John le Carré

Since 1995 John le Carré has produced some truly excellent novels.

In earlier years he wrote what was in essence a number of great spy novels, which I also read with pleasure, but hey were spy novels, not more. Then with The Little Drummer Girl there was suddenly a different le Carré. He had somehow stopped writing bestselling spy thrillers and had started writing literature.

Although still mostly set in the shadow world of espionage, his novels have become darker, more complex, more human, and much more interesting. His characters evolve, are conflicted, and are mostly deeply tragic figures. And don't hope for anything even resembling a happy ending.

In my humble opinion John le Carré is underrated by many. His reputation is still that of "just" a thriller writer, but in my view he has evolved to become a great novellist. Read The Constant Gardener, Single & Single, A Most Wanted Man, or The Tailor of Panama and judge yourselves.

Kusmi tea

Love these metal tins. Nice label design. Great flavor. Kusmi tea, once from Russia, now from Paris.

The XX

Check out their hypnotically beautiful song Infinity at Spotify:

The xx – Infinity

Semla

Swedish culinary culture involves among many other pleasant things the eating of certain types of cakes at certain specific days or times. This image depicts the semla (also called fastlagsbulle) - a white wheat bun filled with marsipan and whipped cream. It is eaten in the period after Christmas and before Easter. Very yummy.

Barbara Nadel's Çetin Ikmen novels

Çetin Ikmen is a police commissioner in contemporary Istanbul. He is a very clever chain-smoking skinny man made cleverer by the clairvoyant abilities inherited from his Albanian witch mother. His assistant Suleyman is scion of an old Ottoman family, and other beautifully painted characters complete the cast of this fantastic series of novels. The complexities of today's Istanbul are always present: the fading Greek, Jewish and Armenian minorities, the stampeding urbanisation, the rich poor divide, the dirt and the incredible beauty of the city. The crimes are murder, drugs, prostitution and child abduction; the perpetrators are Bulgarian clergy, Russian mafiosi, Turkish pedophiles, and other exotics. Love it. Çetin Ikmen is as warmly recommended as Yashim.

Jason Goodwin's Yashim novels

Constantinople. 19th Century. The Ottoman Court. Harems. Janissaries. Bazaars. Murder Mysteries. This is the setting created by British novellist Jason Goodwin for his eunuch investigator Yashim. He's written three novels so far:

The Janissary Tree

The Snake Stone

The Bellini Card

Love them all. Devoured them. Jason Goodwin knows his Istanbul and his Ottoman history, and has a lovely eye for the small details that make Istanbul the Rome of the East Med. Warmly recommended. Compulsory reading for any self respecting turcophile.

Fighting the monsters we create

First the USA had a bit of a problem with a certain German dictator by the name of A. Hitler, and his brand of fascism. To deal with him they made a pact with the devil; they made an alliance with Josef Stalin, supreme leader of the totalitarian communist USSR. They supplied him with weaponry, airplanes, ammunition etc. and together they beat the nazis.

But they had created a monster, and soon the US had a bit of a problem with the Soviets, and the cold war started, and when the USSR invaded Afghanistan, once more the USA made a pact with the devil. This time around they started arming the Afghan mujahideen, and encouraged muslims from around the world to come to Afghanistan to join the fight against the Russian infidel in the name of Islam.

The USA won this one as well, and the USSR retreated from Afghanistan and ultimately collapsed, but the USA has once again created a monster: muslim militants united, also known as al qaida.

And now for the past 10 years since 9/11 (which was little more than a rabid dog turning around to bite its former master) the USA is fighting this monster with the help of NATO friends. Main battlefield Afghanistan; with a major diversion in Iraq.

So there were are: 30 years later. Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan in 2009, fighting the monster the USA created to defeat the Soviets. The images from 1979 and 2009 are eerily similar.

Afghanistan. Soviet Army 1979 and Dutch Army 2009.

I just wonder what monster the USA is creating this time, in their fight to get rid of the militant muslims...? The more paranoid among us would claim that the new monster is the slow turning of the Western world into a Police State. Exaggerated border controls, body searching, widespread internet and telephone surveillance, individuals' privacy made sub-servant to security, liberties under pressure. I detect the faint smell of fascism. Perhaps that is the new Monster...? Fascism Made in the USA.... Full circle....

Other paranoids may claim that the new Monster is the privatized security industry that has been created. Enormous well-armed and well-informed entities within the western world, on which our normal democratic institutions have little grip. Perhaps the next war is a civil war? Citizens against the Private Security Forces?

Apple iPad

Yesterday I didn't even know it existed, today I can not live without it. Must have this thing! Too cool!

Some of my daughter's lovely artwork

The World according to Ronald Reagan

It's a bit of an old gag, but I still love it. This map depicts the World According to Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. (if you click on the map it will enlarge and will be easier to read)

I would guess that The World according to George W. Bush in a not so distant past did not look very different.

The absurdity of dictatorship

All of you who have passed by my blog before know that I have a certain fondness for the absurdity of dictatorship. This theme has already given you Brezhnev in swimming trunks, and now I would like to present you with another two great-looking contemporary tyrants: Mr. Berlusconi of Italy (yes, I know, Italy's nominally a democracy, but do have a look at the movie Videocracy when you have a chance) and an old favorite: Colonel Muammar Khaddafi of Libya.

Don't they look absolutely ravishing together?

Scary propaganda in the heart of Europe

Although it goes straight against my personal political beliefs, I must admit that this was an extremely stark and effective piece of political marketing: the ad for the yes-side in Switzerland's recent referendum on forbidding the building of minarets.

An angry-looking muslim woman in a burkha, and minarets looking like nuclear missiles covering the entire Swiss flag. Mr. Joseph Goebbels would have been very proud of this piece of scare-tactics propaganda.

...and although the side that wanted to allow the building of minarets also produced a very nice ad, it was doomed to fail with this kind of opposition.

Spyker Saab - Nulla tenaci invia est via

Last night my fellow countrymen of Spyker bought my fellow countrymen of Saab. An exciting merger. A truly heritage Dutch brand marries a truly heritage Swedish one. Historically Dutch-Swedish combos have fared quite well... Let's see if the guys at Spyker can bring back those jetfighter associations that Saab cars once had. My proposal would be to let the next Saab car model be designed by the jetfighter designers at Saab Aeronautics in Linköping. Bring back that real Saab vibe.

Hopefully I remain, with Spykers motto in mind: "Nulla tenaci invia est via" - for the tenacious no road is impassible...

Skyscrapers

Dubai skyscrapers peering through the clouds. Cool!

OBEY propaganda

obeygiant.com

Valero Doval

Jean-Baptiste Rautureau

Went to the Jean-Baptiste Rautureau store in the Marais quartier in Paris last week and bought a pair of boots and a pair of shoes.

These are not my first Rautureau shoes. I bought a pair some 8-9 years ago in the Amsterdam store they had (now closed). As a bit of a shoe-fetisjist I am the proud owner of quite a few nice pairs of shoes. My cupboard holds among others a pair of custom-made Crockett& Jones jodhpurs, Church brogues, Greve wingtips, etc. (you get the idea)

Rautureau stands out, though. The original pair I bought I have worn lots, and they're still good as new. The quality of Rautureau is just outstanding. I understand Rautureau makes his shoes in a little self-owned factory outside Paris. I have never seen any shoes get even close to this level of quality. I am still on the first soles! and the leather is just outlandishly good. And remarkably affordable. A pair of shoes or boots will cost in the range of 200-300 euro.

Some of the styling is very avantgarde, other is more in line with current fashion, such as the boot I bought:

He also offers some relatively basic styles, such as the Richelieu (below) which I also bought.

Very warmly recommended. One of the most well-kept secrets in footwear-land. A gem!

www.jeanbaptisterautureau.fr

Eddie Izzard - Hilarious!

My Morning Jacket

When next time at Spotify, iTunes or Youtube do listen to Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, Pt. 2 by My Morning Jacket. Fantastic song!

a Serious Man

Joel and Ethan Coen have given us another masterpiece. We saw it Monday night at SF Bio Söder.

I loved it. It's slow, meticulous, details to drown in. Need to see it ten times more to take it all in. In this respect it reminds me of The Big Lebowski, another case of detail overdose. A wealth of side stories, drug hallucinations, dreams, fantasies.

Depressing it its depiction of Jewish middle class life in yes what was it? late 50ies? early 60ies? there's a terrible loneliness throughout it all. Loneliness like in An American Dream. Larry, the main character, looks almost Indian in his helplessness and overwhelming passivity. A Jewish Mr. Biswas. The Coen Brothers already set the tone of this feeling of being completely lost, of not understanding, of being completely without control in there previous movie Burn after Reading. Similiar atmosphere.

Dialogue. Aaah. Fabulous. My favorite perhaps the scene with the Korean student's father visiting Larry's home to threaten/bribe/entice him. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Larry believes the student tried to bribe him, leaving a thick envelope of cash on his desk. The father disputes this and plans to sue Larry for defamation. Unless, of course, Larry keeps the cash and changes the kid's grade. Larry, understandably, is confused. The father's advice? "Accept the mystery." Perhaps the summation of the whole movie.

A Winterday at the Office

There are worse places to watch the passing of winter than our offices in Nacka Strand, Stockholm, Sweden.

Swedish Sci Fi

Trots att det finns åtskilliga hundra beskrivningar av fenomen i atmosfären så återstår ännu att hitta något som kan matcha det som inträffade vid Biskopsberga By nära Skänninge i Östergötland år 1807.

I dag finns byn inte längre kvar men i husförhörslängderna framgår det att byn vid den tiden hade cirka 300 invånare.

Det var den 16 maj vid 16-tiden på eftermiddagen som det märkliga inträffade. Dagen hade varit varm, vinden var svagt sydvästlig och himlen molnfri då några arbetare på Per Månssons gård noterade att solen bleknade så till den grad att de obesvärat kunde stirra rätt in i den. Solskivan blev mörkröd och förlorade sin strålglans. Samtidigt, ifrån den västra horisonten, kom ett stort antal sfäriska objekt seglande, bollar av ett par decimeters storlek och mörkbruna till färgen. Bollarna for långsamt och i stora mängder över himlavalvet i östlig riktning.

Hela tiden kom nya bollar upp i väst för att försvinna i öst, till slut fyllde miljontals av dem himlen. Ju närmare solen de kom, desto mörkare blev de, för att bli helt svarta när de passerat solen. Då ändrade de sin kurs något. Flera bollar verkade sammanlänkade i formationer om tre, sex eller åtta i linje som på en kulram. Därefter rämnade formationerna, bollarna återtog sin ursprungskurs och försvann bort med en högre hastighet, då med en kilformad svans efter sig. Svansen hade samma färg som sin boll. Man noterade att svansen efter hand försvann.

Nu föll det sig så att sekreteraren vid Biskopsberga herrgård, Knut Gustav Wettermark, blev ögonvittne till händelsen. Wettermark var en bildad man som hade bott två år i byn när händelsen inträffade. Förmodligen var han också en aktad medborgare som man inte tvivlade på. Säkert är det tack vare honom som denna besynnerliga händelse blev nedtecknad.

Och Wettermark fick själv se en av dessa knepiga bollar landa inte så långt ifrån honom. Dess svarta färg tonades ner ju närmare marken bollen kom. Till slut var den nästan osynlig men väl nere på marken kunde man åter se den lysande i flera olika färger. Den liknade såpbubblor som barn leker med. Där bubblan landat syntes för en kort tid en tunn genomskinlig hinna, såsom spindelväv.

Hela fenomenet pågick i två timmar. Sedan slutade det och himlen blev sig åter lik.

Antagligen hade detta säregna fenomen aldrig kommit till vår kännedom om det inte hade varit för att Wettermark en kort tid efter händelsen berättade om den för en vän, Erik Acharius från Vadstena. Acharius blev mer än intresserad. Han var själv naturforskare, professor och läkare och ledamot av vetenskapsakademien sedan 1796. Det han nu fått höra fick honom att resa till Biskopsberga för att personligen intervjua en lång rad ögonvittnen. Och det han hörde gjorde honom imponerad: ”Jag kan ej tvifla på sanningen”, skrev han senare i en rapport till vetenskapsakademien där han också avfärdade alla tankar på att det skulle ha rört sig om en synvilla.

Orsaken till att han rapporterade om detta sällsamma fenomen var, skrev Acharius, att ”från glömskan bevara en så märkbar tilldragelse som ehuru svår att förklara likväl lemnar ett bevis mera om de många underbara verkningar som i vår atmosphér kunna sig tilldraga”. Kloka ord och klokt handlat.

Det Biskopsbergaborna hade sett var ett högst påtagligt fysiskt fenomen. Men vad? En samtida spekulation gick ut på att en virvelvind blåst upp över bergs- eller skogstrakter någonstans och dragit med sig vegetabiliska substanser av gelatinliknande natur. Substanserna hade senare genom sin färd i lufthavet blandats med andra ämnen och blivit formade som genomskinliga bollar. Dessa ändrade sin färg när de belystes av solen. Frågan är hur en sådan mängd kunde alstras på ett ställe, och hur de kunde bli så många att de förmådde tona ned solljuset.

Några år senare skulle Biskopsbergahändelsen komma att publiceras också i Amerika. I ett brev författat på svenska från en J. C. Hauff i Boston bad denne akademien om att få upplysningar om några intressanta upptäckter. Hauff, som troligen var Johan Caspar Hauff som fötts i Stockholm 1763, verkar ha varit ett slags vetenskapsjournalist, och det var genom honom som händelsen kom att publiceras också på engelska.

Published by Clas Svahn in Dagens Nyheter, 2 December 2009

Medieval Sci Fi

Nurnberg 4 April 1561

At dawn of April 4, in the sky of Nuremberg, Germany, the citizens of the city saw a very alarming spectacle in the sky above their town. Various objects were involved, including balls "approximately 3 in length, from time to time, four in a square, much remained insulated, and between these balls, one saw a number of crosses with the color of blood. Then one saw two large pipes, in which small and large pipes, were 3 balls, also four or more. All these elements started to fight one against the other." (Gazette of the town of Nuremberg).

Some planes have crashed. As a result of religious interpretation, medieval artists interpreted fuselages and wings as crosses, and rockets became tubes full of balls.

The events lasted one hour and had such repercussions that an artist, Hans Glaser, drew a woodcut of it at the time. It describes two immense black cylinders launching many blue and black spheres, blood red crosses, and flying discs. They seem to fight a battle in the sky, it also seems that some of these spheres and objects have crashed outside the city. Note that two people seem to be witnessing a crash of at least one of these flying object.

When Zoolander came to Firenze

Attended GQ:s party during Pitti Uomo in Florence. Felt a bit like an Italian version of Zoolander.

The quick audience granted by His Enlightened Excellency the Editor-in-Chief was bizarre to say the least. A distracted monologue on the State of Affairs in Fashionland, a PhotoOp, and off we went.

Odd.

Brasserie LIPP

Had a nice long dinner with Guy at Brasserie LIPP on Blvd St. Germain.

Brasserie Gossip. Everybody is somebody. Whispered scandal. Our neighbor the defrocked cabinet minister of defense. I got the whole spiel. He had made the fatal mistake of teaming up with Le Pen in some election. Wrong for many reasons. Career ruined. Social chill until death do us part. I like it.

Paris CDG

Crazy inefficiency, and a work of art: the escalator spaghetti at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.

GANT by Michael Bastian

Finally, the first teaser of GANT by Michael Bastian, without doubt the most exciting and authentic collaboration I've seen in years.

Inspired by ivy league sport Lacrosse, the collection will be shown at New York Fashion Week on Saturday 13 February.

In stores as of August/September 2010.

www.gant.com/michaelbastian/

Winter in Bromma

Shirt neck labels

This is what shirt neck labels should look like. Elegant, timeless luxury.

Do observe the one that reads

"R. Moore Esq."

Vely vely nice!

Avatar

Yes it is very mainstream, and yes everyone is writing about this one, but I just have to add my few words to the fray.

This movie with all its hype, its overwhelming scope, its strangling beauty and storyline shortcomings had quite an impact on me.

For at least a week after seeing it I felt strangely depressed. Just down. Then I read somewhere that this movie is having that effect not just on me. This alternative world is just painted so beautifully, so realistically, that people feel depressed about leaving it behind. I too loved loved it. This movie sets a new standard. And if we all sometimes wonder what life will be like when digitally created realities surround us and we can no longer see, hear, smell or feel the difference with real life, Avatar is a preview of what that will be like. Probably it will be highly addictive, and we will suffer from cold turkey upon exit, but it will also be absolutely fabulous.

Street Art

Always a pleasure just strolling around the NY meatpacking district.