I caught up tonight with the American version of “Welcome To Sweden” which premiered last night on NBC. “Welcome To Sweden” is a Swedish TV show about an American, Greg Poehler (Amy’s brother) who moves to Sweden, as I’ve blogged previously about here and here.
Taking it from Sweden’s TV4 to NBC, I thought they might have re-shot a few of the scenes in English, but was surprised to discover they went with subtitles instead.
The only “censoring” I spotted was in the sauna scene where they’ve pixelated an image. This is kinda weird, since I don’t actually remember any kind of genital visibility in the original series. Is this a case of “Unnecessary Censorship” Jimmy Kimmel style? Oh yeah, and words like “mf….” are either bleeped or removed.
No doubt they’ll eventually play it on Australian commercial TV for a couple of weeks, then move it to a late night spot, then move it to another channel in another timeslot, and then never play the last few episodes, or maybe they will, but in the wrong order :) Glad I got to see it beforehand.
The last couple of days have been incredible. Thanks to a combination of public transport and my mobility scooter, I’ve been able to visit places I haven’t been to in ages. Put simply, they were just too far for me to walk. Having the scooter now means I can finally go to those spots again without too much worry.
Lunch at Milsons Point
Yesterday, my first trip was to a restaurant at Milsons Point. It’s a place I go to every year with a group of current and retired colleagues. We have a wonderful lunch that lasts a few hours, where we solve the problems of the world and have a generally great experience. I look forward to it all year—in fact, we’ve already booked next year’s date!
Being able to use my scooter made the journey a breeze. I rode it to Central Station and caught the train. I did need some help getting on the train, as the gap between the platform and the carriage was a little too wide for me to easily cross. Instantly, one of the station staff saw me and organised a ramp. It was set up so quickly, and I was on the train in no time.
One slightly amusing thing I noticed as I was getting on was the announcement: “The train on Platform 18 is going to be three minutes late.” I immediately thought, ‘Oh yeah, that’s my fault!’ But the staff were truly awesome, wonderful, very helpful, and very kind—I really appreciated the assistance.
Before I left, they asked, “Where are you getting off?” I replied, “Milsons Point,” and they said, “No worries, that’s great.” As the train was coming in, I was amazed to see someone waiting with a ramp to meet me and help me off. Clearly, they had radioed ahead or whatever system they use to make that happen. It was a beautiful, seamless experience.
I arrived a little earlier than planned, so I headed down to the harbour. I went for a look around a small park nearby and just enjoyed being by the water—something I haven’t done for a while.
Coming back, I caught the ferry from Luna Park across to Circular Quay. It was a really easy trip. Thankfully, it wasn’t too busy, as sometimes those ferries can be packed, but the timing was perfect. From there, I was able to get the light rail all the way back home.
Bus Trip to Coogee
Today, I had a similar, very good experience when I caught a bus to Coogee. It’s a bus route I use from time to time, but it’s always been a bit of extra work when I’m walking. Using the mobility scooter and the bus to get there and back was fantastic.
As the bus arrived, I was able to hail the driver, who promptly pulled down the ramp. I rolled on, sat inside, and had a great trip. I wandered around for a while, got a nice milkshake, and looked at the ocean. It was incredibly busy at Coogee today—I don’t know if this is a typical summer’s day, but it was certainly a packed beach! I really enjoyed getting out there, soaking up some sunshine, and experiencing a bit of outdoor life.
The return journey was just as easy. The bus driver lowered the ramp, I got on, and it was all a very good experience.
From the team at Central Station who instantly organised a ramp to get me (and my scooter) onto the train, to the drivers who radioed ahead to ensure a staff member was waiting at Milsons Point to meet me, the service was seamless and kind. The bus driver to Coogee today was just as helpful, dropping the ramp quickly and making the whole trip stress-free.
These interactions truly highlight the value of having caring, professional people working on our transport network. It makes a world of difference for accessibility and simply getting around.
I’ve said this a couple of times, but I simply didn’t realise how revolutionary having this scooter could be for me in terms of individual freedom and the ability to get around.
“We know this stuff, but most people don’t”, a colleague reminded me the other day, as we spoke about the appropriateness of what you share online, and in particular on social media. We were talking about the number of political candidates who have lost pre-selection in the Australian election in the last couple of weeks, due to things they’ve published on social media.
And I use the word “published” intentionally. Often it seems with social media, people think they’re just sending a private note to a few friends, forgetting that note can be shared with others, and remains “somewhere online”, even if they feel they have set their privacy settings quite high.
One of the earliest rules of journalism I learned was the difference between slander and defamation. Slander is when you say something, and it’s probably less able to be proved. Defamation is when you write something down, or say something, and so there’s a record of what you’ve had to say. What everyone who uses social media needs to better understand is anything you say on Facebook, Twitter etc is potentially defamatory.
It’s also potentially actionable: someone could eventually take you to court, so be careful about what you say about that ex-partner, for example.
By way of interest, I also help a family member with his website. I disagree with virtually everything he has to say, quite strongly. For the most part, I turn a blind eye to the opinions I disagree with. But on a couple of occasions I’ve told him, “you’ve got to pull that down”. Sometimes he crosses the line beyond the point of “opinion”. “You can’t say that, you could go to gaol over that”, I’ve warned him.
Though it was always usually the case people would never declare who they voted for at elections, that’s all changed too, it seems.
On Friday, after I pre-polled and numbered the boxes 1, 2, and 3, for the Australian Senate, I came to a halt. I had the sudden realisation I disliked a whole lot of the parties on offer, and knew very little about the rest. “Oh my God”, I thought to myself, noting the Australian Democrats were on the ballot paper (like many Australians, I thought they no longer existed). Some of the party names were, in my view, either confusing or intentionally misleading. After scanning the paper from left to right SEVERAL TIMES, I eventually ended up with the political parties numbered 1-6 for a valid vote.
I pre-polled this time, because I had been contracted to work for the Australian Electoral Commission on both election day, and the day after. It’s something I’ve never done before, but when I saw the advertisements a few weeks ago, I instantly put in an application to work. The money was bonus, but I was more interested in learning about what happens behind the scene.
We were prevented from using our phones and posting to social media throughout the day, though a few of us snapped some shots before the activity began.
On polling day, I spent most of my time making sure people put the ballot papers in the right boxes. I spoke to, literally, hundreds and hundreds of people, and with the exception of three or four, people were really lovely.
I discovered a lot of people were unsure of the name of their electorate. I also helped a few people with questions about the political process, including helping a few people with an understanding of the difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate.
I also learned a lot about the cultural profiles of many different parts of Sydney, as the polling booth I was based at – Town Hall – had people voting from all over the city.
I had one guy who said he was looking to vote in Page, which gave me a smile. “I’m from Lismore”, I told him, to which he replied, “And so am I”. It was a nice connection to have..
After polling closed, I spent four hours going through the lower house seats in NSW, and learned a lot about how two-party preferences. Though my legs were a little sore by the end of it all, it was a terrific day, and I’d highly recommend it to others.
Then on Sunday, I spent a few hours sorting through the Senate papers, ahead of them being sent off for scanning and, I assume, electronic counting. Thankfully, there weren’t too many votes with “dicks and balls” drawn on them.
Doing this was an unexpected change to my routine, as I would normally have planned to spend the weekend bingeing on the Eurovision Song Contest. Eventually, I caught up with the contest, which I thought was quite good this year.
One of my favourite parts about Eurovision is watching the votes come in from the many different countries. Iceland was particularly impressive.
Though, initially I didn’t think much of the Kate Miller-Heidke song chosen to represent Australia, I thought it was very good. An interesting song, combining elements of pop, opera and dance, and an exceptional acrobatic performance. One of my favourites, she did us proud!
And of course, I loved Sweden’s great sing-a-long pop number from John Lundvik.
Earlier today I wrote a letter to my local member of the NSW Parliament, the Member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, telling him…
Hi Alex
I just want to put on the record my concerns about the boundaries for the new seat of Newtown, which I discovered this week I’ll be voting in at the forthcoming election.
I was overseas for a number of months in 2013 during the consultation period, and so missed an opportunity to raise my concerns. Until I received the letter from the SEC I wasn’t even aware the changes had been proposed and gazetted.
The rationale for the boundaries for the new seat are confusing. I’m now part of a seat which contains suburbs I have absolutely no connection with such as Petersham and I’m now disconnected with suburbs like Moore Park, and Darlinghurst which are within walking distance, and which I think represent a more natural community of interest. Those who drew the boundaries seem to have used rather blunt tools to accommodate the need for a new seat to reflect the growing inner city population.
Anyway, it’s done, and I’m sad, because I’ll be losing you as a local member, and even though I’m sure we’ll end up with a fabulous new member (Greens, ALP likely), I suspect they’ll have a tough job trying to represent the views of quite different suburbs with few natural connections to each other.
A few hours later, I received this reply
Dear James
Alex has asked me to respond to your message about the boundary changes. Thanks for your comment about losing him as your MP – sadly there are lot of people in Alex’s network who soon won’t be his constituents.
Alex opposed the division of Surry Hills into two electorates and made submissions to the Boundaries Commission about their proposal.
Unfortunately inner city population growth continues to mean that the central city electorates will have to keep being made smaller.
We hope that there is a strong and progressive MP for the Newtown electorate after 28 March. Please make sure that your voice is heard in the process and you keep whoever it is accountable over the next four years.
Regards
Roy Bishop JP
Electorate Officer for Alex Greenwich MP
I should declare I quite like Alex. Followed on from Clover Moore. Independent. Openly gay. He sent me a hand-written Christmas card this year. Yaddah yaddah.
Irrespective of that, I’m somewhat dumbfounded I’ve ended up in this new electorate which Antony Green descibes as “very higgledy-piggledy” and which is notionally Green.
“I always smile when I hear an ABBA song played at a bar in Sweden. There’s absolutely no sense of hipster irony in playing ABBA in Sweden. Just pure affection…” I thought to myself. I was sitting at a bar in Gamla Stan and “One Of Us” came over the speakers. It was the third time I’d heard ABBA played in a shop, restaurant, or bar that day. First, over lunch. Then over a mid-afternoon coffee. Then, later in the evening, they were in my head again. Oh, and I passed the ABBA Museum (still under construction, but looking okay) earlier in the day.
ABBA MuseumLooking towards Drottningatan
After the gorgeous weather of yesterday, it was all a bit crappy today. Instead of heading out earlier, I stayed home until about lunchtime listening to a few podcasts.
I’ve never been a big podcast listener, as I listen to the radio all day while at work, and never have much more “ear time” available to me. But as I haven’t been working I’ve been listening to quite a few podcasts for absolute pleasure. I’ve also recently discovered a pretty good podcast client, Pocket Casts, made by an Australian company.
In the last few days I’ve really loved listening to the two-part interview Richard Fidler did with George Megalogenis about the last forty years of Australian political and economic history. Richard also did a lovely interview a couple of weeks ago with a woman whose grandfather (I think) used to send the oddest things through the British postal service, as well as an interview with a woman who writes obituaries for The Guardian (I think). I also love the TWIT range of podcasts, as well as listening daily to Klartext (the news in Swedish for dummies like me). They’ve all been great company as I’ve made my way around Europe.
Munkbrohallen Shopping Bag
Later in the afternoon, I went for a wander around town, popping into a church for a look around a moment of quiet meditation when the rain got a little too heavy. “What is it with tourists and churches?”, I thought to myself. I was sitting, enjoying a few quiet moments of reflection in the S:ta Clara kyrka in Stockholm, and as I looked around, there were tourists everywhere. Maybe they were escaping the rain also?
I tend not to be one for churches and museums when I travel. Back home, yes. And when I go to a new city, I usually like to take a quick look at a historical museum to get a bit of an understanding of the place. But mostly I like to be out and about at places like bars, shopping centres and supermarkets.
This was a really good purchase. First, the price: normally Red Eye Records in Sydney is reasonably expensive, but I picked this up for $149.00 which is favourably comparable with what is currently available over the internet. Second, the collection: I’d never collected the early works of Agnetha Faltskog and so this was both a musical education and an addition to the already bloated ABBA-related collection that I have.
There are some aspects of the work that I love and some aspects that I loathe. First, I really loathe some of Agnetha’s early works. In some respects, some of this work is similar to the early Olivia Newton-John inspired folk songs, although not as good. Although Agnetha Faltskog Volume I has some wonderful moments, probably reflective of her naivete as a solo performer, by Volume II she’s wanders off into record-company directed schlock that would have failed to gain a place in the Eurovision Song Contest. Think bad 1960s variety television shows! One track, “Lek med dina dockor” sounds like “It’s Not Unusual” (Tom Jones), though it never quites get there. Another track called, “Som en vind kom du till mig” is inspired, I think, by “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” though it never actually completes the melody line. So, in my view, forget some of the earlier works, although there are tracks here and there that are quite good.
The best this collection has to offer is the CD, “Elva kvinnor i ett us” (Eleven Women In A House), Agnetha’s Swedish-language solo album released in 1975 as it has encompasses both the pop sensibilities of ABBA and the Swedish sensibilities of Agnetha’s work. The album is a “concept work” that was quite popular at the time with Agnetha describing a house in which there were eleven different women living, metaphorically referring to the different personalities of, perhaps, herself. The actual house featured on the cover has become a popular tourist attraction for ABBA fans as they visit Stockholm!
I especially love tracks like “Visa i attonde manaden” as it’s a song that “goes somewhere” with its pop refrain of “la la la” never beginning to grate. There’s actually one moment in the song that I’m sure Madonna has picked up in her song, “Oh Father”. The CD also contains a couple of Swedish-language ABBA songs, with Agnetha covering Swedish versions of “SOS” and “Dissilusion”. This is the kind of album that, if recorded in English, and had Agnetha had an “English sounding name” could have gained her a great deal of credibility. It’s a great album!
In addition to the solo albums, there’s also an additional CD which contains some interesting rarities from Agnetha’s career. A particular favourite is “Nu ska du bli stilla” which is Agnetha’s version of “Everything’s Alalign=”right” from Jesus Christ Superstar in which she played Mary Magdalene in the Swedish production.
Released just months after her first solo CD in seventeen years, this comes at an opportune moment, but this is really only for serious collectors.
Just because I have the complete recordings of ABBA in my record collection, it doesn’t mean I stopped listening to new music in 1982. But that’s what online music stores often presume.
I have stored most of my music collection on Google Music, and I’ve also bought a fair few albums via the Play Store. But because there’s a large number of ABBA recordings stored there, it seems like the only recommendations I get are for The Carpenters, Billy Joel and the like. As my tastes in music are much, much broader, it frustrates me the algorythm (or whatever it is) assumes I would only want to purchase similar music.
But of course, I’m not “normal” in that sense. For many people it seems like music is like a haircut: at about the age of eighteen to twenty five they settle on what they like, and stick with it for life. Although genetics have forced me to compromise on the issue of haircuts, I continue to listen to new and varied styles of music. For example, I really like a lot of hip-hop, which separates me from many people my age.
Occasionally, though, the Play Store manages to get it right, and recommends something I really like. Thus, I have a new Swedish musical obsession. His name is Jonas Holmberg. He was one of those “Recommended Artists” in the Play Store, and so I decided, on spec, I would have a listen.
After a couple of listens, I bought his two albums of Swedish language versions of jazz and pop classics, and they have been barely off my music player over the last two weeks. I’m listening again tonight.
He has a beautifully clear voice and diction (good for improving my Swedish), sings with passion, and is backed by some wonderful instrumentation. Even if you don’t speak Swedish, his two albums are really very, very listenable.
I’ve recommended him to my friend Grant (also a Swedophile) who was mightily impressed.
From what I can see, Jonas performs semi-regularly around Stockholm, and occasionally has appeared on Swedish television. Hopefully the next time I visit Sweden, he’ll be performing somewhere, as I’d love to hear him perform live, and not only on recordings.
Re your last paragraph; and then the networks wonder why some programs rate poorly. Viewers don’t want to invest their time in series that they can’t easily follow and/or cannot see through their end.
Thankfully ABC and SBS don’t tend to do that, and that’s where I watch most of my television. I also tend not to watch week by week anymore, usually recording a series, and then watching it all over a weekend.
Re your last paragraph; and then the networks wonder why some programs rate poorly. Viewers don’t want to invest their time in series that they can’t easily follow and/or cannot see through their end.
Thankfully ABC and SBS don’t tend to do that, and that’s where I watch most of my television. I also tend not to watch week by week anymore, usually recording a series, and then watching it all over a weekend.