Monthly Archives: September 2008

Gothenburgian winter part 1 (of 125).

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Back from school and yes, I got wet walking up Avenyn (änna). Sux.
So, first lecture, and new lecturer; Anders Tolland, in a new course; the history of practical philosophy or in short, as chosen by the philosophy department of The universety of Gothenburg, Aristotels and Kant.

Aristotle grounds his arguments in a certain kind of metaphysics which are/is far out. 

Not much else going on. Tonight Arsenal play Porto in the UEFA Champions league. Let’s hope for a swift return to form after the debacle at the Emirates against Hull.

(New blog world record for most links in short post?)

Fall has reached Gigantic Rock.

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It’s been coming for some while. As inevitable as always. After rain comes shine but the other way around. Fall has most certainly reached Gigantic Rock. Just like that. The view from my balcony is a poor one. Sure the leafs look nice, but you know, that is because their dying. I’m not saying that all things look good dying but you know…

What one can’t see in this picture is that the sky (is it the sky? It might be the clouds… yes, I’m going for clouds… Ok. Starting over). What one can’t see in this picture is that the clouds are raining their asses off! And I have to go to school very soon. Bananas.

Lots of concrete and a little bit of me.

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A while back Brandt and I went out on a professional photo shoot. Press images for the artist formerly known as Prince now known as Tomas Halberstad was the aim. The aim isn’t off. We still aim. Aim for it… like aimers. Ok. It has taken some time, and it will take some time more, so until I get them up on the blog so that you can download them, open them in your Photo Shop or whatever, and write monkey boy or hamburger face all over the pictures I’ll give you a sneak peak at one of my favourites. The colour balance, and all other technical stuff of which I know nothing about isn’t right, but you get the general idea.

I give you: Lots of concrete and a little bit of me!

Last one in, all out.

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Just now downloaded the last mastered song from Rob O’s ftp-server (ah, the Internet, isn’t it a swell, swell thing). As you all know, you avid readers of this blog, connected straight into my brain, Rob O and I had a little bit of trouble with one of the tracks and in particular a certain hi-hat. That is now fixed and I can get started with burning and sending out promos. A bit of a delay but hey? Name one thing with this album that hasn’t been a bit of a delay? ONE THING!? OOOOONEEE THIIIIIING!? No? Thought so.

Done and moving on.

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The philosophy of politics and Mr. John Rawls has now, for the moment being, been put on the shelf. Yes, that’s right folks, I’m done. I sent my exam in just now. In a couple of weeks we’ll see how it went. I feel good about it.

So, out with the old and in with the new. The history of practical philosophy is the next course, the next thing for me to dive into. Aristotle and Immanuel Kant will be my passengers, or perhaps drivers, for the weeks ahead. Starting tomorrow; Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics book 1 chapter 1-7 + commentary.

Bouncing back…

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I feel a bit better today. In more ways than one. First off though I must apologise to the fans of Hull City. I was a bit harsh yesterday. I’m sorry. It’s not you nor your team that I am infuriated with. I actually kind of like Hull, especially your shirts, and hope you cling on to the Premier League. What I am infuriated with is my ow team, The Arsenal, and foremost Captain William Gallas. It was his poor defending that let you go in front then after that he ran around the field, after the ball, in every position to correct his mistake… sad.

The other way in which I am feeling better is my armpit. It’s all right now. Sure, It’s a gaping wound but it’s healing nicely and the antibiotics hasn’t fucked my stomach up to bad. Five days to go there though.

Today is my last day writing my exam in the philosophy of politics and today I’m focusing on John Rawls ideas of the general- vs. the special conception of justice.

I’m sitting here in my Arsenal replica shirt from last seas son and studying and supporting and suffering and hoping… Porto on Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League. Let’s bounce back the way we did from the Fulham defeat!

Death to Hull City!

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I got up at 0700h today. It’s Saturday. I walked the Boo. Camilla and I left the apartment at 0815h. We went to Anna and Andreas and helped them move. It took all day. I got home just in time to see Arsenal-Hull. I thought that after a tough day I would end it with a nice, calming experience…

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!

Candy troll, candy troll, candy troll.

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Studying and It’s coming along nicely, my exam in the philosophy of politics that is. I’ve finished 2 out of 3 questions… well 2 and 1 quarter to be exact. I am well on track for Mondays hand in. So what next, what after the hand in? The answer is of course Aristotle and Nicomachean Ethics and Kant Metaphysics of Morals. The course is The history of practical philosophy. I think this is going to be my least favourite course this semester. Educating but tedious. I think. I might be wrong. I’ve been wrong before. Not many times. Maybe just one. I was wrong about the philosophy of religion. I thought that I would dislike that one. I didn’t. I found it really god… I mean good. So until Tuesday I have to read the first 7 chapters and comments to them in Nicomachean Ethics.

In music things are also trotting along at a nice pace. Yesterday I struck a deal with the local candy shop, the Candy Troll, over the purchase of 50 padded envelopes. Mr Candy Troll gave me a good price an I will collect them later today. This means that the sending out of promos still hasn’t happened and no; I haven’t got the last song from Rob, there was something about a boat and Santa Clause.

Picture: Me iChatting with KG:

Study technique… kind of.

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4h of studying and this is how far I’ve come:

And then that last rack of words (in the picture) is just for me to know how to continue and will be erased. It’s not that I don’t know what to write. I just have to make sure that I have gotten everything right so I’ve been doing a lot of reading and understanding. But no, I haven’t been studying the whole 4h and that’s the problem. I normally have attention issues but today I really can’t seem to just focus. Like now for instance; I’m writing this, taking pictures of my computer and stuff. Humans really should come with a set of switches; FUN ON/OFF WORK ON/OFF and so forth. 

I’m getting things done, It’s just going at a slow pace. I find reassurance in that whole left part of the brain/right part of the brain method which I learnt in upper secondary school. Do something theoretical for a while than do something practical. That way one supposedly has a easier time to take in stuff. In school we were taught to read for half an hour than play guitar (or which ever instrument you had and played) for about a quarter of an hour and then alternate between the two until you were done. I think it works.

And for all of you reading between the lines, and really as an eye-opener for myself, I apparently regard blogging parallel to playing guitar…

Thursday morning wake up

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First 24h on antibiotics, or first two pills taken anyway. My armpit (stop laughing) is feeling a bit better. My stomach hasn’t yet gone all mad and stuff (as the doctor said it would).

Training-wise I have to call September the lost month. Sad. This was supposed to be the month where I’d shake of the feeling of just getting started training and get the ball rolling to sweet routine. As you can see on the picture below, this is not going to be the case (X is a rest day, S is a sick day). I know I just have to take another shot at it, as soon as I’m healthy that is, so October it is. My month of getting the ball rolling… again. Damn ball!

Today I will be submerging myself in fairness. I’m still at it with my exam in the philosophy of politics and today I will try to answer, or more: try to discuss what, the fairness-part in John Rawls theory Justice as Fairness means. I will have to discuss it around The Original Position and The Veil of Ignorance. So much to cover.

It’s a beautiful morning here in Gigantic Rock! Just have to share it with you (this one is taken from my kitchen window at about 0950h):

Minor surgery on an Abscess.

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Just came back from the doctors where I had minor surgery. What? I hear you scream. Why? You also scream. Are you going to die? Your continuing to scream.
Yes. I am going to die. We all are. Humans have a mortality rate of 100%. I’m not going to day today though, at least not from what the doctor diagnosed me with, which was Abscess (if you click on the link there is a picture, mine was nothing like that, mine was maybe 20 times that size and all red, not kidding, not funny).

While showering on Saturday I felt a lump in my left armpit. Yes armpit. Stop laughing. On Monday it had grown a bit bigger. On Tuesday I couldn’t get my arm down my side (looked like I had really big abs). Today it was enormous and hurt quite a bit.

When I got to the doctors he gave me a shot then brought out the scalpell and cut me open. The puss poured out (I could get more graphic here but I wont). Then he patched me up.

I got a prescription for antibiotic, really cool lilac ones! Which he said will totally fuck up my stomach. Nice! That’s about it! Feel sorry for me… or I’ll kill you.

Pills:

Is the now a unique?

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You can’t combine thinking with an exact action. You can’t combine the action of now with anything. The action of now, or indeed just the now is unique, or even perhaps a unique. You can think about what you want to do, you can plan it, in detail, giving massive attention to the smallest of detail but when it comes to the now, the time to set your boat in the sea it’s all, if not futile, than an utter waste of time. The now can’t be controlled, nor should it. There’s no problem with the uncontrollable. The problem lies in always needing to have controll.

I really want to think about this for a while; why it seems as though the now is the only thing we don’t, and can’t, think about but at the same time is the only thing we really can know. Strange isn’t it?

One could argue that thinking about picking up a pen whilst picking up a pen is thinking about the now while experiencing it but is it? To me it’s two separate events without possibility to combine.

I really should be studying instead of writing stuff like this.

Radio as I wait.

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The Internet works in mysterious ways. It wasn’t long ago that itsatrap.com posted an interview + an Mp3 with your truly. Just now I got a text message from Rob O. He had somehow found out that a radio station in Germany – Radio Blau – had my song on the playlist for one of their shows (mine is song 15 in the list under the link).

Fun stuff! Keep ‘em coming!

Rawls vs. Harsanyi.

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Today my mind has been occupied with John Rawls book A Theory of Justice and the critique of that book, or rather the theory, as formulated by John C Harsanyi. In short one could say that I am focusing on there disagreement on by which principal the individuals under the veil of ignorance will choose the principals of justice for the society there creating. (I can’t believe I got my thoughts straightened out enough to get that sentence out!)

All of this week my mind will be devoted to my exam in the philosophy of politics which is due in on Monday the 29/9.

Also this week sees the first batch of The Anger promos going out! Haven’t got the last mastered song, the one we had to re-do, from Rob O yet. As soon as I do there off!

Another robbery?

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A little while ago two police cars came to Gigantic Rock. They drove really fast and stopped at our little grocery store. Now I hear the police helicopter circling. If their was a robbery at the grocery store it’s not the first time. Just a couple of months ago a couple of guys made a hit. The last year almost every place of commerce within just a couple of hundred meters radius from our apartment has been robbed. The former owners of the hot dog shop sold their business because something like seventeen robberies in three months (it sounds a bit much but I think it was in that region).
There is something going wrong with Hising-Island.

The day after the night before.

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Back drunk, wooden hat and skull bang, all of them translations from Swedish to English and all referring to the physical state one is in the morning after the night before. All of them also perfectly understandable, even translated as they are here.

Hang over? Can somebody explain that one to me? Hang over? Is it the drunkenness which is hanging over? Hanging over the date line from the day before to this one? Seems like a plausible explanation all though I highly recommend the English speaking part of the world to take one of our Swedish ones, just pick!

So yesterday we had the TRB. I came to Martins apartment a little early, around 1640h and the last time I looked at the clock, before crashing into bed, was at 0432h. 12h of solid partying. Haven’t done that in a while and to be honest it’ll probably be a while more before I do it again.

We did the town. We started off at Martins place then we went to Kellys, then to Kings Head, then to Smaka, then to Anders place. After that Camilla (whom we hoked up with before Smaka) went to 7eleven for some night snacks then we took the tram number 6 home.

As I’ve all ready said: 0432h was when I went to sleep. At 0900h I got up. Feeling a bit skev (änna) as we say here in Gigantic Rock. None the less I took the Boo out for his morning stroll. The weather was, and is still, beautiful and the air did me a whole lot of god.

Haven’t got any pictures to share with you yet but a lot of pictures were taken both by Anders and Martin so I’m sure I’ll have something for you all soon (I know you’re all dying to see the pictures, oh Tomas, oh Tomas please show us the pictures, please, pretty please).

Yes, that is about it. Need to get some food in my now. I’m thinking Kebabpizza…

TBR and great fire of London!

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Today is the day for the 2:nd annual TBR! Yes, Martin, Anders, Oscar and I are going to meet up at Martins place for a couple of beers and some music. If it wasn’t fore this head ache of mine I’d be pretty stoked, now I’m only pretty stoked along with a head ache. I’ll do everything in my power in order to get rid of it until 1700h when the fun begins. i think I have it because of lack of water. I haven’t been drinking enough of it.

So now it’s of to the Systems company or the Systematic company, the only place, except bars and restaurants, where you can buy alcohol (and by alcohol I mean every form of beverage exceeding 3,5% in strength) in Sweden.

In getting the link above I noticed this text on Systembolagets website:

“This is Systembolaget
Systembolaget, the Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly, exists for one reason only: To minimize alcohol-related problems by selling alcohol in a responsible way, without profit motive.”

Now, many people have questioned this monopoly, and rightly so. The statement above, which I again stress is a direct quote, raises alot of questions, three of the more prominent being:

Do we in Sweden have less alcohol-related problems than countries without alcohol retail monopoly? 

Do retail monopoly’s by default handle there commerce responsibly?

Do retailers motivated by profit handle there commerce irresponsibly?

I think that the answer to all these questions is: no, and we should therefor abandon the alcohol retail monopoly here in Sweden. (I could, but won’t, dive into serious argumentation here. If you dont agree with me, leave a note in the comment field and I’ll get back to the issue.)

Didn’t mean to get all political. TBR!

Haven’t got any pictures, except the one posted yesterday, of the TB so I’m going to go with one posted a couple of months ago. This was taken way back in 1666 during the great fire of London. Marv and I are casually having a drink watching the hole city (hotellramadajävel) go up in flames. Man… 1666. Has it all ready been 342 years. It seems like only yesterday,

One thing they forgot to mention under the link above, the one about the great fire of London was that in London at the time there was a alcohol retail monopoly and it being a Sunday on the day of the fire the stores, the alcohol stores; called Systemica, were closed. The people of London had for a long time grew tired of this fact; that they couldn’t get there supper wine on Sundays and had to settle for muddy water. On this September day they had had enough. They thought by setting fire to the whole place, and burn the cuty to the ground, they could have a new order, one which let them buy wine on Sundays. The Government to this day still claims that a monopoly was the best way to keep down alcohol related problems and that there in 1666 were very few such problems. All though the fire was an indirect cause of alcohol and therefore an alcohol related problem. The government won’t acknowledge this. Presented with the fact that that cost of rebuilding a whole city can be directly lead to alcohol were just met with silence.

Crap on wheels.

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Every now and the the circus comes to town. An unfortunate event if there ever was one. This year is no exception, the circus is on it’s was. The have posted sign all over town stating when and where. On one of the signs near by here someone had made a sign of there own and then placed it over the circuses : “Canceled due to cruelty to animals.” Both funny and a serious statement at the same time and one which I support fully.

Things done today!

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Ok, so I, or more accurately, Camilla and I, have done almost everything on the list. Whats left is to vacuum the apartment and clean the bath room. Camilla let me choose. I chose to vacuum. Cleaning the bath room is tedious, tedious stuff. I might say that apart from the list we also managed to make, and eat, both lunch and dinner and Camilla even managed to cram in the making of two, yes two ladies and gentlemen, desserts for a dinner party she’s attending tomorrow.

Not much more to do that get a hold of that wretched machine sucking dust of the floor.

Bananas!

Proud father of The Anger!

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Just a quick pop in. I really don’t have time to do this but this really needs sharing!

Just listened to the master of The Anger again. (How did I manage that you ask; with me having to do stuff all day? Well I did it during stretching after training… so there!) I’m a proud man! If no one, and by no one I mean record labels, picks this up I won’t be a broken man, I’ll be surprised but not broken, it’s a fine piece of work. Can’t wait to share it with you.