

2007-06-18T03:29:00.000+02:00

I never was unduly fascinated by zen gardens, kimonos, tea ceremonies and the other vestiges of "mystical Japan", but I must admit one weakness, the torii.

Something about the form of these Shinto gateways, who mark the passage from the profane to the sacred in the same way as portals in other religions, is just damn aesthetically pleasing. Pure beauty. You can walk the streets of Tokyo past shops and offices and bam, suddenly a small Shinto shrine appears. Gets me every time.

This torii is supposedly the most photographed in Japan, standing in the shallows of a small island off the coast of Hiroshima. When the tide is low it is actually possible to walk up to it.

The island is also populated by wild deer, enabling this bonus shot for Bambi lovers:

Don't cry for me Fukuoka

2007-06-17T13:38:00.000+02:00

Hilarious this wannabe-Argentinianism of the supporters of Avispa Fukuoka, a football team languishing in the division of J2. Not only the homage to Maradona and Evita, but also the extensive use of Spanish slogans! The season ticket holders pass even boldly stated yo soy el verdadero 12, ie "I am the real number 12", the most dedicated supporter faction, the twelfth member of the team.

Quite interesting that in a country very much influenced by English, they in this case chose to turn to Spanish. Must be some interesting cultural influences at work here, maybe the effect of latin immigrants, though I did not spot a single one. Or maybe somebody realised that the most fanatic supporters in the world are Argentinian, let's just copy their set-up.

Researching using the almighty internet provides some answers, turns out that Avispa Fukuoka has had a string of Argentinian managers, and also some players, including one Hugo Maradona, indeed brother of el Diego!

Also, only in Japanese football can you see players politely bowing to the referee and asking for forgiveness when yellow-carded, even the many Brazilian players!

Women only

2007-06-10T15:07:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I came across one of the the famed "women only" metro cars. Love the sugary design choice. Says a lot about Japanese culture that there even is a need for metro cars reserved for women, but I guess it is one way of trying to deal with the problem of gropers at rush hour.

Ice ice baby

2007-03-20T22:36:00.000+01:00

It is not all about the juicy meat. Thanks to the influx of Italian immigrants early last century Buenos Aires boasts the world's second best ice cream. The motherland naturally keeps the top spot in internacional competitions.

On a typical hot, humid day nothing beats strolling into one of the many upscale artisanal vendors and choosing from 70+ different flavours. After years of testing I pronounce Persicco and Volta as the premium places to visit, though quality can vary a bit between different outlets.

So what is so fantastic about Argentinian ice cream compared to the industrialised versions? Taste and texture. All natural ingredients are used and the result is divine. Go for a cuarto, 1/4 kilos of lovlieness, most commonly divided between three flavours. Try the different chocholate flavours that tastes better than real chocholate, but my advice is to steer well clear of the sambayón, which is ice cream with wine flavour! My Malbec works just fine in a glass, thank you.

Football is violence

2007-03-05T00:27:00.000+01:00

"A rock just passed centimetres from my head" my Argentinian mate told me in a strangely calm voice. I was getting a bit too close to the infamous football violence of the Argentinian league.

The match was Racing-Newell's Old Boys, normally not one of the most heated battles to be seen in Buenos Aires, the away team hailing from the in-land city of Rosario. Newell's with zero points should be a passable opponent for big club Racing, who this season had invested the most in new players of all the clubs. Results had eluded them once again though, only two paltry points gained from the first four rounds. A familiar story of failing to live up to big expectations for the Racing hinchas, much like last year.

Pleasantly located on VIP-seats on the pitch itself, my friend who is a die-hard supporter of Newell's unwisely failed to contain himself when outsiders Newell's quickly scored the first goal. Racing were playing crap, again. Then the ref wrongly disallowed the 0-2 when the ball had crossed the line, and my friend crying out that it was a goal quickly became enganged in a heated discussion with the neighbours. Then more than extremely harsh language started flying from the Racing plebs in the stands behind, who had enjoyed a prime view of the Newell's clown cheering in the VIP section. An immense sensation of HATE.

Security soon appeared to intervene and move us to a different part of the section, and at this point a rock almost hit my friend. Guards wearing t-shirts stating No más violencia - un mensaje de dios failed to grant much comfort. Luckily no more incidents at halftime as we sought refuge at the fastfood stands. Racing played the 2nd half against 10 opponents after an early red card, but created extremely little. Wonderful to see the 50-year old woman in the neighbourging seat screaming concha tu madre, at their own players! True passion, which evidently the players lacked as Newell's gained a deserved win.

After the match it was time to get the hell out of Dodge and make a run for the safe haven of the taxis. First time I have actually felt unsecure in an Argentinian stadium, but then again it was as a result of being associated with unwise, if passionate, cheering for an away team!

Rockabilly revisited

2007-02-20T01:08:00.000+01:00

Currently enjoying summertime in Buenos Aires and finally got time to sort through my pile of Tokyo photos. Need less to say January saw me going back to check out the rockabillys in winter action, and sure enough, one windy Sunday they were at it again. Classic pose.

This time they brought girls, enabling them to try out some 50s chat-up lines.

I always imagined the guy with the long hair sitting on the right as being the head honcho of the group. Probably with some nefarious connections in the Tokyo underworld. At least he always seems to be organising stuff and never, EVER, dances.

Video grab with my fresh camera off Akihabara. This guy dances!

Tokyo fashion

2007-01-27T16:28:00.000+01:00

There are plenty of highly eccentric clothing to be found in Japan. To perhaps the largest degree in the world, form is separated from content. Thus, you can get away with wearing articles which could potentially get you into serious trouble in an European setting.

Witness this gentleman in a Harajuku shopping street:

On a wholly different level, wearing something like this could get you into a wholly different kind of trouble!

Gizmos and gadgets

2007-01-07T09:38:00.000+01:00

Lots of small useful stuff around that at least I haven't seen elsewhere, if anyone knows of existing instances in Europe, let me know! Like this little charger for mobile phones. Very cheap and available at all 24-hour convenience stores, prevents awkward "didnt-have-power-in-mobile"-situations, like in Osaka when I forgot the regular mains-charger in Tokyo.

This is a DIY-machine for printing digital photos. Accepts input through compact flash, SD-ram, memory sticks and several other formats. Touch screen for easy selection of photos, numbers and size. Prints within a minute. Handy when you can't/won't be bothered going to a regular shop.

Kawaii Police

2007-01-05T12:57:00.000+01:00

A glaring example of the culture of cute (kawaii) that predominates in Japan. Affecting even the symbol of the police force organising the crowds for the 2nd of January appearance of the Emperor at the Imperial Palace.

Cute is good, anything cute is positive. From the enormous Hello Kitty-phenomenon (even with gothic lolita edition as seen below), drawings in instruction manuals, women affecting child-like tonality of speech to road signs - cute rules. And of course the culture of cute has huge commercial power in the crowd mentality of Japan Inc. Cute sells. A lot.

I am stil not sure whether to regard this as good or bad, but very Japan it is!

Japanese Christmas

2006-12-21T09:09:00.000+01:00

In contrast to the Western family-oriented event, in Japan Christmas is very much a couples' affair. As often happens, Japan has adapted a pick-and-choose approach to Western traditions, taking some aspects from the West and giving it an uniquely Japanese twist. The romantic event for couples usually is a fancy dinner and a solid night in a love hotel. In which context season-themed garments as pictured are not uncommon!

Options for single, increasingly desperate Japanese are basically to get tremendously drunk and/or go on a shopping spree. A common alternative possibility for both males and females is escaping societal expectations by holidaying in Thailand.

On a related note, today's papers feature the news that the birth rate prospects has hit an all-time low, causing grave problems for future pension schemes. The Japanese fail to marry and produce offspring, whither Japan Inc without citizens?

Iwo Jima

2006-12-16T15:48:00.000+01:00

The esteemed Clint Eastwood has delivered again with an interesting cinematic experiment. Had the opportunity to watch both of his Iwo Jima films recently. Flags of our Fathers follows the US perspective on the WWII battle for the tiny island, while Letters from Iwo Jima gives us the Japanese one. No big secret that the latter contains the most tragedy of the two, featuring a devastating death toll. Interestingly enough it also has a more melancholic, arthouse feel to it. Both contain realistic battle scenes and are recommended!

Was somewhat strange watching Fathers as the only foreigner in a cinema filled with Japanese, felt like crying out "hey, I am not American!"

The two faces of Japan

2006-12-12T10:41:00.000+01:00

A priceless moment of contrasts in Harajuku. Two of the typical gothic lolitas sitting on the bridge on a sunny Sunday, when behind them up pulls one the the infamous black vans. Note flags and extensive loudspeaker mountings.

The black vans are used by the fringe nationalists of Japan to drive around and spread propaganda. In addition to annoyingly loud militaristic music, rants are mainly directed against the corrupting foreign elements in Japan, and pleas to restore the power of the Emperor and regain lost territorial possessions from Russia and Korea.

Now these guys are largely ignored by the public, which is exactly what happened this Sunday as well. People around took no notice at all and went about their business as the nationalists set up their system, had a long speech and went on their ways. In fact, the delicious irony of the only attention being a foreigner taking a picture seemed lost on the poor bastards!

Authenticism

2006-12-08T07:49:00.000+01:00

Tried the authentic Japanese experience. No, not the tea-ceremonies, kimonos or shinto shrines. Rather, sleeping on a Japanese-style futon, which is basicallly a thin mattress on the floor. It may work if you weigh 40 kilos, but it certainly is not my cuppa, reminding me far too much of uncomfortable camping trips.

Then, commuting on the early morning 1-hour train from suburbia to Tokyo. For each stop getting increasingly filled up with suited salarymen reading porn manga, office ladies plonking away at their mobiles, young punks listening to music and shortskirted girls applying make-up.

Being lucky enough to salvage a seat after 20 minutes I could even enter the classic Japanese state of semi-conscious subway sleep, slowly rocked by the beat of the tracks.

My bout of authenticism happily ends when reaching the city, instead of heading to the office for 10+ hours of wageslavery, off to my hotel-apto to check mail and catch some sleep in a real bed!

Tokyo trainspotters

2006-12-08T07:26:00.000+01:00

In ongoing observations of weird things in Japan, the other day I came across this guy and two of his nearby compatriots just off Shibuya station, sitting on a pedestrian gangway overlooking an extremely busy highway crossing. Hand rests on an intricate counting mechanism, which he pressed more or less each 20th second.

Now had my Japanese been up to scratch I would have asked what the hell he was doing, but since it is limited to hai, domo and gomen nasai, I can only guess. Obviously they are counting something, maybe each passing car of a certain mark/colour? My Japanese sources are similarly clueless, but no surprise that nerd-heaven Japan can rival even UK when it comes to trainspotters, nice anorak included.

The Gaijin Nod

2006-11-29T13:04:00.000+01:00

The slight nod of acknowledgement that "yes, I see you are also a foreigner" when meeting other foreigners in Japan. In fact, it happened more in China this summer. I find it quite funny as it happens to people you in other situations would have nothing in common with. Like in a bar in Nanjing, two suits in their 40s, leaving the venue and giving us the nod. Or in a club in Xi'an, a group of Turks having a nod and a chat. They included a guy of 2,10 meters and almost equally broad, so it felt prudent to be on the good side of them.

I guess when being in a country this homogenous, with Japan sporting 99% Japanese (and of the remaining 1 % the majority are Koreans and Chinese) making even Norway seem multicultural in comparion, it feels necessary for outsiders to have their own little club of togetherness, no matter how strange it is. So the nod, it's on.

From Oslo with music, to Tokyo with love

2006-11-27T01:17:00.000+01:00

css
Originally uploaded by TrUlster.

CSS in concert, herlig lite jålete. Sjarmerende energisk vokalist som crowd-surfet på sang to av settet. Indie-pluss for mingling med publiken før og etter konsert. We like!

Må forøvrig noe motvillig innrømme at Oslo har sine positive sider, Blå tangerer lett Gara og Hulen som konsertsted. Byen ellers pakket med julebordfeirende, traff heldigvis kun de gladfulle utgavene.

CSS spiller også i Tokyo i januar, så kanskje de skal sees en gang til? Iallefall blir det langtur med KLM i morgen til feita leilighet midt i Shibuya!

London has-been spotting

2006-11-21T17:24:00.000+01:00

Emerging well-stacked up with Argentinian lomo from a Piccadilly resturant, who do we spot jauntily strutting out from a neighbouring venue, but Oasis-celeb Liam Gallagher, who proceeds to catwalk past us, obligatory skanky blonde in hand and blitzed by some paparazzis. With seven Norwegians laughing at the whole spectacle, the blonde even throws us an apologetic look, as if she is realising the absurdity of the whole event.

More antics when the couple has disappeared, as the paparazzis jokingly show off their less flattering shots to the hardmen doormen, with some roadworkers shaking their heads. Class, celeb and society - London in one minute.

Brasiliansk indie

2006-10-27T18:27:00.000+02:00

En positiv overraskelse i novembermørket: Mitt favorittband for tiden, Cansai de Ser Sexy spiller på Blå 25. november! Blir mitt første besøk i bOs(s)lo på over seks år, men CSS er definitivt verdt turen.

BIFF er unnagjort, for min del var det kun en film som utmerket seg i år, den fantastiske Babel av Iñarritu, mannen bak Amores Perros og 21 gram. Vi snakker total cinema og et must når den snart kommer på ordinær kinodistribusjon.

Sushi Central

2006-10-06T17:07:00.000+02:00

Ikke Tokyo, men Stockholm! Tettheten av rå fisk i Stockholm er større enn selv i den japanske hovedstaden! Nesten hver eneste kvartal sporter en dedikert sushisjappe, og om ikke, så i allefall en mer generisk asiaresturant, som også har sushi på menyen. Velkommen til thai-sushi.

Svenskene er åpenbart ekstremt ville etter sushi, uten at jeg kom over noen plausible forklaringsmodeller vis a vis Norge. Større grad av innvandring kanskje, samt mindre rotfestede egne fisketradisjoner? Uansett ikke det jeg forventet i mitt første møte med Stockholm City.

Culture shock

2006-09-03T03:55:00.000+02:00

Det går begge veier: Japansk dude ikledd Arsenal-skjorte i fancy loungeklubb, for to dager siden returnert til Japan etter ett år i London: "Japanese woman....too skinny!"

This is Japan

2006-09-03T03:39:00.000+02:00

Shinkanzen glir punktlig inn på Tokyo stasjon, stopper på centimeteren korrekt designert sone for hver vogn. Et halvt minutt før så skjer, strømmer en armé små vaskedamer i rosa uniformer opp på platformen, for å ta oppstilling på hver sin side der dørene skal åpnes. Deretter bukker de fint til alle forlatende passasjerer, for så å rydde vognen. Noen minutter senere tar de igjen oppstilling for å hilse alle nye passasjerer velkommen. In your face, NSB.

When to stone your children

2006-08-14T18:24:00.000+02:00

Bøkenes bok sine mange læresetninger presentert som LEGO . Meget lattermildt konsept, som glimrende illustrerer klassikerens mange absurde elementer. Som vanlig finner man mesteparten av moroa i gamletestamentets mange massakrer, men også junior har mange gullkorn.

Pimp wedding

2006-08-11T19:15:00.000+02:00

More is more kan sies å være mottoet i katolisismen. Derfor ble det svært festlig å kjøre en litt opp-pimpet stil i dette spanske bryllupet, iført skreddersydd dress slept med fra Beijing. Storkoselig, nå gjelder det bare å skape anledninger for tilsvarende påkledning også i noe mer konvensjonelle Bergen!

Forskjeller i forhold til et typisk norsk bryllup? Mye bruk av fyrverkeri på høyt volum. Ingen stupfulle folk, selv blant de norske delegatene og selv kl 0600 om morgenen. Ingen taler, noe som antagelig var like greit gitt de språklige utfordringene mellom partene. Ble positivt overrasket over at spanjolene var heller lett forståbare til tross for generelt kjappere munnhuggeri enn i Sør-Amerika.

Evil Empire

2006-08-11T19:02:00.000+02:00

Nei, ikke USA eller Israel. Real Madrid. I det minste virker det som de har tatt innover seg at ingen liker de spesielt. I det meget triumferende museet på Santiago Bernabeu, spekket med trofeer og pompøse betegnelser om "historiens beste klubb", spilles det også musikk. "Imperial March" fra Star Wars går på repeat! Det hele oser "vi eier, og gir faen i om dere hater oss". Og det må man på et vis respektere!

Historien er ond. Dette er en pokal fra triumf i den spanske cupen, som nå heter "Kongens Cup". Men ser en nøyere etter på denne pokalen fra 1970 så het den tidligere "Generalissimoens Cup". Og da snakker man ikke hvilken som helst loslitt sofageneral, men selveste Franco. En signifikant fan av Real Madrid!

Nationalismus

2006-08-03T21:51:00.000+02:00

Det har vært skrevet opp og ned om tyskernes gjenfødde nasjonalisme under VM. Ikke mye å legge til. Men det er interessant at VM fikset det som regjeringens offisielle "det er ok å være tysk"-kampanje ikke maktet i vinter. Flagg på biler, flagg i tryner, et helt land i rødt, svart og oransje. "Deutschlaaaaand, Deutschlaaaand".

Fikk best føling med herligheten her på den såkalte fanmeile ved Brandenburger Tor og bronsefinalen mot Portugal. Flere storskjermer og millioner av tyskere. Øyeblikket da Schweinsteiger puttet (via en portugiser riktignok) på det langdistansefrisparket var sublimt. Ekstatisk. Galskapen og ølet flommet. Folket feiret som om de hadde vunnet finalen. Stemning som karneval i Brasil. Bare med mer fulle folk, undertegnede inkludert. Som til slutt havnet på en kjellerklubb i Kreutzberg. Good times!

SuperGERman

2006-08-03T21:29:00.000+02:00

Vår mann i Tyskland, SuperGERman. En kjernekar som fikset billetter og laget liv i sin selvpålagte rolle som karnevalsk tysk overmenneske. Her i gemyttelig passiar med italienerne, før semifinalen i Dortmund. Kunne ikke gå mange metrene før tilfeldige forbipasserende ba om bilder, eller intervjuer, som her fra thailandsk TV:

SuperGERman ble så begeistret over feedbacken at planene er allerede lagt for å dra frem kostymet under tyskernes kommende EM-kvalifisering. Inkludert en neglebitende bortekamp mot San Marino!

Foran den historiske tungvekteren Olympiastadion i Berlin. Intet TV-crew ved denne anledningen. Forøvrig, Kanada? Har aldri engang vært i nærheten av å kvalifisere seg.

Det er forskjell på folk. Denne karen var tydeligvis ikke velsignet med det største budsjettet, der han alene i sentrum av München måtte rapportere om den utrolige VM-stemningen. Kameramenn, hvem trenger det?

Gigantkicker

2006-08-03T21:19:00.000+02:00

Tyskerne leverer. Ikke bare er de verdens beste i fussball, eller kicker som de kaller det. Nix, rett bak hotellet i Berlin fant jeg verdens største spill. Stor aktivitet med folk fra hele verden. Sport forener!

2006-07-18T13:15:00.000+02:00

Truth of Argentina

Kommer snart med noen forsinkede updates fra fyll og fotball i tre tyske VM-byer (laptopen tok kvelden i Berlin, og nei, ikke grunnet søl av øl!). I mellomtiden, denne varmet hjertet til en deltidsargentiner!

We are all individuals!

2006-07-04T12:32:00.000+02:00

Det lades opp til kamp i Düsseldorf. Italiensk prates på alle kanter, også på det overprisede hotellet. Forza Alemania! Det flagges ekstensivt i aksept av den nye tyske nasjonalismen. Biler og folk dekorert i gult, rødt og svart. Det er lov å være tysk, og like det! Et vannskille i tysk mentalitet, hvem vet hva som skjer om tittelen blir tysk på Olympiastadion.

Nå er det snart dags for tog til Dortmund og rett på ølingen! Tyskeren som har fikset billetter kommer til å stille i sin fantasiske SuperGerMan-outfit, så ikke usannsynlig at kameraene zoomer inn på han. Hold utkikk etter rabiate nordmenn i umiddelbar nærhet!

Fi-na-le oh-oh

2006-07-02T16:43:00.000+02:00

Jeg er en heldig kar. Etter at Zizou & co fortjent feide brassene ut av VM ble en brasiliansk kontakt så deprimert at han kansellerte sin reise til den gamle verden. Dermed har jeg billetter til begge semifinalene OG selveste finalen på Olympiastadion i Berlin! Til orginal FIFA-pris. Slipper således å oppleve dette igjen:

Fra pastorale Zürich, der folket var samlet for å se Sverige-England utspille seg på en storskjerm på motsatt side av Limmat-elven. En i utgangspunktet skjønn løsning. Men, i et bud for å undergrave alle forstillinger om sveitsisk grundighet, mistet de signalet fem minutter før kampstart. Det kom aldri tilbake.

Småtrist at Argentina er sendt hjem, men som kjent ingen skam å tape for tyskere på straffer. Klinsmanns gutter leverer kvalitetstrygget gladfotball og jeg har få problemer med å backe de mot Italia. Wir fahren nach Berlin!

Mer Tokyo rockabilly

2006-06-15T10:15:00.000+02:00

Due to popular demand, flere shots av Tokyos tøffeste. Fikk spesielt sans for fyren under i rød jakke. Et par kilo for mye, tynn i håret, men lot han det stoppe seg? Hell no! Respekt!

Yen

2006-06-13T13:36:00.000+02:00

Mange lurer på om Japan er dyrt. For nordmenn må svaret bli tja. Kommer til å bruke mer på ni dager i Tokyo enn 20 i Kina. Boliger og overnatting er kostbart selv med utgangspunkt i norsk økonomi. Men ellers er det meste hakket billgere enn i Norge, som på denne entusiastisk utformede menyen. Den beste globale indikatoren på kostnadsnivå, burgermeal-indeksen, ligger feks på ca 35-40 spenn. Noen klubber opererer med så mange drinker du orker for 200 kr, en bra deal for enhver skandinav.

Taxier er relativt kostbare (kan det være det fancy GPS-systemet?), spesielt tatt i betraktning mye trafikk. Dermed er kunnskap om metro-systemet er et must. Dog kan man lett blåse store summer på klær. Kom over en tiltalende designerpunkete jakke i en tilsynelatende normal butikk. Fristende helt til jeg trippelsjekket min omregning fra yen til norske kroner. 17000! Det koster å være hipster i Tokyo. Men, aldri har jeg sett en så velkledd befolkning, av begge kjønn. Gjennomført er gjennomgangstemaet, stort sett er det en og annen sloppy gaijin (utlending, i dette tilfellet nesten alltid en amerikaner i shorts og crew-cut) som bryter stilen.

Til sist er det obligatorisk med et bilde av det keiserlige palass. Solguden gjemmer seg et sted her bak en drøss vakter.

TrUlster goes karaoke!

2006-06-13T13:04:00.000+02:00

Måtte teste dette sentrale aspekt ved moderne japansk kultur, og selv en i utgangspunktet skeptisk undertegnende fant det overraskende underholdende, om enn vanskelig! Spesielt morsomt å se totalt inkongruente videoer med amerikansk romantisk schmaltz akkompangere saker som Ramones:”Blitzkrieg Bop” og Sex Pistols:”God Save the Queen”.

Español en Japon? Det siste jeg hadde ventet var å praktisere spansk i Tokyo. Men har hengt en del med en japaner som har vokst opp i Brasil, og som derfor snakker bedre spansk (som kjent ikke ulikt portugisisk) enn engelsk. Best of both worlds indeed!

Belle & Sebastian turnerte landet. Konserter i Japan starter på uvante tidspunkt som 1800, og bandet entret scenen knappe kvarteret senere. Iført japanske fotballvmskjerf i en blatant publikumsflørt. Konserten ellers preget av et heller passivt japansk publikum og et og annet angloamerikansk utrop om sangtitler. Noe som i alle fall skaffet ”This is just modern rock song”.

Don't mention the war

2006-06-13T12:30:00.000+02:00

Ingen tvil om at andre verdenskrig ennå er betent både i Kina og Japan. Besøkte museet i Nanking om den enorme massakren i 1937 da japanerne drepte ca 300000 i en av forrige århundres verste udåder, den såkalte ”Voldtekten av Nanking”. Veldokumentert både i museet og utenfor. Ikke overraskende har mange Nankingere selv i dag svært lite til overs for japanere.

En slående kontrast var Yasukuni-templet i Tokyo, rett ved keiserens palass. Shinto-tempelet hedrer alle som har strøket med for Japan siden 1869 i de mange ekspansjonistiske krigene mot Russland, Kina og Vesten. I en utførlig seremoni blir sjelene til de døde brakt til tempelet. Det inkluderer også ”førsteklasses” krigsforbrytere som Tojo og hans crew. Forståelig at det skaper store vrede i Asia hver gang den japanske statsministeren ærer templet, inneforstått som en mangel på å ta avstand fra den frynsete japanske track record under krigen. De siste årene har sett massive anti-japanske demoer i Kina som følge av dette.

Et steinkast fra tempelet ligger det offisielle militære museet. Veldesignet, men med et interessant historiesyn. Fokuset på utbruddet av The Great East Asian War, som de kaller det, er på USAs krigsvilje og dets embargo av vitale ressurser til Japan. Når det gjelder Nanking-massakren er den ikke nevnt med ett ord. Verre, notisen om okkupasjonen av byen slutter med ”inside the city, residents were once again able to live their lives in peace”! Musumsshoppen tilbyr også bøker om “the alleged Nanking massacre”. Åpenbart har den japanske nasjonen, i motsetning til den tyske (ekstremt marginal sjanse for å finne bøker som ”Holocaust – the overrated myth?” i tyske museer), en lang vei å gå for å vedkjenne seg historiens overgrep.

Japansk eskapisme

2006-06-12T17:26:00.000+02:00

Hver helg i Harajuku-parken samles japanske tenåringer dresset opp som "Lolita Goths" og som anime-figurer, såkalt "cosplay". Den konvensjonelle sosiologiske forklaringsmodellen ligger på en nødvendig form for exit fra et ellers rigid utdannelsessystem med knallharde krav. Sært og japansk, oh yes.

Noen shurikenkast unna får mer modne menn utløp for sine rockabilly-fantasier i koordinerte dance-moves. Utvilsomt det morsomte jeg har sett i Japan, alene verdt flybilletten. Bilder er ikke nok, disse gutta fortjener live video, og muligens funker de nedenfor fra mobilkam. Uansett, dette var et fantastisk skue! En meget gjennomført gjeng, med mer bryl i luggen enn selv Herr Hollekim konsumerer på et helt år.

Bilder uten 1000 ord

2006-06-12T13:30:00.000+02:00

Beijing ping-pong

2006-06-09T11:52:00.000+02:00

Førsteinntrykket av Beijing var at denne byen mener alvor. Vandret ned til Tiannamen Square nærmere midnatt, men hele plassen er avstengt av politet fra kl 2000, med marsjerende soldater her og der. I løpet av ti minutter så jeg mer politi enn i hele resten av Kina! Men, selv coppers må ha pauser en gang i blant, kom over disse to ping-pong talentene på undergrunnen.

Den forbudte by. Gedigent. Noe av det første jeg skal gjøre vel tilbake i Norge er å se Bertoluccis Den Siste Keiser en gang til. Utrolig at de fikk bruke the real thing som sett.

Mer ping-pong. Hørte mistenkelige lyder fra en av de avlåste bygningene inne i den forbudte by. Åpenbart off-duty aktivitet nummer en.

Silkemarkedet, fem kaotiske etasjer med små sjapper som selger absolutt alt. Pruting i alle ledd, med bastante kast av kalkulatorer som indikasjon på "final price". Meget drevne selgere, en stadig utfording å få de ut av sine innlærte rutiner. Hun til høyre kunne til og med fraser av norsk og svensk! Fire timers rundgang med dressfolket endte med kjøp av to skreddersydde pimp suits i rødt og hvitt. Neppe noe for norsk jantelov, men kjekt å ha!

The. Great. Wall. Of China. I våre dagers overstatementsamfunn ville den blitt hetende The Absolutely Gigantic Wall of China. Reisens høydepunkt.

Three Gorges

2006-06-08T13:11:00.000+02:00

Hus under demontering, grunnen er at om fire måneder vil det stå under vann, opp til skiltet med 156m! Meget spesielt å seile opp Yangze der et enormt område skal legges under vann når verdens største damprosjekt, Three Gorges, står ferdig i 2008 med jevnlig økning av vannstanden. Mye fantastisk landskap går susen, sammen med en del økosystem og en rekke arkeologiske utgravninger. Samt at en million må finne nye bosteder. Men på pluss-siden vil dammen forsyne Kina med enorme mengder energi, ikke ueffent gitt landets vesentlige forurensningsproblemer.

Dessverre ikke vår båt. Men lekker, oh yes.

Ingeniørkunst; fem gedigne sluser må til for å få fartøyene opp til dammen, en prosess som tok 3-4 timer.

Disse tre sjarmtrollene nyter en stille ettermiddagsstund i Fu'shes hovedgate.

Et lite stykke Norge? Sært, sært.

"Boten Anna" og drikkeleker

2006-06-08T12:28:00.001+02:00

De mest underholdende møtene med lokal kultur var definitivt i utelivet. Mye sært, mange steder starter kvelden med halv-profesjonell karaoke, for så å gå over til liveband eller DJs. Musikken er tilsvarende varierende, hørte alt fra kinesisk pop til latinohits som "Salta sin parar" og obskurt nok den svenske russeplagen "Boten Anna"! Svært surrealistisk å se en dansegolv av kinesere hopper rundt til den i Xian, en middels stor by midt i landet. Trodde låten kun var en skandinavisk greie. Hva kan man si, heia internett og globalisert kultur!

Kineserne er ikke happy kun med å drikke, det skal gjøres ved hjelp av terninger! Tok sin tid før vi skjønte hva dette spillet går i, men det er en type bløffing om hvor mange poeng man skjuler under koppen. Taperen må bøtte et lite glass med øl. For oss dumme utlendinger ble det av og til operert med en forenklet variant men kun en terning, høyest taper! Ulempen med denne varianten er at hvert spill tar ca 10 sekunder...

De mest eksotiske individene vi møtte var en drikkfeldig dame fra Kazakhstan med lite kinesisk opptreden, og en kar fra Taiwan. Noe som var svært hysj-hysj, siden kinesere flest ikke er overbegeistret for øyboerne. Han var forøvrig svært opptatt av å formidle at kinesiske damer var sørgelige greier, men de polske, de var tingen!

Chinglish

2006-06-08T11:50:00.000+02:00

En kinesisk klassiker er de bastardiserte direkte-oversettelsene fra mandarin til engelsk, som resulterer i den såkalte chinglish, en snasen mix full av nye betydninger.

China in my hand

2006-06-04T14:19:00.000+02:00

Har vaert intense to uker i Kina, mye sights og mye festing, dermed lite tid til blogging. Har aldri tatt saa mange bilder som paa denne turen, skal uploade noen blinkskudd saa fort jeg finner et hotellrom med nett.

For foerste gang etter diverse turer i Afrika og Soer-Amerika under egen kommando joinet jeg et organisert opplegg, siden jeg antok at Kina ville by paa en del spraaklige utfordringer. Og det var paa alle maater en god deal. Vi var tolv stk, ledet av den kinesiske guiden Vincent viste seg aa vaere en kjernekar som overrasket med briljante breakdancing moves i karaokediscoen paa en cruisebaat ned Yangtze-elven. Resten av folket var en semisedat gjeng med bondete Aussies og NZere, men heldigvis viste den britiske yob Will og kanadiske finansmann/musiker Kris aa vaere kapable for aa takle det kinsesiske utelivet.

Saa hva med kineserne? En meget driftig gjeng. Ingen tvil om at dette landet kommer, det bygges og konstrueres overalt i rasende tempo. Saa godt som alle er meget hyggelige og genuint interessert i kontakt med utlendinger. Det blir vel saann naar man har bodd i et lukket land. Engelsken er rudimentaer men drar du opp en mandarinphrasebook stimler folket sammen med stor interesse. Paa samme maate er servicen den beste jeg har vaeart borti noen steder. Selvfoelgelig er Kina ogsaa en kulinarisk nytelse. Yummy mat til ingen penger, ca 20 NOK for en haug smaaretter som sendes rundt. Har faatt satt tennene i frosk og slange, men dessverre ingen hund. Det er visstnok "off-season" for disse firbente vennene, det skal ikke vaere sunt aa spise hund naar det er varmt i vaeret!

Fra det gamle til det nye

2006-05-21T11:21:00.000+02:00

Her skules bort på selv symbolet for det nye Kina, det finansielle Pudong distriktet i Shanghai med det karakteristiske tv-tårnet. Min ekskursjonen gjennom nordlige Kina går motsatt vei, fra det nye, moderne Kina i Shanghai til mer tradisjonelle Beijing.

Etter mye mas med ambassaden der jeg fikk pass og visum kun to dager før avreise har det heldigvis vært mindre mas vel fremme i midtens rike. Men, det at du som utlending må ta med pass og få det scannet ved internettkafeer sier litt om graden av kontroll i samfunnet. Sites som wikipedia og blogspot er også blokket fra Kina. Men åpenbart ikke blogger.com, siden jeg kan skrive dette. Altså, du kan sende informasjon ut av Kina, men ikke inn. Interessant. Kinesisk historie etter den andre verdenskrig er også så godt som fraværende i museer og lærebøker. Don't mention the war. Ei heller Det Store Spranget Fremover. En kamerat av guiden jobbet i det nasjonale sikkerhetsbyrået, og hadde som fulltidsjobb å surfe på nettet for å finne betente saker som skulle sensureres for kinesiske lesere!

Mer prosasisk er det en del morsomme saker som kan observeres. Legg merke til damen med paraply nederst til høyre. Åpenbart liten fare for regn, men hun som mange andre bruker paraplyer, parasoller er kanskje mer korrekt, for å unngå å bli for brun. Hvithet er status. Problemet er at paraplykulturen virker mindre etablert enn feks i regnbyen Bergen. Som et hode høyere enn de fleste er det en stadig utfordring å unngå spiler fra ikke spesielt høflige kinesere.

Laxet just i en park i sentrum, da kom det en gammel kall borte for å prate. Trodde først han var ute etter å selge noe, men nei. Typen hadde sært mye kjennskap til gamlelandet. Nevnte i fleng, Bergen, Oslo, Hammerfest og Narvik (!). Ibsen. Og jammen om han ikke nynnet noen strofer av Grieg! Imponerende! Ja, det er typisk norsk å bli sjarmert av utlendingers kunnskap om dette globalt sett ubetydelige landet, men vittig.

Tysk humor

2006-05-16T01:35:00.000+02:00

Fotball-VM er under oppseiling! Jeg har rasket til meg billett til semifinalen i Dortmund, samt antagelig finalen og gleder meg vilt. Brasil på Olympiastadion i Berlin, orgasmisk. I mellomtiden er det flott å konstantere at også tyskerne har humor og selvironi, sjekk denne herlige musikkvideoen

Matporno og E-sport

2006-04-20T16:27:00.000+02:00

Hvorfor si noe selv, når andre har sagt det bedre? Denne karen gir et herlig innblikk i argentinsk matporno, inkludert deilige biffer, himmelsk iskrem og søtkvalmende dulce de leche.

Ellers har jeg blitt overtalt til å delta som såkalt ekspertkommentator på TV2s direkte-på-webtv (og senere på TV2 Zebra) live-overførsel av semifinalene i bedriftsturneringen i spillet Battlefield 2. E-gaming, here to stay? En underholdende opplevelse som gikk bedre enn forventet.

Kina, kapitalisme og manglende glidemiddel

2006-03-27T17:59:00.000+02:00

For å komme seg inn i Kina må man ha visum, mens Japan tillater fri flyt (for nordmenn iallefall). Greit nok det, men visum-prosessen var overraskende lite moderne.

Ikke nok med at selve passet må sendes i posten til ambassaden. Neida, siden "we don't have a bank account for transferring the payment" er eneste måten å betale for gildet på sjekk eller kontanter! Dermed, siden forhistoriske sjekkløsninger er utaktuelt grunnet Skandiabanken, må jeg sende kineserne cash kontant i posten. Hvor 80-talls er ikke det? Med frankert returforsendelse. Tipper det blir 2xrekommendert sending gitt.

Hadde det ikke vært for at det er så tungvint, kunne det hele vært sjarmerende eksotisk. Iallefall er det tydelig at folkerepublikken er bærer av tusenvis av år med velorgansiert byråkrati, mens europeerne veltet seg i prestatlig anarki! En smule modernisering kunne dog vært på sin plass.

MSN og etikette

2006-03-16T13:43:00.000+01:00

Som de aller fleste er jeg jevnlig bruker av MSN Messenger både for business & pleasure. Et ytterst hendig kommunikasjonsverktøy, spesielt for forretningskontakter i andre land. Også for mer lokale sosiale aktiviteter, siden terskelen er lavere enn å ringe eller sende SMS.

Men, en del brukere skulle vært tvangskjørt gjennom et kurs i vettig MSN bruk. Kanskje terskelen rett og slett er for lav! Sentrale irritasjonsmomenter:

- Stadig endring av brukernavn, inkludert begynnelsen. Dermed må man gjennom en detektivoperasjon for å sjekke emailadresse for å finne ut hvilken sære setning de gjemmer seg bak denne gang.

- Alltid listet som "away", uansett om det reelt er tilfelle eller ei. Dermed vet man aldri om de er i stand til å svare på meldinger. Javel, de kan kanskje signalisere at "jeg er så utrolig hip at jeg egentlig aldri er online", men spesielt effektiv kommunikasjon fordrer det ikke. Tid er penger.

- Overdreven bruk av nudges, animasjoner og smileys. Nok sagt. Heldigvis finnes det en funksjon for å skru av vissvasset.

Heia OL!

2006-02-26T19:41:00.000+01:00

Hva skjer, har jeg blitt OL-addict i søt rus over vene Voss' medaljejakt? Nix, jeg gir en glatt faen i hele Torino-jippoet, som nå heldigvis er over slik at media igjen kan bli proppet med Idol og annet søppel.

Men, det positive med OL er SAS' såkalte OL-tilbud. Som skjenket billett Bergen-Shanghai til usle 3800! Dermed blir det Asia, here I come. Kina og Japan er planen, ser spesielt frem til den syke sci-fi metropolen Tokyo, det blir noget helt, helt annet. Kom 18. mai du skjønne milde.

RSS

2006-02-20T16:52:00.000+01:00

Takket være en IT-kompetent kompis kan jeg presentere den såkalte RSS-feeden til bloggen. Dvs en automatisk notis ved nye poster. Ikke at det har den store verdien akkurat nå, siden jeg er tilbake i Norge blir bloggefrekvensen neppe den store.

Tok meg i igjen å bli forbauset over den norske drikkekulturen. Forskjellen er radikal, fulle folk raver rundt, uanfektet søles øl og folk dyttes overende. Ikke det at jeg ikke har vært der selv, for all del, men jeg kan godt skjønne utlendinger som blir sjokkert over "barbariet"!

Images of Buenosairesness

2006-02-14T00:34:00.000+01:00

Fra byens fremste klubbkonsept, Club 69. Man tar klubben Niceto, og ca 0330 legger man til en troupe som agerer performace/kabaret på scene og blant publiken, til sammen blir det akkurat passe outrageously dekadent. Stilen varierer hver uke fra glam, barokk, clockwork orange til hvem vet hva, det eneste sikre er at outrert, det blir det. Visuelt som faen, og bilder sier mer enn firsifrede antall ord så:

Den skamløse 150-kgs drag-queenen til høyre innfrir alltid.

And for something completely different: Hyggelig bartebekledd politimann passer på under Argentinos Juniors-Independiente. Legg merke til sikkerhetsgjerdene rundt verstingene til hjemmelaget, samt banneret pasion y locura, som enkelt oppsummerer argentinsk fotball: Lidenskap og galskap.

Tre dansker på staddaen. Han til høyre er noe molefunken med god grunn, ble nettopp frastjålet lommeboken, mest sannsynlig ved sikkerhetssjekken av medbragt bag!

Med argentinsk faglig kompetanse på Racing-Velez. Hjemmelaget har nyss fortjent tapt 0-2 etter miserabel innsats, men supporterene er ennå ukuelige. Uten tvil verdens beste.

10 grunner til at tilværelsen er fetere i Norge

2006-02-10T02:37:00.000+01:00

Siden avreisen til Norge er skremmende nær, gjør jeg et fånyttes forsøk på å liste opp noen grunner til å glede seg.

1. Man kan benytte fortau uten bekymring for å snuble i ujevne heller eller tilfeldige hull. Dette er det sørgelig resultatet av utarmede offentlige budsjetter etter den økonomiske krisen i 2001. For ikke å glemme den evige tilstedeværelsen av hundeekstrementer. Visstnok skal det å tråkke i etterlatenskapene til en av disse firbente kjælerottene bety flaks! Ikke at jeg kan se hva som er så jævlig heldig med å grise til fottøyet, men der har du den. Forøvrig danner forekomsten av dårlig fortau og bæsj en ufin kombinasjon med frevensen av lokale skjønnheter som glider forbi.

2. Ingen desperat jakt på noen som kan sprette opp 100 pesos, valuta tilsvarende litt over en 200-lapp i Norge. Du kan bare glemme at taxisjåfører og avisselgere har noe veksel på 50 pesos, for ikke å snakke om 100.

3. Køene på det digre, lokale supermarkedet går sin gang uten at man må vente på folk med tusen kuponger som skal fylles ut og dobbeltsjekkes.

4. Brunost og skummet melk.

5. Real Blondes (TM).

6. Helvete. Kommer ikke på flere.

Dating Argentinian-style

2006-02-09T00:47:00.000+01:00

Kulturforkjeller har man åpenbart også når det gjelder sjekking. Argentinske damer krever oppmerksomhet, mye oppmerksomhet. Det gjelder selvsagt norske også, men det er enda viktigere her. Er en del å lære av argentinske menn, som er uovertruffent offensive. Faktisk såpass at kjøring av lignende stunt i Norden fort ville resultert i en lusing eller to.

Havner man på kliningsen i Norge, er man i ni av ti tilfeller "home safe". Stort sett ikke det samme i Argentina, terskelen er mye lavere for klining, men det er mer et fysisk uttrykk for at "jeg synes du er ok" enn "la oss gå hjem". Da forventes det heller at man får telefonnr for å ringe senere.

De fleste sosial relasjoner utfordrer intimsfæren mer enn hva en kjølig nordboer er komfortabel med. Også mellom menn hilses det gjerne ved møte og avskjed med kyss på kinn. Selv på det tredje året klarer jeg ikke helt å venne meg til det! Merkelig nok er det uproblematisk når det gjelder damer...

Uruguay revisited

2006-02-06T00:58:00.000+01:00

De to uruguyanske søstrene fra Punta hoppet over fjorden på en visitt til Buenos Aires. Hadde utrolig nok aldri erfart den argentinske metrolpolens uteliv, så amerikaneren C og jeg hadde selvsagt få problemer med å gi en grunnleggende innføring. Alle ble godt nøgde!

Forøvrig en del bad blood mellom Argentina og Uruguay for tiden. Uruguay har innledet egen handelsforhandlinger med USA, og svikter dermed det sentrale konseptet med Merocsur (Sør-Amerikas gryende EU), med en samlet handelspolitikk ovenfor eksterne aktører. I tillegg bygger de en svært forurensende fabrikk rett ved grensen!

Men, for tide er det jo i Midt-Østen det skjer, ikke her i den rolige, argentinske periferi. Skandinavia får naturlig nok normalt så godt som null dekning i argentinske medier, men ambassadepyromanien i Syria har vært førstesidemateriale. Og ikke bare grunnet at den uskyldige chilenske ambassaden røk med i samme slengen! Konstanterer at den bejublede Støre kom med passende tørrvittige kommentarer om syriske sikkerhetsstyrker.

Ellers går det i mye jobbing. Business is good, men det tar såpass mye tid at jeg måtte skrinlegge mine vage planer om språkkurs for å booste spansken litt til. Men, lærer mye av å snakke med lokale. Samt å se på fotballpaneldebatter, feks hostet av den navnemessig utfordrede Diego Fucks.

Essential Buenos Aires

2006-01-26T20:30:00.000+01:00

Kun i Buenos Aires, en klubb ved navn "Kong Castro". Fantastisk navn, fantastisk logo.

Grublet litt over hva som utgjør den essensielle Buenos Aires-opplevelsen. Subjektivt som faen åpenbart. Men for meg er det taxier. Kveld. På vei til en resturant, bar eller klubb. Susende gjennom opplyste avenyer fulle av liv. Frodige trær hengende over gatene. Tangomusikk på radioen, eller energiske kommentarer fra en pågående fotballkamp. Gooooooooooooooool. Sjåfør som legger ut om fotball eller politikk, før han ved lyskryss glisende sjekker ut passerende damer. Videre. Avkjølende, åpne vinduer. Fremme. Gir fra meg noen slitne pesos-sedler. Chau y gracias!

Falskmynteri!

2006-01-23T20:36:00.000+01:00

Her om dagen ble jeg for første gang den ulykkelige eier av en falsk pesoseddel. Intet vannmerke eller tråd på denne seddelen på 20 pesos (= 43 NOK). Kopimaskinkvalitet. Beholder den som et bokmerke, eventuelt suvenir over argentinsk økonomi, heller enn å forsøke sende den videre i systemet!

Back in the big city

2006-01-18T01:00:00.000+01:00

Min kontorløsning i Buenos Aires! Laptop på solvendt terasse. Perfecto!

Herlig å være tilbake i svært energiske Buenos Aires igjen. Men, nå kan det se ut til at katten er ute av sekken. Kjenner folk i reiselivet og de rapporterer at byen nå er pakket med turister, flere enn noen gang tidligere. Visstnok har Lonely Planet kåret byen til "best place to visit 2006" og da blir det vel ikke mindre. Men, skal prøve å unngå holdingen til den klassiske arrogante, "alt-var-bedre-før" veteran-traveller, siden all denne turismen selvsagt er svært gunstig for argentinerne og økonomien. Situasjon bedrer seg litt og litt for den jevne argentiner, og det må jo være en god ting! Så får jeg heller tåle å se favorittresturantene okkupert av amerikanere!

Finger

2006-01-18T00:43:00.000+01:00

Strandlig soloppgang i Punta del Este, vi ser mellom fingrene til los dedos, som alstå fremstår som en svær hånd som stikker opp av sanden.

Kapital i Punta

2006-01-18T00:26:00.000+01:00

Sånn kan det gå når kommunestyrer lar sponsorer ta over den offentlige skiltmarkering! Burde funke som en grei advarsel til Bergen kommune, om de skulle få flere glitrende innfall om samarbeid med Clear Channel.

When in Rome...

2006-01-13T22:02:00.000+01:00

Som en troest til de som er stuck i vinter-Norge kan jeg berette at de siste dagene har vaert preget av skandaloest miserabelt vaer! Overskyet, regn og tidvis under 20 grader! Ingen personlig tragedie for meg, da selv kun tre timer paa stranden med faktor 20 var mer enn nok til aa fargelegge en gringo blanco!

Dermed har det blitt en del spansk og argentinsk fotball paa tven og Rome paa laptopen. En spektakulaer serie, HBO har gjort det igjen! Skittent, vulgaert og voldelig, som Roma var. Etiske graasoner i mente. Caesar er glimrende presentert, man vet aldri helt hvor mannen staar, soeker han personlig makt og status, eller er han oppriktig ute etter Romas (plebens) beste? Se den om mulig!

Punta del Este

2006-01-12T18:36:00.000+01:00

Snart en uke naa i Punta del Este i Uruguay, mens jeg venter paa at leiligheten i Buenos Aires skal bli ledig. Et herlig sted. Ikke at jeg har vaert paa Ibiza, Mallorca og St. Tropez, men vil tro Punta er den poshe soeramerikanske ekvivalenten. Sett bort fra mangelen paa horder av aggressive, kalasfulle briter og skandinaver. Her gaar det i gemyttelig festing i kjent argentinsk og brasiliansk stil. For stedet domineres av bemidlete folk fra de to gigantiske nabolandene, pluss en minoritet av uruguyanere. Som europeer er man ganske unik, hvilket har sine fordeler.

En kuriositet er foroevrig den lokale spesialiteten i matveien. Man avler opp og konsumerer lassevis av otere! Jada, de smaa, soete pelskledde beistene. Har ikke faatt lempet innpaa et slikt dyr ennaa, tilgjengeligheten av bra biff er for stor, men dette er jo noe man boer teste.

En avslappet atmosfaere raader i Punta. Selv 0200 om natten er gatene pakket med folk, inkludert barnefamilier og pensjonister, som vandrer rundt paa resturanter samt shopper i fortsatt aapne butikker. Utelivet er paa mange maater det beste av Buenos Aires i et mikrokosmos. Hvilket ikke er feil. Har hengt en del med en amerikaner, som i motsetning til de fleste andre yankees jeg har truffet faktisk hadde tatt seg bryet med aa laere spansk. Vi danner et bra wingman-oppsett mot de lokale heltinnene, som rett og slett er blendende vakre. Amerikaneren skal ogsaa til Bs As for aa studere spansk saa planen er aa la suksessen holde frem der!

Som vanlig en del vittige karakterer. Som den blonde, to meter hoeye übertyskeren V. Med ett semesters studieopphold ved NHH! Lurte paa om Roof (top?) Garden ennaa eksisterte, hehe. Han har dedikert de siste fem aarene til gjentatte besoek i Buenos Aires og Punta, og i aar nektet han aa a bli med kompisene til Soer-Afrika, kunne rett og slett ikke gaa glipp av Punta og Bs As. Jeg har selvsagt faa problemer med aa skjoenne mentaliteten!

Er det saa annet enn flotte strender og uteliv i Punta? Nei, fint lite. Med ett flott unntak. Casapueblo, en kombinert kunstgalleri/musem/hotell/resturant/bolig-konstruksjon, laget over en aarekke av en den uruguayanske multikunstneren Carlos Paez Vilaro. Gaudi-esque, paa et vis, fyren ber om unnskylding til arkitekter for mangelen paa rette linjer! Traff til og med the man himself, meget hyggelig fyr. Med stor sans for Afrika og sol-kulter. Hver solnedgang i Rio de la Plata-bukten er en hellig seremoni i Casapueblo. Komplett med dikt og musikk. Det kunne lett blitt kitschy men det funket. Gripende!

Vel, skjoenner jeg maa faa opp noen bilder, men det faar vente til jeg kommer til Buenos Aires og solid ADSL!

Stasjonær

2005-11-28T13:06:00.000+01:00

Ny barriere brutt. Men ikke en hyggelig sådan. I forrige uke klarte jeg for første gang å miste mobilen. Selvsagt i sammenheng med en noe i overkant fuktig bytur! Irritasjonen over de mange tapte numre og SMSer får heller leges ved anskaffelse av en nyere posørsak med mp3/g3/whatever.

Buenos Aires kaller igjen i januar! Biff, cocktails og sommer. Og denne gang skal jeg planlegge såpass tidlig slik at det blir standsmessige boforhold med AC, kjapt nett og helst balkong. Det er også mulig det blir en tur til Colombia, avhengig om noen kompiser klarer å rote opp nok peng til turen. Ekstremturisme i et land som fordrer lokale kontakter for å sikre behold av liv og lemmer. Vi akk så skjermede nordboere...

London moments

2005-11-17T18:11:00.000+01:00

Fikk en av disse svært usannsynlige, morsomme øyeblikkene i metropolen. Vi forlater hotellet i Tottenham Court Road ved midnatt og i det jeg går ut døren ser jeg rett på H, eks-trommisen i Østblokk og Octavia, som er på vei for å ta bussen rett utenfor! Heller spesielt å treffe på kjente i en gigantisk by som London! Plateinnspilling på trappene og det er bare å ønske lykke til.

En annen fin scene på desperat kveldsjakt etter taxi i West End. Fortroppen El Shit, en av guttene i firmaet, ulastelig kledd i hvit joggebukse og hiphop-lue, småjogger forbi et ungt britisk par mens han frenetisk veiver etter en ankommende taxi. Som flagges ned til vår fordel selv om britene egentlig var først. I det jeg passerer briten hører jeg han kommentere til damen at "I just could not compete with that big fat guy!"

When it rains, it pours

2005-11-14T19:49:00.000+01:00

På kortvisitt til London med gutta i firmaet, med bange anelser for om vi i det hele tatt kom avgårde fra Bergen grunnet det annonserte ekstremværet. Ingen taxi tilgjengelig og flybussen som eneste utvei. Typisk nok flaks for oss, flyet forsinket et kvarter og alle fem ombord med grei margin. Mindre hell for en eks-stortingsrepresentant jeg traff på Flesland, som tok "om Nesttun"-flybussen med påfølgende to timers ørkenvandring. Og dermed alt for sent til flyet. Men, for vår del skinner solen i London og det er bare å håpe flaksen holder seg!

"What is happening right now, Alec?"

2005-11-04T21:23:00.000+01:00

Det overrasker muligens ingen, men CNN fornekter seg ikke. Så just en halvtime CNN direkte fra toppmøtet i badebyen Mar del Plata, der jeg har vandret mellom visningene på filmfestivalen, og der Bush nå konfererer med de andre amerikanske statslederne. Dvs, dekningen var ikke fra møtet, men live fra demonstrasjoner et godt stykke borte fra toppmøtet.

Ekstremt senasjonshungrig selvsagt, der man prøver å konstruere en imminent følelse av kaos og action. Med utegående reportere som opphetet snakker om hva de ser. Og det som skjer er ikke mye. Noen politifolk labber rundt. Røyk stiger fra en bank. Folk sitter på balkongen og beskuer showet. I det hele tatt, ikke vanlige hendelser i Argentina, men ved en demonstrasjon heller ikke uvanlig. Og mye snakk om los picqueteros, "socialist and communist groups" som studiohosten prøver å presentere som en enorm trussel for Bush, med stadig spørsmål om de er bevæpnet og om de nærmer seg toppmøtet. Overskrifter som "SOME DEMONSTRATORS BURN PAPER AMERICAN FLAGS" er ikke mindre latterlige.

"What is happening right now, Alec?" Nuet er alt. Derfor er det mye viktigere å fokusere på hvor mange demonstranter Jose tror holder til borti gaten (200) og hva de finner på nå, enn de struktuelle årsakene til demonstrasjonene mot dette toppmøtet. Det ville jo blitt kjedelig tv.