Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

Tomorrow it's Christmas Eve, you know, the day which is Christmas. Why should you ever celebrate Christmas Day, you don't celebrate New Years Day. And as an early Christmas present I got a mail today, containing my result from the Spanish test. IG, 90/195. Nice of them to send it till the day before Christmas. It even gets better when the test is taken again, the same day the statistic test. I could if I was super efficient in Statistics and write the test in 1 hour, maybe 2 and then continue to take the Spanish test which has 1 hour extra scheduled compare to statistics, but I have a feeling it probably don't work, especially not to study for two completely different subject. It would probably work if I had my statistic literature in Spanish, but this isn't the case and I doubt the teachers would appreciate it.

A couple of hours left until I get home now. Hopefully the trains will go as scheduled. Lately a couple of my friends have had a bit of trouble when it comes to th public transportation company. Still, I will probably miss the decorating and cleaning and all that stuff. When I get back I should probably start cleaning up my own apartment. Getting a bit dusty. And all the recites are taking over my table.

Well, that's probably that for this years blog production. I will probably not be able to get a hold on a computer long enough to give you an update during the rest of December, so I will say Happy Christmas (Holiday or whatever) and A Happy New Year and I will be back in January and this blog will celebrate a 1 year existence without anything. If I remember it amidst all Spanish and statistics tests. Have a good time everybody.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Going home tomorrow, and on the news there has been report that parts of Sweden will face traffic problems due to the recent snow. It doesn't feel good with me taking the public train company, especially since many of my friends experinced some troubles with it since the snow fall. Of course I have some better starting fields then them and are the following:

1) Well, I'm me. I'm a lucky fellow and life just floats on without trouble *knock on wood*.
2) I'm not entering the more problematic city areas compared to the others, of course that woldn't stop anything from happening *knock on wood* and
3) Well, I don't have anything here, hmm, it's not many assuring things actually. Oh well.

I'm staying at home until January 2nd, like most Christmases. Spent today in the library as usually. They are open tomorrow as well so I could actually turn up for some hours of non-productive studies, but I'm to lazy for that. But fear not, I will return at January 4th and retake my place on the 4th floor, the first 4-table on the left side facing the entrance at the second set of stairs, on the seat farthest from the entrance. Yeah, that's my place, nobody else's.

And soon a lot of people will be back for the spring semester, unfortunately for the last time. It's been 4 great years for some of us and I will really miss them, but of course this will open up new possibilities so we shall see what this leads to, with work and all those things...there is no that would like to sponsor me to study all my life? Anyone?...please? No one? Huh, guess I have to work then.

Well, lets forget that for a moment as there are a holiday first that shall be enjoyed first. And with it a new start. And with that some New Years promises. Maybe time to pick up the training again as the kilos have been drifted away again. And unfortunately in muscular mass. Easy to say before the holiday of eating for a whole week with "Julbord", New Years supé and birthday cake. And Chocolate, a lot of chocolate. And Julmust. Visit an IKEA and buy this soda if they have it. It's well recommended, and no, I don't get paid for saying that, although it would have been nice, but I guess I don't have enough people reading this to be able to get some contract. I will try to put in a post tomorrow as well before I leave Karlstad, so I won't greet you Happy Christmas (or whatever you use) until tomorrow. The day before Christmas, and then it will probably be inactive for some time until I get back again, or not, depends if I get stuck in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. See you all.

A Christmas Carrol

Today is the shortest day of the year...in the sense of daylight hours that is. So now it gets brighter for every day. It's really needed as it is dark, cold and overall depressing. And supposedly dangerous to your health as well with the lack of vitamin D. Go figures. The environment is out to get us and we try to save it. Feels comfortable doesn't it?

Anyway, it's 3 days until Christmas. And then New Years. Nothing happens in between, nothing, whatever you here, nothing happens. Still, what is Christmas for? I know the whole Jesus story, the better of mankind, but I can't help but just feel so dirty with all the commercialism that has hijacked it and degenerated it to a holiday of greed fueled by the evil corporate companies. You know, finding the right gifts to everyone.Actually, it gone so far that I understand Scrooge in A Christmas Carrol by Charles Dickens. Living alone from the outside world not wanting to see the misery around you and hide in blissful ignorance. Why did the ghost have to drag him out in the evil world we live in? It doesn't get better if you transport the setting till todays world. I would guess that even the ghost would advise him to stay away. If he wasn't that sadistic at some times.

This leads to another question. If your actions leads to forging of chains that will bind you in your afterlife, what happens if you are just average? You know, more or less neutral? Do you get any chains for that? And how bad do you need to be to get a visit from the Christmas ghost?I would really like to get a status report to see if I'm on the right side of the good/bad scale, and how do you measure your actions. If you do something out of good that after a long chain of events leads to a very bad thing, does that affect the scale in a bad way? You know the saying,

"the road to hell is littered with good intentions"

Interesting things to think about during these times isn't it. I will probably get in something to morrow as well so you hav to wait for my Christmas thanks.

Out In The Cold

It's very cold at the moment. The snow lies deep outside my window and, more positively though, shines up the very long nights we have. And tomorrow it is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. The snow is fun, but causes a lot of inconviniences in the whole country. Anyway, now the biggest idiots get some hallucinated draft under the wings and begins to question the climatechange. Granted, it looks a bit weird when we have it one of the colder and snowiest winters in amny years when people are arguing that we are getting nearer to an extreme warmth period where 2 degrees celscius is portrayed as something evil. At the moment I believe most Swedes would not mind that.

I even have a book somewhere that says that we are one of the countries that benefits from this as the usage of the earth will increase and so on. And then it is these paradoxes I find strange about all this (granted I'm not a scientist in those subjects so I could be wrong), for example, the warmth will take away the golf stream and that will cause it to get colder here, wouldn't that take each others out? Of course the ice will be longer and so on, but the atmospheric temperature would somewhat balance each others, right? Still, they are right that it might be something problematic here, but we should continue the struggle to become climate neutral. The skeptics might find this normal, but it is in fact disturbing that most of December actually was pretty warm and without warning changed till this colder and snowier weather. THAT is the problem, the weather is getting unstable and more unpredictable. And they don't see it, idiots.

Anyway, the political landscape seems to favor the greenparty as they appear to become the third largest party in the next election. I don't like them. They struck me as, unreasonable. They don't like nuclear power, no more exploting of water as that destroy the wildlife, the sun doesn't work in Sweden (it's completely dark in some parts of Sweden at the moment) and the wind is not enough spread as the people like it, but not near them. Where the hell are we gonna get our energy? And then that they are a city party with access to collective transportations and I'm raised 7km from my hometown centrum and then 4 miles to the bigger cities and they don't see the need of a car (and apperentely one of the spokepersons travels with flight every week to be with her familiy while the other drives a SUV, hypocritic feelings anyone?). At least it could be worse, they could have been a religious party, and the only one in the Swedish parliement are kd and they are walking on the edge.

Problem with them is that they have lined up with the left party and Social democrats. And I don't have much over for the left party except the thought that their view on the society when it has completely reformed is a very healthy view. Unfortunately it doesn't work at the moment. Maybe later. And don't get me started on the Social democrats. I would like to like them, but teaming up with V and Mp makes me so dislike them, and they frankly are not giving me a future to strive for. Both V and Mp does that, but I don't approve there methods to get there, while I understand S's methods, but not the end result. So I'm forced to go to the central-right alliance. Supporting the Fp, as they have had a past with good ideas, and still do, even if it somehow obscured by some in the party at the moment and have been one of the true social liberal parties in Sweden. So I have to stick with M who no one has any idea where they are, are they social conservative, social liberal or something else, C which I don't like for some reason, could be there strange energy politics and their party leader that don't seems to understand politics and lastly kd, the party I never will vote for or understand. Mostly out of the believe we shall not mix religion and politics, no moral preachers based on their religion thank you.

So at the moment the center-green is leading with 9%, 51-42. It's 9 month till the election. So a lot of things can happen. Unfortunately for Fp, I voted for the losing side at the last national election. Still they have the chance to regain it even if it looks bleak at the moment. During other years before election the opposition usually lead, but then for the running up to the election the it gets more even as the campaign starts. Mostly because people choose sides later and later which gives a lot of statistical errors (lucky I took that statistical course now, right? Beware that this is a huge ironic comment). I still have faith, and it would be more democratic to actually reelect them to keep S away from the government so that we get a little bit stability on th echanges done by the alliance as well a slap in S face so that they could come up with some better politics. At the moment they just don't cut it.

About Avatar...Again

There sure is a lot of double posting around these days. I guess I have to do it after neglecting it most of the time. Anyway, it suddenly struck me about Avatar that I recognised their spirutual belief. That the world is connected with all living and that you actually can tap into these memories and thoughts. Very familiair as I actually wrote something similair about that some time ago here. Not enteirly same, but it goes around the same way to think, that all living are connected and shair all feelings and memories. And why am I bringing this up? To have my back covered if I ever use this belief in anyway to get money. I don't want to be acused of ripping of this movie, and I can't possible done that now when I actually have it shown that I thought upon this almost half a year before the movie hit the cinema. Take that.

As a side note I forget to note in earlier posts. When I got home after the movie, guess what I'm greeted by when I turn on the TV. It's the show På Spåret and the contestants are currently saying Avatar, as in the Hindu mythology. These coincidences are really funny actually. Really, they are very slim indeed and just makes it more fun when they happen.

Earth Mofo

The climate is todays topic, unfortunately for everyone that is tired of it, including me. Not that it is a bad thing, but due to todays media society I just can't stand 15 minutes of constant finger pointing that I destroy the world with my presence and complete lack of understanding for those not living in a city with access to everything or even decent collective communication ways. So now the talks collapsed, a surprise for some, not for anyone that has studied international politics. And the biggest problems lies that some are democracies and other are non-democracies. How is that possible you say? Quiet simple the environmental groups, who are most disappointed for some reason even though having a lot of experience of politicians, blames the politicians for trying to save their faces, instead for the climate. And the problem with that? Of course, the democracies represent their people, and frankly, most countries populations don't care about the environment. Explain otherwise why there ain't any country led by the green party's as the biggest party. These protest groups, if they want to get what they want, should get to these countries and try to teach and pursue them to vote on the "right" alternative, that is more environmental friendly politicians. Not attacking a capital where the population at least sympathize with these groups. Due it the democratic way will you, even though democracy is a bitch.

And then we have the undemocratic countries. Good luck with them. It's even funny to see the news analysis that brings up the youth that was part of these groups and that they feel these to be a democratic collapse. You're kidding me right? Most countries are not seen as democracies, the G77 group was lead by Sudan, the country that has an internal war and genocide within its borders. Come on, I knew education had slipped in Sweden, but that all kids in the world had lost their minds was something new. And once again I'm inclined to believe that these organizations are cluttered with low-educated people, led by intelligent, scheming bastards.

You have now witnessed my trust in mankind. As a conclusion I have determined that let us kill ourselves with this suicidal thing that now is upon us according to these groups. Trying to save humankind is one of the most egoistical thoughts in existence and a sign of our strive to survive as a species. Let us die if that what we want, the earth will most likely heal itself in about a hundreds year. Of course the biggest problems will be the extinction of a lot of species, but nature will probably take care of that as well. Have some faith people.

Avatar

So I just came back from seeing James Cameron's Avatar, and it was very good. Not blew me away good, but I guess that's just me. A decent movie. Probably spoiled by the fact that I spent to much time on the Tvtropes home page. You can spot a plot point miles ahead. So that let it just be left on feelings the movie creates for you and it delivers on that aspect. Except when it's disturbed by bloody annoying kids that run across the damn screen. Keep the children at home people. Damn kids. For you who intends to see the movie, don't continue to read as their will be spoilers now until the end of the post.

Also, to burst a bubble for some of the reviewers on some of the Swedish newspapers, you think that the movie was original? It was ridden with clichés. Actually it reminded me a lot of old animated movies. A spiritual people living in a tree and evil humans in machines cutting down the woods? Sound a lot like Ferngully. Even the human that become one of them. Of course Cameron understood not to be subtle who the bad guy was. No evil deity of smoke, no, just mankind. Military recon man from a foreign military ends up with the daughter of the native tribes? Pocahontas. No doubt. Beating a giant monster in order to gain the trust of the tribe? Not a movie, but a comic, Scrooge McDuck in The Land of the Pygmy Indians by Carl Barks. Nature itself amassing it's forces to quell the human destruction? The Don Rosa follow up, War of the Wendigos. And that is just animated and Disney stories I mentioned.

Aside from the unoriginal story, it's still good. All my fantasy books have almost the same story, but it is the packaging and retelling that makes it worth reading it. All fantasy books are ripping of Lord of the Rings, but they ad new thing and perspectives and puts the issues closer to what is important today, or criticizing what happens just now. But the packaging of Avatar is amazing. They might scorn its almost over the top use of 3d, but it's beautiful to look at, even to I get video game flashbacks. A funny thing if you are a James Cameron fan, you could always try to spot hints from his earlier works in the movie. For example, the helicopter ships or whatever reminds me of the flying Terminator attack ships, the seeds of the great tree of The Abyss aliens or whatever, a bomb ship of the drop ship from Aliens, you get the picture. Very fun actually.

As you probably noticed I had time to do this during one sitting which could indicate I wasn't that into the story. Well, I blame the kids. If I ever get rich I should do as one character in an old Swedish Christmas calender story did, he bought all the tickets for one show and kept them all. That is filthy rich. Buying out the entire cinema just to not be disturbed. Unfortunately he wasn' t able to watch the movie as they faced some techincal problems. Good idea though. All in all, I highly recomend Avatar this winter, it is well worth your money.

In Memory of Roy E Disney

OK, this thing demands a post for itself. Shortly after submitting the latest post I found out the horrible news that Roy E. Disney unfortunately has left this world. The man standing behind such classics as Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin and a lot of others. These two I mentioned has a huge sentimental value to me as I actually believe Beauty and the Beast was the first movie I saw in a cinema, and it was amazing. Everything about it was so beautiful and well-made. The music, the art and the characters were all so memorable. Best part is the intro, the haunting music as we flies thru a forest onward to the castle and then are told the story by this raspy voice looking at the stained glass. And then the end. I shall not lie, I actually cried when I saw the ending, the Beast apparently lying dead expressing his love to Belle, the rain, the tears and the music. It was a symbiosis that was beyond anything I've seen. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it, and apparently I'm not alone in that statement as we actually had a discussion about the best Disney movie of all times during Saturdays Christmas party and this was our pick.

It's a bit ironic that he succumbed to cancer as the Disney company is resurrecting its 2d animation again with The Princess and the Frog. And maybe Disney will once again return to the joy that was the 90's movies, but will it be the same without a Disney i the company reminding the business what really matters? Or will this signify the end of one of the most beloved companies that have enchanted millions, or even billions with people? Only time will tell. At least I know that I and many of the Swedish people will watch From All of Us to All of You with a small tear in our eyes in memory of the good times and experience he has given us.

Rebel

So you might have noticed the climate sumit in Copenhagen at this point. More or less a failure before it ends. And for some reason people are still upset about that. How naive are you to think that this huge question would be settled under this short time? It doesn't help that some of the demostrants seems to take ugly and even proliterating methods to put their will upon us. I might support their idea, but at least I have an understanding for the fact that the world is more complex then they try to tell us. Especially when not the even biggest countries (aka China and the USA) are ready to take some action. That means it's up to Europe and Japan to save the world. During a financial crisis. And a democratic system that means that they have more things to worry aout. Had they been enlightened despots for life, then fine. It would probably work, but they have to be reelected. Democracy is a bitch isn't?

Even funnier when some environmental people begins to speak about a global referendum on climate in 2010. Let see, the Europe consist of 500 millions, USA 300 millions and Japan 100 millions. That's the rich world. almost 0,9 billions out of 6 billions. The people caring about the environment is mostly from this areas. All 0,9 billions are supporting this seen by the climate deniers. The other 5,1 billion peoples? Do they care? Hell no, they want good living standards and some security from the violence around them. They don't care as long they live in hell. If they somehow manage to make that referendum I think they don't would appreciate the outcome. And why the hell do the demonstrators attack the politicians that sit down and try to do something, when the problem lies with the people that elects them? Why aren't you in USA and educate them about the climate and try to convince them instead of destroying our cities, we who are mostly on the case. Why aren't you in China and try talk the people into...oh right, China isn't a democracy but the second biggest polluter of the world. Do something creative instead.

Nice to get that out of my systems. Stupid people. Why so stingy you might ask. Well, my arm hurts. I took the Swine flu vaccine 3 days ago and it appears to be some sort of bruise looking side-effect, nothing more. Take that conspiracy and governmental skeptics. Once again the state protects its citizens from the world around us, far away from the evil market and greedy capitalist, hahaha. *ahem* Yes, I know it exist some greedy politicians as well and for some reasons they appear more in the strongest advocaters against capitalism or on the weaks side. Isn't that interesting.

Back To A Reason

It seems I have a bit hard time to writing in this very dark December month. Always cloudy and cold. You get depressed very easily. Although I usually fixed this problem with a huge intake of chocolate and coke, but it gets expansive, unhealthy and all those things. Can't do that anymore. So I just have to face it without anti-depressive. So what has happened during this long period of radio shadow? Well, the prime minister of Sweden visited the University, I got a picture on my camera, as well as an autograph. Yeah, we political scientist are strange, I know. Anyway, that's pretty much everything that happened of importance. If you don't count that my sister paid a visit so we played Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to the Sega Mega Drive on the Wii. And finished it for the first time. It was definitely not worth it. Then we played some (make that a lot) of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, which is the sequel to Tales of Symphonia. And it appeared as a very good game. The voice-acting was nice, but unfortunately some of the old voices from the first game didn't appear on this one, which was kinda sad as their characters were part of the roles. Oh well, you can't get everything.

Tomorrow then it's time for the Spanish test, either it will be a very good test indeed or it will come crashing down. Somehow this statement makes me feel I'm using this blog to vomit on all my test and whatnot. I'm not going to talk politics today cause I don't feel like it, mostly because it seems people are more stupid then ever and maybe it's time for higher education for everyone. I'm already getting upset so we cut it there.