Recommendation

This evening I went to a concert. On stage was Amir Sulaiman, a spoken word artist from the States, currently on FBI's list of people considered being anti American.

Amongst many other poems and songs he did perform the poem that made him end up on that list. The poem that made the FBI questioning his mother, come to his workplace, and accuse him for being anti American.

It's interesting though, that the poem actually was not anti American at all. It was rather about injustice in the world. But the Feds interpreted it as anti American. I guess that say more about their view of their country than about Amir Sulaiman's view of the same country.

Anyway just want to recommend the artist. Buy the CD. Find it on the net. Watch him at a theater near you. Or something. The performance was great.

Does pregnancy provide you with cooking skills?

In my marriage one of us does most of the cooking. It's not me.

I used to really suck at cooking. These days I'm a bit better, because I've learnt a lot from my husband over the years. But I still suck compared to him, so I do not really see the point of cooking.

I mean, I love good food, so why should I eat less good food, when my husband can make miracles in the kitchen?

Lately though, I've been cooking a bit more than usual. I'm not sure if it's because I'm so much more hungry, being pregnant and all that, that I can't be bothered to wait for my husband to get of his ass to make me food. Or if it's just that my husband has been extra lazy recently.

I don't know, but anyway, I have been cooking. And the strange thing is that it's tasted pretty nice. My husband has even praised my food a few times, and that does not happen normally, believe me! Today he even said that there is hope for our unborn daughter.

So, is it possible that pregnancy actually also provides you with some sort of cooking skill, for the survival of the human race? Or is it just my husband being smart, realizing that if I haven't learnt now, I will never learn, so it's better encouraging me, even if my food suck, as our kid is going to have to eat it once in a while anyway.

Who really knows you?

I read on a friends blog, something she had written about her colleagues knowing her better than her old friends.

It made me think: Who actually does know you, for real?

Your parents? They might know most about your history, what you were like as a kid, and they love you unconditionally. But do they really know you? I'm pretty sure that my parents don't have a clue about what I believe in and what my views on life are. So how well do they really know me then?

Your old friends? In my case at least, I must say, it's pretty much the same as above. The only difference is, I guess, the part about unconditional love.

Your new friends? At least them you made as a grown up, very much from the stand point where you are today. And they might know most about what your political views are, what your favorite subjects are, and what you enjoy. But do they really now the whole of you, as there is probably a lot you've chosen to leave out?

Your partner? I guess that's as close as it gets (at least for me). But we all know that we never tell anyone everything. And we also know that love is blind, and because of love your partner probably ignores and unconsciously chooses to be blind to certain things about you.

If you have a sibling he/she might end up in the same category as the partner, above. At least my sister does.

But I'm still pretty sure no one totally knows you. When it comes to myself only one-two-three-four people are close to knowing me, in the way I define "really knowing".

So the following question then is: Does it really matter or not? Is it good that no one has the full story? Or does it make us more lonely, inside, than we have to be? What do you think?

Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega

Yesterday a friend of mine organized a fancy dress party. Fancy dress is not really my thing. I barely use make up normally. I barely dress up. So I guess a fancy dress party, where you have to put time and effort in to both clothes and make up, is a bit too much for my lazy ass. Or I just lack imagination.

But when someone puts a lot of energy into organizing a party for her friends. The least the friends can do is to dress up for it. So that’s what I did.

But I had no clue what to dress up as. So I forced my poor, lovely sister to help me. She had the idea that we would go together as the Pulp Fiction characters Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega. Guess who had do go as Vincent Vega?

I sure did look like an idiot as Vincent Vega. And most people couldn’t even figure out what my sister and I were trying to look like. But one thing is certain. I had so much fun while preparing. I’ve never laughed so much in my whole life. That’s in-between putting my head out through the window, trying to get some air that was not poisoned by the black hair spray my sister was spraying all over my hair.

It was also great being at the party watching all the people and the effort and creativity some of them had put into their costumes.

And honestly, I think it was crystal clear what my sister and I was trying to portrait. What do you think? :)

"It's a free world"

Would like to recommend a film. Watched it the other day. It's a Ken Loach movie called "It's a free world".
A great movie. And the lead actress does a great job, this being her first "real" acting job, I think.

The film is about how far you are prepared to move away from your values when your child is depending on you. How being greedy can make you lose it all. And how wrong you are when you believe that you and your loved ones are more important as human beings than other people.

Seriously, what's wrong with some people?

In the UK the government is planning on starting giving vaccine against the HPV virus, in school, to all girls 12 and 13 years of age.

The HPV virus, that is transmitted through sexual intercourse, causes 70% of all cases of cervical cancer. There are 2800 cases of cervical cancer every year in the UK.

You think that everybody would be happy about the vaccine, and the fact that the government is planning on giving it to all girls, before they supposedly have started any sexual activity, and therefore they will not get the HPV virus.

Wrong! Everybody's not happy. Some catholic organization is now afraid that this action will make young girls more promiscuous, because of their awareness of being immune to the HPV virus.

Hello!! What's wrong with some people?? I mean, most kids have never heard about the HPV virus, so a vaccine against it will surely not change their sexual activities. And what happened to HIV and all the other sexually transmitted diseases? I seriously doubt that kids are going to think: "Great, now we're immune to the HPV virus. Fuck the other risks of unprotected sex, let's sleep around like never before!"

Discrimination by the Swedish state

The other day, when I was sitting on the tube, I noticed an ad. It said "Save marriage. Mummy, Daddy, Child". Behind the ad is some kind of christian organization. Why they feel that they should bother me and everybody else, with their discriminating message, I don't know.

But the sad thing is, that they are not the only ones doing the discrimination. In Sweden the state is doing a very good job at it too.

1995, in Sweden, people of the same sex got the right to register their partnership, as it's called. This was supposed to be like marriage, but doesn't have the exact rights and regulations as a marriage, is not called a marriage, and has a similar but not entirely similar ceremony.

I guess Sweden felt "modern" in 1995, by doing this. But today, 12 years later, when marriage is recognized no matter if it's between a man and a woman, two men, or two women, in many other countries, Sweden still have this separation between the two. I really do not understand.

This morning I watched a debate about the same ad, as it's of course been upsetting for a lot of people. The person arguing against the campaign stated that in the tube, in Sweden, the rules say that an ad should not be of risk of hurting or offending people.

Further she said that it's horrible to all the kids, that travel by tube to school, and who do not fulfill the ideal of the campaign. That is children that might have just one mummy but no daddy, two mummies, or to daddies, just to give three examples. The campaign basically says that their way of living is not as good as the way that is promoted in the campaign.

The guy responsible for the ad could not see this. All he did was claim that we all have to live with offensive and hurtful ads surrounding us in society. And of course he constantly kept mentioning freedom of speech, even though his opponent explained that he can say what ever he wants, but not on the tube.

Anyway, I am upset about the ad being on the tube. Honestly I am upset about it being anywhere. I do not understand how people can feel that discrimination is okay. I do not understand the Swedish state. And I do not understand the organization mentioned above.

If Jesus did exist, and if the bible is sort of correct, he was a kind man that accepted people the way they are and did not discriminate or agree with discrimination. That's what I believe anyway.