What if we treated bank robbery like rape

By on March 8, 2016

Imagine reading this in the newspaper one day:

“The men accused of assaulting a bank office earlier this year, was today freed of all charges by the court. ‘It’s not possible to establish that the bank was in, according to the law, a vulnerable condition when the men took large amounts of money from it. Nor is it possible to prove any lack of consent’
According to the court, there are several factors to consider regarding the alleged assault. One is the bank’s reputation, and prior history with money. It’s well known that they keep cash there. It’s even been advertised. And they should know what people are like – most like easy money. The men working in the bank wear expensive suits and watches. They should keep in mind what kind of signals they are sending. It’s very unadvisable to tempt your surroundings like that. Besides, they didn’t resist the transaction enough, just handed over the money and kept quiet. They didn’t alert anyone until after it was all over. That could be seen as a sign of consent.
There is also word against word in this case. The bank claims that it was in a vulnerable condition, while the men claims that the bank knew what it was doing, and gave them the money voluntarily, and that the bank had been very forthcoming earlier, handing out money to several other customers.
‘It can be very confusing in situations like this’, the court says, ‘when the bank lend money to a lot of people. It’s not up to the court to decide about personal disagreements about consent.’

Sexual assault is not about a lot of things we think it is about.
It is not an act of impulsive, uncontrollable desire; it is a premeditated act of violence (research shows that more than half of the rapes are planned).
It’s not about sex. If someone hit you with a shovel, you wouldn’t call it gardening. It’s about psychological needs, not bodily ones. The perpetrators aren’t horny – they need to feel power, control, domination, and feeling superior to women.
It’s not about strange men hiding in the bushes. 4/5 of rapes were committed by someone known to the victim. Often in a familiar environment.
It’s not about how women dress or behave. It’s about the attitudes and values among men.

Rape and sexual assault may be among the worst things men do to women, but it’s definitely not the only thing. The gender gap, the glass ceiling, gender inequality at home and at work, belittling, master suppression techniques, sexism, harassment, mansplaining, dick pics, dirty socks on the living room floor… it’s a very long list. But even if these things are considered to be women’s issues, they are not. Women certainly get the short end of the stick, but the reason for it can be found between the ears of men.

There’s a forgotten tragedy behind rape. One where men are reduced to testosterone-bags with no free will (but ‘not all men’, of course), with an untamable sexuality much like a loaded gun with the safety off – be very careful with it, or you may get hurt. One where men have to assault, degrade, and humiliate women in order to keep some imaginary position in a made-up hierarchy. One where men are trapped inside a lie about what it means to be a man.

Not that long ago women saw through the lie they were trapped in, and rewrote and updated the ‘What it means to be a woman’ manual. They got sick of being seen as some second-class humans, and empowered themselves. They want a very simple and natural thing – that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. That the world should look the same no matter what you have between your legs. As we can see it’s still very much a work-in-progress. But not because of lack of efforts from the women. But because the general attitude from us men is along the lines of “umm… what..?” When the train to gender equality left the station, the women was already on board and having drinks in the dining car, while us guys got left behind at the station, obviously too busy telling blonde jokes and sending dick pics to notice things were changing.

And things have certainly changed. But not as much for men as for the rest of the world. We live in the past. We carry around beliefs and ideas as relevant in 2016 as a Betamax videocassette. We are the flat earth society of gender equality. Our minds run on Windows 3.11. Our attitudes are obsolete. We desperately need to up upgrade to a new masculinity, because the old one stinks like yesterday’s diapers. We can stop everything from rape to manspreading simply by throwing out outdated ways of seeing the world and the people in it. So let us.

 

The material here is taken and (badly) translated from my Swedish book “På Y-fronten intet nytt – jakten på den nya mansrollen”, roughly translated to “All quiet on the Y-front – in search of a new masculinity”. Published on this day ten years ago. Unfortunately, still relevant it seems…

På Y-fronten intet nytt

 

 
Oh, and guys, if this whole consent thing seems confusing, it’s really not. Just watch this:

Copyright ©2015 Emmeline May and Blue Seat Studios

 

 

Listening to: Killswitch Engage
Reading: Matt Ruff: Lovecraft Country
Watching: Broadchurch
Drinking: Havana Rum Coffee
This entry is filed under English, Stuff & nonsense, The World.

Everything’s got to end sometime; otherwise nothing would ever get started – 2015 in a nutshell

By on January 4, 2016

Tempus fugit faster than a butterfly-fart on fire, and things change. 2015 was a year when a lot changed for me. A year of ending and beginnings.

It’s been an unforgettable journey. Slow, sad and dark at times. Wild, crazy and adventurous at others. Sentimental, scary, hopeful, refreshing, exhausting, fun, educating… you name it. But it’s all been valuable. Even the bad bits, in their way, because everything’s a lesson, and nothing worth having ever comes easy. (Except perhaps the male orgasm, it usually takes very little work, and is always appreciated by those having it)

One thing that ended was ye ole teamwork of Eriksson & Holmlund. It was a peaceful and friendly ending, and it will continue to be a very good friendship. No need for sympathies or pity or anything like that. But if someone want to buy me a drink I’m on anytime. I can’t for the life of me don’t understand why there need to be a breakup or something before friends can get drunk together, I’m sure it’s the hamster’s birthday or something we can use as a reason.
Anyway, besides friendship the digital publishing house Turtle Bite Books is also still a common endeavor, and new books are on their way.
Everyone’s fine, and life goes on.

I have moved. Or to be more specific: I’m still in transit. I should have put my bags down in London this fall, but since life is full of unexpected twists and turns, I haven’t. Yet. While me and my bags are on our way, I live pretty much everywhere. Most of all in Poland. It’s been an extremely healthy trip outside my comfort zone to be a stranger in a strange land, not knowing the language, or anything else.
Not knowing the language is an amusing adventure. Ever since I accidentally bought buttermilk instead of ordinary milk, and had the worst cup of tea in my life (it tasted like expired beaver puke), I have begun to use the Google Translate app on everything I’m not sure what it is. Problem is, as soon as the label isn’t in clear, well-spaced Arial, the app gets a bit confused. So far I’ve had soup with ‘dragon’ and ‘snake’ as ingredients, I’ve been instructed to add “a spoonful of monsters”, and the laundry detergent was “concentrated lawsuit”.
But dziękuję Poland for being a kind host. Your vodka is excellent, your artists even better, and your food prices that make it possible for me to buy a week’s dinners for what I used to pay for half a peanut back in Sweden has been a wonderful disaster for my waistline. Now, just get rid of those medieval blasphemy laws, remember what democracy is, and start smiling, and everything will be peachy.

And while we’re on the subject of Poland. Last year I discovered that pictures have a language of their own, tell stories just as words does. I also discovered that my pictures most likely spoke Polish, because I got a lot of feedback from Polish artists. With one of them, Ewelina, our common languages were so many and went so deep that the cooperation kicked in the door and didn’t take no for an answer. We are writing, creating stories, conjuring up images, composing music, turning dreams and fantasies and magic into reality. It just flows. It is very amazing to have found my kindred soul.
It’s all still work-in-progress, but expect to hear a lot from team Eriksson & Brzozka in 2016.

Lives ended. We lost legends like Leonard Nimoy, Robin Williams, Christopher Lee, Terry Pratchett and Lemmy. I lost people close to me. Some long before their expiration-date. Some that I even didn’t get a chance to meet face-to-face before they suddenly left.
Life isn’t fair. Never been. The only antidote is to always follow your heart and your dreams. Never wait, only live and laugh and learn.

I think that I finally defected from reality this year. You are kind of nice, Real World, I’ve always liked you in one way or the other, but you have lost your heart. I need a warmth and a kindness you don’t seem to have anymore. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to live in you anymore. But I’m sure we’ll see each other at some Christmas party or something. Take care of yourself!

I’ve written. Quite a lot actually. Some of it the most important I’ve ever put in words. Nothing ended up in any bookstores this year. But don’t worry, things will. Even if I will have to drop handwritten notes between the shelves in secret.

I took pictures. Only about half as many as last year (+10 000 jpg’s in my end-of-the-year backup). I must be making less mistakes. 🙂
I even got paid to do it (why can’t my hobbies ever stay hobbies?). The cartoonist/author Tony Cronstam needed new portraits, and I gave it a shot. It involved laughter, hugs, pastries and cognac. And good results. It was much too fun to be called work. But I will gladly do it again, if anyone need a portrait and a good time. Just look how pretty and happy I made Tony look. 🙂

TonyCronstam

 

If you want to buy prints on everything from hq photo-paper and canvas to leggings and pillows, I’ve set up a shop over at Redbubble.

red-bubble-logo

I’ve taken pictures just for the fun of it too. I was going to pick out one favourite, but I couldn’t. So I picked out the bunch that both I and people that are not me seemed to like the most.

A Study in Blue

The Ghost of Me III

Loxia pytyopsittacus

I can touch the summer I can touch the dusk But I can’t touch you

Tears From The Sky

The Wilderness Beneath

 

I went to my Twitter-feed to see if it could help me summarize the year. I don’t think it did, but it’s a kind of a representative MRI-scan of that stuff between my ears that makes me have insane ideas and do crazy shit:

  • Just took +100 pics of colostomy bags. And what have you done today?
  • BB King once addressed Mick Hucknall as “Simply”, because he thought his name was Simply Red.
  • Word of the day: OORIE – miserable as a result of cold weather.
  • The blankets in my bed has accepted me as one of their own. If I leave I might lose their trust.
  • Today’s best headline: “Earth endangered by new strain of fact-resistant humans.”
  • Best poetry of the year came from a bad Chinese-to-English auto-translation on eBay: “Strong adsorbability, prevent the shift, water flow smoothly, Starfish shape adds funny”.
  • It’s sink or swim, and I don’t know how to sink.
  • Just had a beer that tasted like an iron fence, but in a good way.
  • Today I accidentally created the genre “erotic butterfly comedy”.
  • Dreaming summer dreams, because if you don’t dream, nothing ever happens.
  • There’s something about finding empty condom wrappers in cemeteries that always make me smile.
  • Just tasted the abomination of marzipan filled with salty liquorice. My suffering will be legendary even in hell.
  • I’m so tired even my pockets are nodding off.
  • Took a nap, and woke up from the fluttering of a lost butterfly trying to use my face as a landing spot.
  • The joy of reading a brand new Terry Pratchett-book. And the deep sadness that it will be the last time I do.
  • Things I’ve seen today: a fistfight, a butterfly, rats, tears, my own blood mixed with instant coffee, and hope in an unexpected place.
  • Planning and designing my next home. Realise that I probably will have to do all my shopping in Diagon Alley this time.
  • Sad me wanted to have cookies and brandy for dinner. Reasonable me said “No, fix things instead!” I hate being a grown up sometimes…
  • Instead of doing something that resembles work, I’m googling pillow forts. I think my hibernating instincts are setting in.

 

Enough about my life.
Here’s the stuff I really liked 2015:

Music:
The Agonist, CHVRCHES, Fightstar, Flor, Ghost Ship Octavius, Goldmund, iwrestledabearonce, Killing Joke, Lifehouse, Marina Mena, Outside The Coma, Periphery, Ryn Weaver, Soilwork, Twelve Foot Ninja, Young Guns.

Best Song of the Year:

 

TV:
Daredevil, Sense8, Jessica Jones, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Penny Dreadful, Hannibal, Sleepy Hollow, Walking Dead, Ash vs Evil Dead, Helix, Wayward Pines, The Expanse, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Books:
Neil Gaiman: Trigger Warning, Kelly Link: Get In Trouble, Terry Pratchett: The Shepherd’s Crown, Scott Hawkins: The Library at Mount Char

Movies:
Mad Max: Fury Road, An Honest Liar, Ex Machina, Bone Tomahawk, Shaun the Sheep, The Little Prince, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best acting & best anti-war speech:
Peter Capaldi’s been on fire as the 12th Doctor this season. The man’s embraced the role like no one else has, and I’ve had to rewatch every episode because Capaldi’s been chewing scenes with such brilliance I’ve forgot the plot. In ‘The Zygon Inversion’ he’s not only giving a masterclass in acting, but also giving us all the reasons no one can ever win a war…

 

Well, you have a wonderful 2016 now my darlings!
In this coming year, I hope that you will laugh, learn, live and love.
Don’t wait – do. Tempus fugit really fucking fast.
Don’t regret. The past is just an old stick drifting away in the river.
Create something. If you had fun doing it, then it’s a success. And don’t mind if you suck at it, all art has a place (and others will probably love you for making them look good).
Use your brain and your heart all that you can. The world needs kindness and wisdom like never before.
Be nice. Be happy.
Today, and all of your tomorrows.
♥
/P.

LuleaGold

Listening to: Ine Hoem and Sikth
Reading: Molly Tanzer: Vermilion
Watching: The Expanse
Drinking: Havana Rum Coffee
This entry is filed under Årskrönikor, English, Year in Review.

The Dream Formula

By on November 28, 2015

I’m writing this in my temporary room in Poland. I like it. It’s warm and cozy, I can make tea here, it got one of those fancy showers with a gazillion settings that can give you an accidental enema if you’re not careful, and it has a skylight so I can watch the sky, the moon and the stars through my roof.

What I’m doing in Poland? Well, that is sort of a long story, and since I’m still in the middle of it, it would be difficult to tell all of it now. It wouldn’t even end on a cliffhanger, it would end midsentence, and that’s just sucky storytelling. See this as a teaser for the upcoming full story that’s coming soon. But in short: I was on my way to London, was just going to stop here for a short while, but because, you know, ‘life’, I’m still here.

But as they say, “It didn’t go as planned, and that’s ok”. It’s an unexpected adventure I wouldn’t want to be without. I highly recommend to stay somewhere you never planned to be, and where you don’t speak the language, it makes you feel awake and alive. And whenever I use my Google Translate app – also amused. Ever since I accidentally bought buttermilk instead of ordinary milk, and had the worst cup of tea in my life (it tasted like expired beaver puke), I use that app on everything I’m not sure what it is. Problem is, as soon as the label isn’t in clear, well-spaced Arial, the app gets a bit confused. So far I’ve had soup with ‘dragon’ and ‘snake’ as ingredients, I’ve been instructed to add “a spoonful of monsters”, and the laundry detergent was “concentrated lawsuit”.

Pictures from Poland:

Czestochowa-1

Czestochowa-2

Czestochowa-3

Czestochowa-4

Being a stranger in a strange land also makes you think. In different ways, and on different things. Lately I’ve thought a lot about dreams.

Dreamers get a lot of crap. Get called naïve, lazy, having the head in the clouds and not being in touch with reality. That last bit is sort of half-true. Being a dreamer, I always see reality as a work in progress. There are always things that need to be changed, added or improved.

I think those who see dreamers in a negative way are non-dreamers that live under two delusions:
1. That everything around us has always been there, and popped into existence unaided, like a virgin birth.
2. That dreamers are lazy slackers that imagine that they can change the world, sleep ‘til noon, and get laid (not necessarily in that order) with their poetry/songwriting/interpretive dance/etc, while society have to pay their rent and bar tab.

The non-dreamers seem to forget that lightbulbs, iPhones, pacemakers, democracy, the kingdom of Sweden, space travels and the whoopee cushion all began as a dream in someone’s head. Someone took a long walk among their thoughts and saw something no one had ever seen before. Then got haunted by the idea to make the dream become a part of a new reality.

Dreamers have very selective vision, seeing possibilities very clearly, but limitations as some distant, irrelevant blur. ‘Unrealistic’ is just another word for ‘no one has tried hard enough yet’. Dreamers always think outside the box, because they didn’t even notice there was a box to begin with (they probably put wheels on it and turned it into an environmentally-friendly vehicle, driven by the waste heat from their optimism). Yes, dreamers do spend a lot of time in their heads, and it may look like laziness, but it enables them to change things. Even change the world. If it weren’t for the dreamers we would still sit in trees and ponder how to get some nutritional value from a rock.

You see, dreams are so very important. They are the most important ingredient to make amazing and important things happen. Not only in our world, but also in ourselves. If we don’t dream we will have no goal in life, and we will end up doing things for someone else’s dreams, and live the life of others. We need the dreams to be free and to fully become ourselves.
Dreams are the seeds that will change both us and the world. But not all by themselves, of course. Nothing can grow without a seed, but a seed will also need help to grow. Fortunately, there is a fairly simple formula for taking even the craziest idea out of the head and into the real world.
The formula is: dreaming + doing + not giving up = new amazing things.
All parts are important. And without doing and keep on trying until we succeed, the dreams will only stay in our heads, and slowly turn sour as they don’t become reality. But everything is possible when dreams and action meet. Everything.

No one said it was simple though. As someone who meddles in a bunch of creative areas I’m very familiar with the creative process:

  1. This is awesome
  2. This is tricky
  3. This is shit
  4. I am shit
  5. This might be ok
  6. This is awesome

 

This is true for all dreams and ideas. There will be self-doubt, there will be naysayers, and there will be obstacles. Things don’t go as planned, funds run out, mistakes are made, plans go pear shaped, accidents happen. It’s hard. But not the end. We only need to catch our breath, adjust and keep on going. Not give up. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. Make glorious mistakes, because they are valuable lessons, and it is a million times better than doing nothing. And by understanding this process, and keep going, there will be success.

what-success-really-looks-like

Sometimes it can feel too hard when the obstacles never end, when the problems drains us and our energy runs out, and with it the hope. But all energy and hope returns. Despair is just a feeling. The dream and the possibilities are still there, just harder to see in the fog of exhaustion. Disappointments are just small clouds hiding the light for a short while. They’ll pass. Trust the initial belief. Trust your heart. Trust yourself. Get rid of the doubters and the pessimists. Let them crawl back to their branch and suck on that rock, while you take that dream about writing the world’s saddest love song/construct a bridge between Africa and Europe so all refugees can walk over safely/making a pizza with 14 kinds of cheese/whatever, and make it happen.

Go on, dream. Bring something to the world that wasn’t there before. Change it. Make it bigger and better. Leave your mark.

steve-jobs-quote

 

Listening to: Ryn Weaver and Fightstar
Reading: Stephen King: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
Watching: Jessica Jones
Dreaming of: Pillow forts
This entry is filed under English, Stuff & nonsense.

Bye-bye vinyl

By on August 26, 2015

När något har legat orört i typ 20 år är det ett säkert tecken på att det har passerat sitt “saker jag verkligen behöver”-datum, därför är det nu dags att gå skilda vägar med min vinyl-skivsamling. Det rör sig om drygt 500 LP, EP och singlar som ska väck. Huvudsakligen metal, pop och rock från 80- och 90-talet. Lista på vad som erbjuds nedan. ”Säljes” mot drinkar, kramar, skrivuppdrag, gentjänster eller motsvarande. Pengar går också bra. Hör av er!

It’s time to say goodbye to my vinyl record collection. It’s priceless, of course, but I’ll accept drinks, hugs, favours, writing gigs, kind words, and even money, as payment. It’s mostly metal and pop/rock from the 80s and 90s. List below. Let me know if you’re interested.

 

220 Volt – Power games

220 Volt – Mind over muscle

220 Volt – Heavy christmas (6)

220 Volt – High heels (6)

 

A very special christmas

ABC – How to be a millionaire

Accept – Breaker

Accept – Restless & wild

Accept – Balls to the wall

Accept – Metal heart

Accept – Russian roulette

AC/DC – High voltage

AC/DC – Dirty deeds done dirt cheap

AC/DC – Let there be rock

AC/DC – Powerage

AC/DC – If you want blood

AC/DC – Highway to hell

AC/DC – Back in black

AC/DC – For those about to rock

AC/DC – Let´s get it up (12)

AC/DC – Flick of the switch

AC/DC – Fly on the wall

AC/DC – Blow up your video

Adam and the Ants – Prince charming

Adam ant – Vive le rock

The Adventures – The sea of love

Agneta Fältskog & Ola Håkansson – The way you are (6)

A-ha – Hunting high and low

A-ha – Scoundrel days

A-ha – Stay on these roads

A-ha – I call your name (12)

A-ha – Early morning (12)

The Alan Parsons Project – Gaudi

The Alarm – Declaration

The Alarm – Eye of the hurricane

The Alarm – Sold me down a river (6)

Alaska – Heart of the storm

Alcatrazz – No parole from rock ´n´ roll

Alcatrazz – Disturbing the peace

Alexander O´Neal – A broken heart can mend (6)

Alexander O´Neal – Hearsay

Alexander O´Neal – Fake (6)

Alexander O´Neal – Hearsay (6)

Alexander O´Neal – All true man

Alexander O´Neal – All mixed up

Alive In Chains – Facelift

All That Jazz – All That Jazz

All That Jazz – Color blind

Andy Taylor – Thunder

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe – Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe

Animal Logic – Animal Logic

Anna – Följer dig än (6)

Annie Lennox – Diva

Anvil – Hard ´n´ heavy

Anvil – Metal on metal

Artie Shaw – Giants of jazz

ASAP – Silver and gold

Australian rocks 1989

Axe Attack – vol. 2

 

Bach – Greatest hits vol. 1

Bach – Greatest hits vol. 2

Bam Bam Boys – Let me touch your skin (6)

Beethoven – Greatest hits vol. 2

Big Country – Steel town

Big Country – The seer

Big Country – Peace in our time

Big Country – Broken heart (6)

Big Deal – Det brinner en eld (12)

Big Money – Rich and famous (6)

Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure OST

Blackfoot – Highway song live

Blackfoot – Siogo

Black Sabbath – We sold our soul for rock ´n´ roll

Black Sabbath – Technical ecstasy

Black Sabbath – Mob rules

Black Sabbath – Live evil

Black Sabbath – Seventh star

The Blow Monkeys – Wicked ways (6)

The Blow Monkeys – Whoops! There goes the neighbourhood

The Blow Monkeys – Choices

Blue Yonder – Blue Yonder

Blue Zone – Thinking about his baby (6)

Bob Geldof – This is the world calling (6)

Bomb The Bass – Winter in july (6)

Bomb The Bass – Keep giving me love (12)

Bon Jovi – Slippery when wet

Bourgeois & Tagg – Yoyo

Breach – Untitled (6)

Breakfast Club – Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club – Kiss and tell (6)

Bright Lights, Big City OST

Bruce Dickinson – Tattooed millionaire

Bruce Hornsby & The Range – Scenes from the southside

Bryan Ferry – Bête noire

Bubbi Mortens – Serbian flower

Budgie – Deliver us from evil

Bullet – No mercy

 

Cactus World News – The bridge (6)

The Call – Into the woods

C+C Music Factory – Gonna make you sweat

Charlie Parker – History of jazz

China Crisis – Best kept secret (6)

Chopin – Greatest hits

Clannad – Legend

Clannad – Sirius

Clannad – In a lifetime (6)

Clannad – The hunter (6)

Cock Robin – Worlds apart (12)

Corey Hart – Young man running

Criss 99 – Non-stop heroes

Crowded House – Temple of low men

The Cult – Electric

Curiosity Killed The Cat – Keep your distance

Curiosity Killed The Cat – Get ahead

Curiosity Killed The Cat – Name and number (6)

Cyndi Lauper – True colors

Cyndi Lauper – I drove all night (6)

Cyndi Lauper – Heading west (6)

 

Dalbello – Whomanfoursays

Dalbello – She

Dance Classics

Dare – Out of the silence

David Bowie – Never let me down

David+David – Welcome to the boomtown (12)

David Lee Roth – I´m easy (6)

Dead Or Alive – Youthquake

Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers

Deep Purple – The house of blue light

Def Jam Classics

Demon – Night of the demon

Demon – Breakout

Device – 22B3

Diamond Head – Living on borrowed time

Dio – Holy diver

Dio – Holy diver (12)

Dio – Rainbow in the dark (6)

Dio – The last in line

Dio – We rock (12)

Dio – Mystery (12)

Dio – Sacred heart

Dio – Hungry for heaven (6)

Dio – Rock ´n´ roll children (6)

Dio – Hide in the rainbow (6)

Dio – Intermission

Dio – Dream evil

Dio – Lock up the wolves

Dive – Where the river turns to sea

Don Airey – K2

Don Dokken – Up from the ashes

Dokken – Tooth and nail

Dokken – Beast from the east

Drum Theatre – Everyman

Dune OST

Duran Duran – Arena

 

Easy Action – Talk of the town (6)

The Edge – Captive

Eldkvarn – Den långa färden (6)

Eldkvarn – Legender ur hatten

Electric Boys – Groovus maximus

ELP – Emerson, Lake & Powell

Enuff Z´nuff – Enuff Z´nuff

Enya – Watermark

The Escape Club – Dollars and sex

Europe – Europe

Europe – Wings of tomorrow

Europe – Rock the night (6)

Europe – The final countdown

Eva Dahlgren – En blekt blondins hjärta

Excalibur – One strange night

Extreme – Pornograffitti

Fafner – Jak spelar dik matt

Fiona – Beyond the pale

Fiona – No small affair (6)

Fish – Vigil in a wilderness of mirrors

Fish – State of mind (6)

Fish – Big wedge (6)

Fish – Internal exile

Flairck – Sleight of hand

Flairck – Trick of the night (6)

Force – Set me free

Foreigner – Inside information

Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush – Live

Freda – Tusen eldar

Freda – Undan för undan

French Revolution – Fantasia

French Revolution – The light from fantasia (6)

French Revolution – This is not the end (6)

French Revolution – Alien too (6)

 

G-Force – G-Force

Gary Moore – Parisienne walkways (6)

Gary Moore – Dirty fingers

Gary Moore – Victims of the future

Gary Moore – Empty rooms (6)

Gary Moore – Wild Frontier

Gary Moore – Over the hills (6)

Gary Moore – After the war

Gary Moore – After the war (6)

Gary Moore & Phil Lynott – Out in the fields (12)

Genesis – Abacab

Genesis – Paperlate (6)

Genesis – Genesis

Genesis – Invisible touch

Genesis – We can´t dance

Geoffrey Downes & The New Dance Orchestra – The light program

George Clinton – The cinderella theory

Gillan & Glover – Clouds and rain (6)

Gillan & Glover – Dislocated (6)

Gina Jacobi – Tid & rum

Gina Jacobi – Gå som på nålar

Gina Jacobi – Jag undrar (6)

Gladys Knight – Licence to kill (6)

Glass Tiger – Diamond sun

Go West – The king is dead (6)

Go West – True colours (12)

Good Question – I still call it love (6)

The Greatest Hits of 1986

The Greatest Hits of 1987

The Greatest Hits of 1988

The Great Metal Attack

GTR – GTR

Guns N Roses – Appetite for destruction

 

Hard Rock ´83

Harry Connick Jr – 20

Hearts of Gold

Hear ´n Aid – We´re stars (12)

Heavy Load – Death or glory

Heavy Load – Stronger than evil

Heavy Metal 2

Helix – Long way to heaven

Hell On Earth

Hell Comes To Your House

Honeymoon Suite – Honeymoon Suite

Honeymoon Suite – The big prize

Honeymoon Suite – Bad attitude (6)

Honeymoon Suite – Racing after midnight

Honeymoon Suite – Lethal weapon (6)

Hooters – Nervous night

Hooters – One way home

Hooters – Zig zag

House of Anderson – House of Anderson

House of Lords – House of Lords

HSAS – Through the fire

Hue & Cry – Ordinary angel (6)

 

Ian Gillan – South Africa (6)

Imperiet – Var e´ vargen (6)

Imperiet – Saker som hon gör (6)

Imperiet – 19hundra80sju (6)

Irma – Irma

Irma – Stureplan (6)

Iron Maiden – Women in uniform (12)

Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden – Killers

Iron Maiden – Maiden Japan (12)

Iron Maiden – The number of the beast

Iron Maiden – Piece of mind

Iron Maiden – Flight of Icarus (12)

Iron Maiden – Powerslave

Iron Maiden – Ace´s high (12)

Iron Maiden – 2 minutes to midnight (12)

Iron Maiden – Live after death

Iron Maiden – Running free live (6)

Iron Maiden – Somewhere in time

Iron Maiden – Wasted years (6)

Iron Maiden – Stranger in a strange land (12)

Iron Maiden – Seventh son of a seventh son

Iron Maiden – Can I play with madness (12)

Iron Maiden – No prayer for the dying

It Bites – The big lad in the windmill

It Bites – Calling all the heroes (6)

It Bites – Once around the world

It Bites – Old man and the angel (6)

It Bites – Eat me in St. Louis

 

Jack Starr – Out of the darkness

Jackson Browne – Lawyers in love

Jackson Browne – Lives in the balance

Jackson Browne – World in motion

Jaki Graham – Step right up (6)

JAPOP – I den vuxna världen

Jerusalem – Live in USA

Jerusalem – Dancing on the head of the serpent

Jethro Tull – Broadsword and the beast

Jethro Tull – Crest of a knave

Jimi Hendrix – In the west

Joe Satriani – Dreaming #11

John Norum – Total control

John Norum – Love is meant… (12)

John Waite – Ignition

John Waite – Rovers return

John Waite – Deal for life (12)

Johnny Clegg & Savuka – Take my heart away (6)

Johnny Hates Jazz – Turn back the clock

Johnny Hates Jazz – Turn the tide (6)

Judas Priest – Rocka rolla

Judas Priest – Sad wings of destiny

Judas Priest – Killing machine

Judas Priest – Unleashed in the east

Judas Priest – British steel

Judas Priest – Screaming for vengeance

Judas Priest – Defenders of the faith

 

Kate Bush – The kick inside

Kate Bush – Hounds of love

Kate Bush – Sensual world

Killing Joke – Night time

Killing Joke – Brighter than a thousand suns

Killing Joke – America (6)

King – The taste of your tears (6)

King – Torture (6)

King Diamond – Fatal portrait

King Diamond – Abigail

Kingdom Come – In your face

King Kobra – Ready to strike

King´s X – Out of the silent planet

King´s X – Faith hope love

KISS – Love gun

KISS – Creatures of the night

KISS – Lick it up

KISS – Heaven´s on fire (6)

KISS – Asylum

Kitaro – Silk road III

Kitaro – Tenku

Kitaro – The light of the spirit

Kriss Kross – I missed the bus (6)

Krokus – Hardware

Krokus – Headhunter

Krush Groove OST

 

Legends of Jazz

Level 42 – Take care of yourself (6)

Live for Ireland

Living In A Box – Living in a box

Living In A Box – Scales of justice (6)

Lloyd Cole – No blue skies (6)

Lone Justice – I found love (6)

Louis Armstrong – 20 greatest hits

Lustans Lakejer – Sinnenas rike

Lynch Mob – Wicked sensation

 

Madison – Best in show

Madonna – Like a prayer

Magnum – Anthology

Magnum – Lonely night (6)

Manhunter OST

Manowar – Battle hymns

Manowar – Into glory ride

Manowar – Defender (12)

Manowar – Hail to England

Manowar – Sign of the hammer

Manowar – Fighting the world

Marc Almond – The days of Pearly Spencer (6)

Maria Vidal – Do me right (12)

Marillion – Script for a jesters tear

Marillion – Fugazi

Marillion – Real to reel

Marillion – Misplaced childhood

Marillion – Lavender (12)

Marillion – Heart of Lothian (6)

Marillion – Brief encounter

Marillion – Clutching at straws

Marillion – Incommunicado (12)

Marillion – Sugar mice (6)

Marillion – B´sides themselves

Marillion – Seasons end

Marillion – Hooks in you (6)

Marillion – Holidays in Eden

Mark Knopfler – Going home (6)

Married To The Mob OST

Martika – Martika´s kitchen

Martin Rössel – Dröm (6)

Martin Rössel – Vampyr (6)

Martin Rössel – Det regnar i New York (6)

Martin Rössel – Nån som du (6)

Mauro Scocco – Mauro Scocco

Mauro Scocco – Dr Space dagbok

Mauro Scocco – Ciao

Mauro Scocco – Om du var min (6)

Metal Fusion

Metal Killers II

Mercyful Fate – Melissa

Mercyful Fate – Don´t break the oath

Miami Vice – Music from…

Miami Vice – Music from… II

Michael McDonald – No looking back

Midge Ure – The gift

Midge Ure – Answers to nothing

Midge Ure – Call of the wild (6)

Midge Ure – Pure

Mikael Rickfors – Vingar (6)

Mike Oldfield – Five miles out

Mike Oldfield – Crises

Mike Oldfield – Discovery

Mike Oldfield – The complete

Mike Oldfield – Shine (12)

Mike Oldfield – Pictures in the dark (6)

Mike Oldfield – Islands

Mike Oldfield – Earth moving

Mike Oldfield – Amarok

Mike + The Mechanics – Mike + The Mechanics

Miles Davis – Sketches of Spain

Morris Day – Color of success

Morris Day – Daydreaming

Mot Alla Vindar OST

Motley Crue – Shout at the devil

Motorhead – Ace of spades

Motorhead – No sleep til Hammersmith

Motorhead – Another perfect day

Moving Hearts – The storm

MSG – The Michael Schenker group

MSG – One night at Budokan

Music For Films III

 

Neneh Cherry – Raw like sushi

New Order – Everything´s gone green (6)

Nik Kershaw – Wide boy (12)

Nik Kershaw – Radio musicola

Noiseworks – Noiseworks

 

Oh´Boy – Oh´Boy

Orup – 2

Orup – My earth angel (12)

Orup – Magaluf (6)

Orup – Nån annan kommer följa dej hem (6)

The Outfield – Bangin´

The Outfield – No surrender (6)

The Outfield – All the love in the world (12)

Ozzy – Blizzard of oz

Ozzy – Randy Rhoads tribute

Ozzy – Bark at the moon

Ozzy – So tired (12)

Ozzy – The ultimate sin

Ozzy – No rest for the wicked

Ozzy – No more tears

 

Pallas – The sentinel

Pallas – The wedge

Pat Benatar – Seven the hard way

Pat Benatar – Wide awake in dreamland

Paul Carrack – A little unkind (6)

Paul Carrack – One good reason

Paul Young – I´m gonna tear your playhouse down (12)

Paul Young – Tomb of memories (12)

Paul Young – Some people (6)

Paul Young – Wonderland (6)

Paul Young – Why does a man have to be strong (6)

Paul Young – Heaven can wait (12)

Paul Young – Oh girl (12)

Pebbles – Backyard (6)

Pete Townshend – White city

Pete Townshend – The iron man

Peter Gabriel – Don´t give up (6)

Peter Gabriel – Red rain (6)

Phil Collins – Thru´ these walls (6)

Phil Lynott – Solo in Soho

Phil Lynott – Nineteen (12)

Pink Floyd – A momentary lapse of reason

The Police – Every breath you take

The Pogues – If I should fall from grace with God

The Power Station – The Power Station

Prefab Sprout – Hey Manhattan (6)

Pretty Maids – Future world

The Prince´s Trust 10th Anniversary Party

 

Queensrÿche – Queen of the reich EP

Queensrÿche – The warning

Queensrÿche – Rage for order

Queensrÿche – Operation: mindcrime

Queensrÿche – Empire

Quicksilver OST

Quiet Riot – Metal health

 

Rainbow – Ritchie Blackmore´s Rainbow

Rainbow – Rising

Rainbow – On stage

Rainbow – Long live rock ´n´roll

Rainbow – Difficult to cure

Rainbow – Bent out of shape

Rainbow – Final vinyl

Ratata – Äventyr

Ratata – Jackie

Ratata – Paradis

Ratata – Sent i september

Ratata – Mellan dröm och verklighet

Ratata – Guld

Ratata – Människor under molnen

Ratata – Glad att det är över (6)

Rick Springfield – Working class dog

Rick Springfield – Success hasn´t spoiled me yet

Rick Springfield – Hard to hold

Rick Springfield – Living in oz

Rick Springfield – Tao

Rick Springfield – Rock of life

Riot – Fire down under

Robbie Robertson – Robbie Robertson

Rock Runt Riket – I want you (6)

Roger Daltrey – Under a raging moon

Roger Daltrey – After the fire (6)

Roxette – Pearls of passion

Runrig – Once in a lifetime

Rush – Archives

Rush – All the worlds a stage

Rush – Power windows

Rush – Hold your fire

Rush – A show of hands

Rush – Presto

Rush – Roll the bones

 

Sade – Never as good as the first time (12)

Sade – Nothing can come between us (12)

Sade – Turn my back on you (6)

Sade – No ordinary love (6)

Sally Oldfield – Reflections

Sally Oldfield – Silver dagger (6)

Sammy Hagar – VOA

Sammy Hagar – Sammy Hagar

Samson – Don´t get mad get even

Sanne Salomonsen, Anne Linnet m.fl. – Den jeg elsker elsker jeg (6)

Sarah Brightman – The phantom of the opera (6)

Saxon – Denim and leather

Saxon – Power and the glory

Saxon – Crusader

Saxon – Back on the streets

Scritti Politti – Cupid & Psyche ´85

Scritti Politti – Provision

Shakespears Sister – Sacred heart

Shakespears Sister – Break my heart (6)

Sheila E. – In romance 1600

Silent Running – Walk on fire

Simple Minds – Someone somewhere (6)

Simple Minds – Speed your love (6)

Simple Minds – Once upon a time

Simple Minds – Sanctify yourself (6)

Simple Minds – Ghostdancing (6)

Simple Minds – Live in the city of lights

Simple Minds – Street fighting years

Simple Minds – This is your land (12)

Simple Minds – Ballad of the streets (12)

Spandau Ballet – The singles collection

Spandau Ballet – Be free with your love (12)

Stampede – The official bootleg

Steve Hackett – Bay of kings

Steve Lukather – Lonely beat of my heart (6)

Steve Vai – Flexable

Sting – Russians (6)

Sting – Love is the seventh wave (6)

Sting – Fortress around your heart (6)

Sting – Nothing like the sun

Stolt – Stranger (6)

Stolt – Burning bridges (6)

Stolt – Big daddy (6)

Stonefunkers – Bassrace (6)

Stonefunkers – Lucky people center (6)

Streets of Fire OST

The Style Council – Come to Milton Keynes (6)

Susanna Hoffs – Unconditional love (6)

Susanna Hoffs – My side of the bed (6)

Swedish Erotica – Swedish Erotica

Swedish Metal Aid – Give a helpin´ hand (6)

Swing Out Sister – Surrender (6)

Swing Out Sister – Fooled by a smile (6)

Swing Out Sister – Twilight world (6)

Swing Out Sister – Kaleidoscope world

 

Tears For Fears – Sowing the seeds of love (6)

Tears For Fears – Woman in chains (6)

Ted Nugent – Double live gonzo

Texas – I don´t want a lover (6)

Then Jericho – Big area (6)

Thin Lizzy – Nightlife

Thin Lizzy – Live and dangerous

Thin Lizzy – Renegade

Thin Lizzy – Trouble boys (6)

Thin Lizzy – Thunder and lightning

Thin Lizzy – Life

Thompson Twins – Here´s to future days

The Time – What time is it?

The Time – Ice cream castle

Titiyo – Break my heart (6)

Tokyo Blade – Warrior of the rising sun

Tony Banks – Soundtracks

Tony Banks – Bankstatement

Tony Carey – I won´t be home tonight

Tony MacAlpine – Maximum security

Toto – Hydra

Toto – Isolation

Toto – Fahrenheit

Toto – Out of love (6)

Trash – Watch out

Treat – Ride me high (6)

Tribute – Breaking barriers

Triumph – Never surrender

Tygers of Pan Tang – Wild cat

Tygers of Pan Tang – The story so far (6)

Twisted Sister – You can´t stop rock ´n´roll

 

UFO – This time (6)

Ulf Lundell – Det goda livet

Ultravox – The collection

Ultravox – U-vox

 

Walk On Water – Walk On Water

Vandenberg – Heading for a storm

Vandenberg – Alibi

Vandenberg – Different worlds (12)

Van Halen – I

Van Halen – 1984

Van Halen – 5150

Was (Not Was) – Was (Not Was)

WASP – Animal, fuck like a beast (6)

WASP – I wanna be somebody (6)

WASP – The last command

WASP – Blind in Texas (6)

The Waterboys – Fisherman´s blues (6)

Wendy & Lisa – Fruit at the bottom

Wendy & Lisa – Rainbow lake (6)

Wet Wet Wet – Whishing I was lucky (6)

Whitesnake – Live …in the heart of the city

Whitesnake – Slide it in

Whitesnake – 1987

Victoria B. – Överallt (6)

Vinnie Moore – Minds eye

Vinnie Moore – Time odyssey

Wire Train – Ten women

Vision Quest OST

Viva – What the hell is going on

Viva – Apocalypse

Vivaldi – 5 concerti for violin and orchestra

Wynton Marsalis – Tune in tomorrow

 

Y&T – Black tiger

Y&T – In rock we trust

YES – 90125

YES – 9012Live the solos

YES – Big generator

Yngwie Malmsteen – Yngwie Malmsteen´s rising force

Yngwie Malmsteen – Marching out

Yngwie Malmsteen – Studio/live ´85 (12)

Yngwie Malmsteen – Trilogy

Vinyl

This entry is filed under Stuff & nonsense.

News…ish

By on July 22, 2015

So. Some kind of news:

1. I’m not dead. I know that I have been VERY silent and invisible the last year or two. But life happened. Or stopped happen, more like it. But now it is moving again. Very fast. In all directions (including some not yet discovered spatial dimensions). Expect surprising things coming soon.

2. I used to have one site in Swedish and one in English. I’ve merged them into one, and the result will from now on be mostly in English. Because reasons.

3. I’m working on something. It involves several of the formats I work in. Unless I get abducted by aliens it will be finished and published after the summer. (Note the vague release date, “after the summer” could very well mean “two days before the sun dies”)

4. This was just a small update. I’ll return soon with all kind of news that will make all the clickbait on the web seem like the last weeks weather report from the Gobi desert. For constant updates, please check my FB-page and Twitter.

5. Doctor Who series 9 will begin 19th September. Why even bother about anything else..?

Listening to: iwrestledabearonce and Flor
Reading: Kelly Link: Get In Trouble
Watching: Sense8
Mood: Nervouscited
This entry is filed under English, News.

The Kindness of Strangers – 2014 in a nutshell

By on January 5, 2015

Oh 2014, what am I going to say about you? In many ways you’ve been the worst year ever. In other ways (but not that many) you’ve been really good (mostly in making it really obvious what direction is wrong, but there are also some seeds planted that I really look forward to see what they grow up to be). You’ve been a trial, a sorrow, an endless in-between. But I’m not gonna give you too much crap before I can truly see what the consequences of you are. As someone once said: “Sometimes our lives have to be completely shaken up, changed & rearranged to relocate us to the place we’re meant to be.” So, I’m just gonna write down the first few thoughts about you I come up with + some of my fav music/books/movies/whatever of the year, and then wait a year and do a proper 2014 evaluation when you’re far enough in the rear-view mirror to be judged properly.

So…

This is the first year since my debut 2005 that I haven’t written or published a book. This is a sad fact, but the only thing I really care about now is making sure that this is the first and the last time this happens.

But I did write stuff. Shorter things, like captions to my pictures and little compositions like that. And sometimes this shorter stuff touched people in different ways. Some laughed, some cried, some thought about things they never thought about before. And all this reminded me about the Power of Words, and it also reminded me why I love what I do so much.

A good friend said that he would bitch-slap me endlessly if I gave up writing. That warmed my heart. I haven’t quit. I just have a flat writing-tyre, and I need to fix it. I’ll be on the road soon again.

The second best compliment I got this year was “You’re so wonderfully demented it makes me happy” (thank you Jimmy!). The best one I’ll keep to myself.

I got kissed by a lesbian under the mistletoe (bi-curiosity works both ways it seems).

Keywords for this year: “HappySad”, “Kindness of strangers”, “Wanderlust”, “Changes”, “Finding your Home”.

As I said, didn’t write a lot, but I took a shitload of pictures (when I did the last end-of-the-year backup I counted 19 294 pics in the 2014-folder). What I never knew is what a wonderful storytelling instrument the camera can be. I’ve found myself using it more than the pen or the keyboard to tell the stories I have in my head. Another thing I also noticed with photography is that at some point you’ll find your own voice, and if you put enough of yourself in it you will connect with others that speak the same language. Something you’ll notice when the comments go from “nice light” and “cool angle” to “you have an old soul” and “this made me cry”. And when that happens it’s the same wonderful feeling as when you’re at a party and you see someone wearing a tee with that band you love but no one’s ever heard of, or when you’re being the only one completely mesmerized by a painting at a museum/gallery while everyone else just strolls past it … until you notice that someone is standing right beside you, also lost in what they see. That feeling. When you look at each other and share that knowing “You and I are the same”-smile, and you know that you have found a member of your Tribe.

And if my pictures have a language, it’s most likely polish. Don’t know why, but most of the people I have connected with this year are polish. Maybe I am too, just born in another country? So, dziękuję Poland!
(Honorable mentions to Russia, Croatia/Bosnia-Herzegovina and Italy).

Oh, and I’ve created a FB-page for my photography, and an Instagram account. Check them out, like, add, follow, sample, sniff, or ignore and go out and have a beer instead.

Physical changes of the Year: Got myself an absolutely-not-a-hipster beard (actually it’s more of an ambitious stubble). And got back to the jeans size I had in my teens (my secret trick? Worry too much to eat!). And still no need of reading glasses!

The Grim Reaper was on a roll. Too many people that really shouldn’t have passed away.

I’ve met a lot of people through my photography. Many of them became friends. Thank you, new friends, you really made my year. ♥

Peter Capaldi turned out to be an excellent 12th Doctor (no surprise there really). I truly enjoyed season 8 (and again identified very much with this brooding loner and madman with a blue box). And once again a lot of quotes from the show (most of them penned by Steven Moffat) felt like chapter titles from the Book of My Life. The one that resonated the most was probably “Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones, but you still have to choose”.

WhoChoices

Had two unexpected successes this year. One was when there was another case of victim blaming in a rape trial (“she wore sexy clothes/was drunk/had a reputation/was out late at night/etc”), and I dusted off an old satire piece I once wrote when this insanity pissed me off for the first time. In it I used the same type of victim blaming-reasoning on a bank robbery (“they wore expensive suits/everybody knows they have money there/if they don’t want to get robbed, then why do they have doors people can enter through?”). If you understand Swedish you can read the thing here. And that little satire piece got +200 000 hits in three days.
The other was when a pic I took of a rain soaked bench on a dark October evening became a Daily Deviation over at deviantART. It got almost 13 000 views, +2 000 favs and a shitload of comments. The funny thing is, it’s not even one of my personal favorites. 🙂

Hello October

My personal favorite is this. I got the phrase “If you cant keep up I’ll go alone” (a line from VERSA’s ‘Wanderlust’) stuck in my head, saw an image before me with that title, and set out to create it. Usually with all art, it never turns out as in your head (on a good day you get maybe halfway there, but mostly you just want to kill yourself and set the world on fire when you see the result), but this time it not only turned out exactly as I had imagined it, but even better! (Probably the first and last time that ever happened…)

If-you-can't-keep-up,-I'll-go-alone

Insights, lessons, memories and brain farts of the Year:

  • I’m partially color blind. I have to judge people by the music they listen to.
  • “We are only here briefly, and in this moment I want to allow myself joy.” (line from the movie ‘Her’)
  • I’m way too lazy to be bitter. (It’s soooo much easier to just shrug and move forward!)
  • Our mistakes help us find the persons and things that are right for us. So keep on making them!
  • My spirit animal is most likely a sleepy wombat.
  • I’m going to look at humanity as an art project. It makes way more sense that way. (Come to think of it, I probably make more sense as an art project too)
  • I want my own flag. An evil one, like the Albanian.
  • Talked to a researcher who had interviewed 1000 women about what they find attractive in a man. ‘Intelligence’ came in as no 12.
  • All the cool and awesome stuff are on the other side of fear.
  • Anagrams of ‘The meaning of life’: ‘The fine game of nil’ – ‘The engine of a film’ – ‘If no female, the gin’
  • The trouble is, you think you have time.
  • Life’s best lessons always taste a little bleurghy in the beginning, but the aftertaste is to die for.
  • You know you live in an interesting building when there’s blood spatter on the mailboxes.
  • You are never fully broken, you can always get back up again.
  • The upside to being as pale as I am, is that everyone will think that I look “so natural” at my open-casket funeral.
  • If I’d put all my FB-friends in the same room, there would be blood on the floor within 5 minutes.
  • Wait until you’re ready? That’s crazy talk!
  • Tortoises aren’t constructed to be horny on parquet floors.
  • Life is one big learning curve. First we have to learn how to crawl, walk, talk and use the bathroom. That’s the easy part. Later we have to learn not only to read, but to read between the lines and read what’s behind that smile; and not only to spell but when to say the right words and when to shut up. We have to learn how to fall in love, how to mend our broken heart and how to walk away from someone we don’t love any longer. We have to learn that the path to success is not a straight line, but more like some demented rollercoaster that you are riding backwards and in the dark. We have to learn how to keep going on when the dark tunnel never seems to end, and how not to worry about losing our happiness when we finally find it. And we have to learn how to let go, of anything and everything. Even life…

 

Enough of reflections. Let’s do lists and shit.

Music of the Year:
Anberlin, Betty Who, The Birthday Massacre, Broods, Devin Townsend Project, Florence + The Sphinx: Sumerian Ceremonials, iamamiwhoami, Imogen Heap, Ingrid Michaelson, Killer Be Killed, Lauren Aquilina, Machine Head, Night Terrors of 1927, Owl City, Periphery, Raunchy, Rae Morris, Slipknot, Upon A Burning Body, VERSA, Vertical Horizon.

Movies of the Year:
Her, Snowpiercer, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Edge of Tomorrow, The Babadook, The Raid 2, Guardians of the Galaxy.

TV of the Year:
Sherlock, Oddities, Helix, True Detective, Walking Dead, Hannibal, Game of Thrones, Penny Dreadful, Doctor Who, Constantine.

Books of the Year:
M.R. Carey: The Girl With All the Gifts, Hayley Campbell: The Art of Neil Gaiman, Caitlin Moran: How To Build A Girl, David Mitchell: The Bone Clocks.

Trailer of the year:
Ok, the new Star Wars-trailer was cool and exciting, but the one that made us all drop our jaws and be very very excited for 2015 was the surprisingly awesome first look at Mad Max : Fury Road. Hauntingly beautiful, really exciting, and maybe the best edited and paced movie trailer ever.

 

Acting of the Year (+ best scene of the Year):
Eva Green finally got to show all of her skills in the role of her life as Vanessa Ives in the brilliant show Penny Dreadful.

 

 

Listening to: Chelsea Lankes
Reading: Emily St. John Mandel: Station Eleven
Watching: Nothing
Feeling: Faith (the non-religious kind)
This entry is filed under English, Year in Review.

The Language of Pictures

By on August 17, 2014

Hello fellow Earthlings! (…or whatever planet you come from)

Just noticed that 2/3 of 2014 is behind me, and this year is clearly broken (did I save the receipt?) because so far it looks nothing like the one I had written down on my to-do list in January. Had all these plans about moving, writing novels & short stories, expand my publishing company Turtle Bite Books, do collaborations and lots of other stuff. What have I been doing so far? Taking photos. Shitloads of them.

Sure, it was amazing when I got my new camera last year. It was like going from banging on pots and pans to get a brand new shiny Mapex drum kit. I could finally do all that stuff I had envisioned in my head but never had the right tools to implement. But I never knew what a wonderful storytelling instrument the camera could be. Suddenly I found myself using it more than the pen or the keyboard to tell the stories I have in my head. Like the famous photographer Ansel Adams said: “When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs” (the quote continues: “When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” But I’m still working on that bit…)

And of course my mad scientisty-brain began to wonder what would happen if you wrote a book in both words and pictures. I am currently working on that, and with some luck the result will be ready before the leaves turn.

It will be published as an e-book, because it’s the perfect format for this kind of book (and a physical full color print would cost me two kidneys and my sanity, the sanity isn’t much to lose at this point but it would be a bitch to pee without my kidneys).

Another thing I also noticed with photography is that at some point you’ll find your own voice, and if you put enough of yourself in it you will connect with others that speak the same language. Something you’ll notice when the comments go from “nice light” and “cool angle” to “you have an old soul” and “this made me cry”. And when that happens it’s the same wonderful feeling as when you’re at a party and you see someone wearing a tee with that band you love but no one’s ever heard of, or when you’re being the only one completely mesmerized by a painting at a museum/gallery while everyone else just strolls past it … until you notice that someone is standing right beside you, also lost in what they see. That feeling. When you look at each other and share that knowing “You and I are the same”-smile, and you know that you have found a member of your Tribe. Wonderlicious!

So, a big ‘Hello!’, a big hug and an even bigger ‘Thank you!’ to all the exciting people all over the world I’ve got to know through photography. You make my life better and I love you all!

Another-sun-soaked-day-fades-away-1

In other news: Soon it will be the premiere of Doctor Who season 8, and our first look at Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor. A quick explanation for you non-Whovians: The Doctor is an alien from planet Gallifrey, and they have a way to cheat death – the can regenerate their dying body to a new one. But while the intellect and the memories stays the same, the appearance and the personality changes. Every new regeneration must learn and come to terms with who he is. This is of course great for a tv-series – you can keep the core of the show, but still refresh it. And it’s very heartbreaking when you have to say goodbye to the old Doctor (I cried like a baby when Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor said goodbye last December).

Anyway, as exciting as it is when your favorite tv-show is back, this time it feels extra special for me. I think one of the reasons I fell so hard for this show is because I can identify so well with The Doctor himself – a manic madman and a dark, brooding loner, both driven and playful. And this time it also feels like I’m in sync with his regeneration. This has been a year of big inner change for me. I think that I’m becoming a new man as well. There are new thoughts, new ideas, new attitudes, new rules. Things I used to say “Never!” at have become “Why not? Life is short”. And I believe that I also have to learn who this Peter is. (But I hope that I don’t have to ask the same question as The Doctor: “Tell me, am I a good man?”)

As a result of all this there are many other things in my head right now that wasn’t on my to-do list earlier. Things I’ve never thought about before. Exciting things. Strange things. Scary things. But as they say: If you’re not scared, it just means you’re not sticking out your neck far enough.

It will be very exciting to see what life looks like at the end of December. I really hope it includes travel. I’ve been stuck in the same place for too long, battling workloads, bitchslapping problems, sorting out chaos and other soul-sucking stuck-by-my-desk crap. Now I want to drag my ass out the door and see some new places, do different stuff and meet some new cool & exciting people. See ya then!

You can see my photography on Flickr, deviantART, Facebook and Instagram:

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If-you-can't-keep-up,-I'll-go-alone

Listening to: Anberlin and Imogen Heap
Reading: Hayley Campbell: The Art of Neil Gaiman
Watching: Outlander
Mood: Wanderlust
This entry is filed under English, Stuff & nonsense.

Slutspelsskägg

By on May 5, 2014

Där runt 1986/87 skaffade jag min första egna kamera. En simpel peka-klicka historia som dög till att porträttera vännerna, festerna & upptågen. Blev snabbt vänkretsens “hovfotograf” som dokumenterade allt (framför allt de bitar vissa hade problem med att (vilja) minnas), och efter dryga 30 års plåtande har jag skrapat ihop ett mastigt arkiv med allt från NSFW-ungdomssynder till bröllop och dop. Och en vacker dag då jag råkar glömma bort hur slö jag är ska jag digitalisera hela fanskapet och dela ut till de som var med när det begav sig (mot en rejäl utpressningsavgift naturligtvis, annars hamnar allt på nätet).

Strax efter millennieskiftet skaffade jag första digitalkameran, och när film-begränsningen på max 36 bilder per rulle försvann vände jag objektivet från vännerna & upptågen (vi hade ändå kommit i den åldern när upptåg betyder “byta batterier i näshårstrimmern” och glimten i ögat vanligtvis är en solreflex i läsglasögonen) till andra saker. Jag började se motiv i vattendrag, köpcentra och i människors händer. Och jag upptäckte att jag älskade att se världen på det sättet, att försöka hitta något vackert att fånga även i de astråkigaste parkeringshus. Framför allt märkte jag hur min nåsågudförbannat spruttelpratiga författarhjärna äntligen höll käften när jag kopplade över skallen till bildläge. Fotandet blev både meditation och hobby.

En hobby som börjat ta över. Framför allt sen jag skaffade mig en vettig kamera, för nu kan jag äntligen förverkliga alla de bildidéer jag har i skallen (den innan var som en gitarr med bara två strängar – det går kanske att klämma fram en låt, men den låter platt och nyanslös). Har fått kontakt med många andra fotografer världen över, flera som jag beundrat länge och som jag blir lite pirrigt starstruck över att ha blivit polare med. Och jag har upptäckt att foton har ett eget språk. Någonstans under sin utvecklingskurva börjar man stoppa in så pass mycket av sig själv i bilderna att kommentarerna går från “nice light” och “cool angle” till “you have an old soul” och “this made me cry”. Man fångar inte längre bara motiv, utan berättar historier.

Parallellt med det så allt fler undrat om jag inte ska släppa en fotobok. Vilket jag först varit klart skeptisk till. Dels för att jag är långt ifrån bra nog för det, och dels för att jag inte vill sabba ännu en hobby genom att göra den till något “seriöst”. Men det första argumentet faller på att inget någonsin skulle bli gjort om folk gick om kring och tänkte såna dumheter, och det andra föll när jag kom på det där att även bilder är ett språk. Jag skulle fortfarande skriva grejer, bara med andra “bokstäver”. Fast sen kom jag på att jag vill blanda foton och ord. Lite som jag gjorde i Oktoberoffer, fast den här gången med omvända ration bild/ord.

Har hållit på att pyssla lite med det projektet med vänsterhanden, men ibland måste man bara säga sina intentioner högt till världen för att knuffa sig själv till att verkligen få klart det. Så det var precis vad jag gjorde nu.

To be continued…

NotBroken

 

Har en massa hår i ansiktet just nu. Av någon besynnerlig anledning. Jag är egentligen inte skäggtypen, det kliar för mycket, och andelen grått i det påminner mig om att jag är lika gammal som finansministern. Funderade först på om jag bara var lat, eller om jag blivit biten av en varhipster. Men sen kom jag på: Det är ett slutspelsskägg.

Rör vanligtvis inte sport eller sporttermer ens med en lång silverpåle som steriliserats med välsignad klorhexidin, men tom jag känner till det där vidskepelseskägget hockeyspelarna sprojtar fram under slutspelsfinaler. Eller studenternas tentaskägg. Eftersom jag varken sportar eller pluggar måste det vara något annat jag odlar det inför. De sista sidorna i ett avslutande kapitel. Vet inte exakt vad just nu, men det känns överlag bra. Det är bra att avsluta saker. Som den gode The Doctor sa: “Everything’s got to end sometime, otherwise nothing would ever get started.”

I’ll keep you updated.

ScruffyLookingThings

 

Läser: M.R. Carey: The Girl With All The Gifts
Lyssnar på: Broods och Killer Be Killed
Tittar på: Penny Dreadful
Humör: HappySad
This entry is filed under Stuff & nonsense, Swedish.

Fan vad det är spännande att ha tråkigt!

By on February 9, 2014

Hade glömt hur jävla kallt -27°C var. Fick frost i ögonbrynen och luggen. Familjejuvelerna började bokstavligen att klinga och klirra innanför pantalongerna. Kinderna fick bilar att stanna och vänta på grönt. Fingrarna kroknade till Gollum-klor. Snorkusarna frös till små pellets som gick att använda till världens mest ekologiska (och äckliga) småviltshagel. Hurv! Hurv! Hurv! HURV!!!

Låt inte solen lura er, det var så ruggigt att Mordor verkade som Ibiza i jämförelse

Hade lovat mig själv att aldrig mer besöka Luleå på vintern (fick snö & kyla så att det räckte och blev över under de 30 år jag häckade där), men vad är löften till för om inte att fucka upp så att man blir påmind om varför man svurit dem in the first place? Så när resten av Sverige vände januari ryggen och drog till varmare breddgrader, vände jag kosan 1470km norrut.

Att frivolta sig upp ur de gamla hjulspåren och skjuta sig med cirkuskanon ut ur sin bekvämlighetszon är en fet C-vitaminspruta för sinnet. Så när jag ändå höll på med att vara Kärringen-mot-strömmen gjorde jag fler Peter-otypiska saker: Lät böckerna ligga kvar i väskan och läste morsans gamla Året Runt och Må Bra istället, pausade det intellektuella grubblandet och skruvade hellre fast lampsocklar, justerade fönsterbrädor och demonterade gamla radioapparater. Fast största aha-upplevelsen kom när jag lite halvofrivilligt nobbade såväl internet som nyheter totaljävlahelt veckan jag var där.

Grejen är den att morsan har ingen teknik mer avancerad än en tjugo år gammal nummerpresentatör, och jag har ingen smartphone. (Är inte någon tech-rädd luddit som springer och hämtar högrepen och facklan så fort jag får se något mer avancerat än gammelmormors vävstol. Men är väldigt pragmatisk när det kommer till ny tech. Frågar alltid den lilla grunkan vad den kan göra för mig. Och smartphonen har ännu inte kommit med något tillfredställande svar. Konceptet är lovande, men enligt min tumstock är prylen för trubbig än. Apparna är för fåniga, skärmen för liten, kameran för kass etc. Men med lite tid & utveckling så… Säger som Big Bang Theory-Sheldon: “the things I want to buy haven’t been invented yet”). Så jag gick offline i en vecka.

Upptäckte något oväntat: Man blir väldigt kreativ av att ha tråkigt.
Redan på flygbussen la jag undan boken och stirrade istället ut genom bussfönstret på ett vintermörkt och skittrist Skåne. Tog inte många minuter förrän min hjärna blev rastlös och började hitta på saker. Och det bara fortsatte att spruta idéer under min analoga vecka.

Är inte den första som kommit på det här. En av mina stora idoler – författaren & supertwittraren Neil Gaiman – har precis kopplat ned och har tagit, som han själv säger: “about six months off,  a sabbatical from social media so I can concentrate on my day job: making things up. People ask me where I get my ideas from, and the answer is that the best way to come up with new ideas is to get really bored.” Gaimans favvottristess är att gå på skolpjäser: “You have to sit there for hours and you can’t read or use a phone or check something on the web. I’ll come out afterwards thinking: ‘Did I just plot out an episode of Dr Who there? I think I did.’”

Journalisten James Brown tog en veckas Internetbreak i samband med en dokumentär. Och hans insikt blev: “The first thing that struck me after a day of abstention wasn’t so much what I lost, but what I gained. Time. So much time. Not taking my phone into the bedroom with me was giving me at least two hours extra a day. The second thing that became apparent was how much “dead time” I spent looking at my phone for stimulation. And how “dead time” had become “all the time”. Pretty much anywhere and everywhere. In bed, at both ends of the day, in cabs, on toilets, during meetings, during meals, whilst watching TV. Suddenly, without the internet, all those things became what they used to be. Things in their own right rather than providing background to me using my phone. Two days in and miraculously I was far more productive; I could do something that would normally take me a whole day in an hour of uninterrupted focus.”

Författaren och litteraturkritikern Kathryn Schulz beskrev sitt kluvna förhållande såhär: “…writing my book involved spending four years in a figurative cave. In my experience, and the experience of most writers I know, that cave is the necessary setting for serious writing. Unfortunately, it is also a dreadful place: cold, dark, desperately lonely. Twitter, by contrast, is a warm, cheerful, readily accessible, 24-hour-a-day antidote to isolation. And that is exactly the issue. The trouble with Twitter isn’t that it’s full of inanity and self-promoting jerks. The trouble is that it’s a solution to a problem that shouldn’t be solved. Eighty percent of the battle of writing involves keeping yourself in that cave: waiting out the loneliness and opacity and emptiness and frustration and bad sentences and dead ends and despair until the damn thing resolves into words. That kind of patience, a steady turning away from everything but the mind and the topic at hand, can only be accomplished by cultivating the habit of attention and a tolerance for solitude.”

Kan bara hålla med. Mycket av det jag skrivit föddes medan jag diskade. Utsätt hjärnan för något så ohemult själadödande astrist och den börjar fantisera ihop saker i rent självförsvar. Isolering och tristess är författarens främsta verktyg. Att skonas från distraktioner är som att låta kreativiteten nakenbada lite småfull på en sandstrand i Karibien.

Nu verkar ju världen ha någon slags rökheroin-attityd gentemot internet, smartphones och sociala medier. Ta bara FB – antingen börjar man kallsvettas och darra om man inte får kolla sitt flöde 47 gånger i timmen, eller så ställer man sig på domkyrkotaket (dvs på FB & Twitter) och blåskriker att sociala medier är satans bålverk på jorden som fördärvar barn, vuxna och små gnagare, orsakar diabetes och fallandesot samt försämrar BNP; sen stänger man ned sitt konto, skjuter det med fyra magnumkulor i kraniet, bränner liket, låter ölstinna rentjurar pissa på askan och skjuter ut resterna i världsrymden med nästa Marsexpotition.

Det går att bara dra ned. Använda det när det finns tid och känns rätt. Som en gammal tant sa till mig en gång: “Man ska dricka sitt kaffe av lust, inte av last”. Internet och teknik är bara ett verktyg. En död pryl. En hammare kan användas till att bygga sjukhus, krossa pannben eller klia sig i röven med. Och man kan låta den ligga i verktygslådan tills man verkligen behöver den.  Om en grunka är ett trollspö eller en tvångströja är i slutändan en attitydfråga.

BillMurrayTweet

Men om man nu inte har en författar-hjärna som måste lämnas ifred för att fungera optimalt, varför ska man då pausa från nätvärlden? Möten of the living dead, köer, vänta på bussen och annan seg skit som bara äter upp ens liv, hur kan det då vara fel att kolla på LOL-katter och vad ens vänner åt till lunch?

Well, för en bunt år sen upptäckte jag att allt i mitt liv som det gick att sätta en klisterlapp med “Skit som ska bort, bort, bort!” på fanns där bara för att jag inte fnurlat nog mycket över det. Sakerna som gjorde mig olycklig smet in medan varningssystemen slappade i tv-soffan. Misären lyckades slå rot och sakta sprida sitt gift för att jag slött vände uppmärksamheten mot halvunderhållande menlösheter. Men när man lämnar sin hjärna ifred och utan input kommer den att börja ställa de där asjobbiga, obehagliga, men ack så förbaskat nyttiga frågorna: Det här att jag tröstäter O’Boypulver så att jag väger som en sopbil, är det för att jag hatar mitt menlösa jobb? Att jag drar upp axlarna i jämnhöjd med öronen och bor på kontoret, beror det på att mitt förhållande kväver mig och att jag måste dumpa och gå vidare i livet? Fan, en del av mina livsval skaver ju! Varför har jag inte bytt dem mot något som sitter skönt?

Som komikern Louis C.K. uttryckte i sin rant mot smartphones: “You need to build an ability to just be yourself and not be doing something. That’s what the phones are taking away, is the ability to just sit there. That’s being a person. /…/  (Now) You never feel completely sad or completely happy, you just feel kinda satisfied with your product, and then you die.”

Det är så jävla lätt att ta the path of least resistance och smita från livet. Dimpa ned i soffan och slöglo på vafansomhelst istället för att sova/hångla/bygga Uppsala Domkyrka i skala 1:10 av öronvax. Twittra om sitt skrivande istället för att faktiskt skriva. Hitta på saker och ha kvartssamtal med sig själv är kanske mer krävande än att slösurfa initialt, men när man väl får det att flyta är det 10120 gånger roligare och mer tillfredställande. Det är väl som sex efter 40: Det är så apbökigt att få av sig kläderna att man hellre sätter sig och ser ‘Fråga Doktorn’ av ren bekvämlighet, men om man väl besvärar sig med att näcka är det sååååå jävla värt det!

Jag gillar sociala medier. Jag må vara en enstöring som trivs bäst i mitt egna sällskap och som jobbar effektivast inlåst i ett kassaskåp. Men jag är även en Homo sapien, ett högst socialt flockdjur, och jag behöver verkligen andra människor, även om det inte är så ofta (och jag dessutom är sjukt kräsen med vilka jag släpper över bron).
97% av mina vänner bor i andra städer (och vi är i den fasen i livet när jobb, ungar & turnéer gör att man inte bara slår en pling) så det är ett lysande snabbhänghak och en constant update över vad som händer i deras liv. Det är ett toppensätt att få snabba nyheter från artister och andra. Det är ett suveränt Tribe-verktyg för att samla folk med samma intressen (stöter på nya spännande människor varje vecka). Och är ju självklart ett enkelt och effektivt marknadsföringsverktyg. What’s not to like?

Jag kommer att fortsätta att använda FB, Twitter, Flickr eller vad som nu kommer sen när vi ruttnat på dem. Jag kommer säkert att skaffa en smartphone när de är så pass utvecklade att de intresserar mig. Och jag kommer att införa fler eremit-perioder i mitt liv då jag nobbar internet och all annan input. Författar-Peter behöver det för att hitta på balla saker. Och Peter-Peter behöver det för att komma i kontakt med sina innersta tankar & känslor.

Har beslutat mig för att ha följande förhållningssätt till nätet/sociala medier: Ägna mindre tid men vara mer aktiv och kontaktsökande när jag väl är där. Man kan vara snubben på festen som kommer dit en halvtimme innan utsatt tid och går först när värdparet tagit på sig pyjamasen och börjat blänga, fast bara stått i ett hörn och smuttat på ett och samma vinglas hela kvällen, inte pratat med någon utan bara försynt rätat upp högen med servetter med jämna mellanrum. Eller så kan man vara typen som stormar in, halsar en bag-in-box, charmar loss kalasbyxorna på varje gäst med sin svada och savoir faire, slänger på en hittills okänd demo där Elvis jammar med Motorhead, bygger om hushållsassistenten till en ölserverande drönare, hånglar upp värdparets katt, kissar i rhododendronbusken och sen flyr ut i natten på en stulen åkgräsklippare med ungarnas undulat och en rödtott av vardera könet vid sin sida. Effektiv partytid: 27 minuter och 43 sekunder. Livet blir den fest man gör det till…

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Ställen där man kan leka med mig på nätet:
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Läser: Dan Simmons: The Abominable
Lyssnar på: VERSA och Periphery
Tittar på: Helix och Oddities 
Gör: Fryser & sover (...fortfarande)
This entry is filed under Skrivande, Stuff & nonsense, Swedish.

Hur skulle det låta om man behandlade bankrån på samma sätt som våldtäkt?

By on January 12, 2014

“De tre män som åtalats för grovt utnyttjande av ett av Nordeas bankkontor i Tumba förra året, friades på tisdagen av Högsta domstolen. Det går inte att konstatera att banken, enligt lagens mening, var i ett hjälplöst tillstånd när upp till sju män försvann med stora summor pengar förra året, menar HD. – Flera faktorer spelar in i målet, säger Riksåklagaren. Bland annat måste man ta hänsyn till bankens rykte vid utnyttjandetillfället. Det var allmänt känt att bankkontoret förvarade pengar i lokalen, de till och med annonserade om det vid tillfällen. Och det vet vi ju alla hur giriga människor är – de ska bara ha och ha, kommenterar Riksåklagaren. – Sen bar flera av banktjänstemännen dyra kostymer och klockor. Man måste beakta hur såna signaler uppfattas av andra. De här unga bankkamrererna vill ju gärna efterlikna sina idoler Wallenberg och Treschow och det kan misstolkas av omgivningen.

Dessutom står ord mot ord i Tumbamålet. Banken hävdar att den var i ett hjälplöst tillstånd och blev tvingad att ge männen pengar. De anklagade männen hävdar däremot att banken visste vad den gjorde och gav dem pengarna frivilligt. – Vad man måste ta med i beräkningen, avslutar Riksåklagaren, är att i dessa tider av låga räntor och lockande bolåneannonser, så kan det vara svårt för parterna att avgöra om det rör sig om ett lån eller ett rån.”

Kvinnan sa gång på gång att hon inte ville. Skrek så högt att hon till slut svullnade upp i halsen och inte kunde skrika mer. ‘Jag uppfattade hennes nej som en del av det sexuella spelet’, säger gärningsmannen. Lunds tingsrätt tyckte att det lät rimligt och friade honom från misstankarna om våldtäkt. Det är inte första gången något sånt här händer. Texten ovan skrev jag för ca tio år sen i samband med det då aktuella Tumbamålet (den dök först upp i satirtidningen Nya Söndagsnisse-Strix och sen i min bok På Y-fronten intet nytt). Den är bara ett av många exempel på när man vänder på steken för att visa hur absurda resonemangen kring våldtäktsmål är. Det här utdraget från ett kommentarsfält är ett annat, färskare, exempel:

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Inte för att det verkar hjälpa. 2012 anmäldes 6 203 våldtäkter i Sverige. Mörkertalet uppskattas till mellan 80 och 90 procent. Räknar man sen in hur få som går vidare till åtal (ca 7% 2010), och ytterligare hur få som får fällande dom (en dryg tredjedel frias, jämfört med 5% i andra typer av brottsmål), får man nog räkna andelen gärningsmän som faktiskt åker dit för vad de gjort i promille snarare än procent. Tänk om det var lika lätt att komma undan med bankrån.

Historien upprepar sig gång på gång. Med samma bisarra resonemang bakom.
Bis-res #1: Det som jag och många andra har drivit med, nämligen att bevisbördan av någon besynnerlig anledning hamnar på offret. Var man full? Vad hade man på sig? Vad har man för rykte? Var det verkligen ett nej och inte ett svårflirtat ja?

Yfrontillkap18

Bis-res #2: Tolkningsföreträdet för vad som egentligen inträffade landar hos gärningsmannen. “Jahaaa, hon ville alltså inte, och jag som trodde att stolen hon kastade på mig, flyktförsöken och skriken på hjälp ut genom fönstret var en del av förspelet. Oops!” Eller hur var det mannen som nyligen friades, trots att kvinnan skrek nej tills halsen svullnade, nu uttryckte det: “Sättet hon sa nej på nu var väldigt bekant för mig som en del av sexet, jag kände igen det från andra tjejer.” Så killar, våldta så mycket ni vill! Dra bara fram “Men på min gata i stan”-försvaret inför domaren och du har ett stensäkert Get Out of Jail Free-card.

(Om vi vänder på brottsteken igen:
‘Konstapeln! Hen stal min plånbok!’
‘Men du log ju och önskade en bra dag, det kan tolkas som ett tyst medgivande då tillskottet av dina pengar klart och tydligt gjorde tjuvens dag bra.’)

Bis-res #3: Att gå omkring och vifta med sin kvinnlighet och sexualitet framför pilska män (läs: alla med Y-kromosom) är som att släppa in en barbequesås-insmord griskulting bland en flock utsvultna Rottweilers. Naturen har sin gång.

Det här blir problematiskt inte minst för att domstolarnas tolkning av “sexuellt utmanande” även tycks inkludera nunnor som gjutit in sig själva i betong och sänk ned sig i Marianergraven. Du kan aldrig vinna som kvinna. Men den stora skandalen är att resonemanget likställer mäns intellektuella förmåga i sexuella situationer någonstans i höjd med ett virusangrepp.

Vi behöver dräpa två myter här. Den ena att våldtäkt främst sker pga okontrollerbar upphetsning. Våldtäkt handlar i grund och botten inte om sex. Den handlar om makt och kontroll över en annan människa. Att sätta någon på plats. Det är den ultimata “Fy! Spring och lägg dig i korgen!”-åthutningen. Och för att tok-resonera på det sättet behöver man A: sortera upp människor och deras värde efter någon illa hemkokt rangskala, B: inbilla sig att någon på ‘en lägre stegpinne’ i denna rangordning fått idéer och börjat röra sig uppåt i brott mot alla regler och bestämmelser.

Den andra myten är den om mäns könsdrift som en laddad, osäkrad pistol – man får fan skylla sig själv om man leker med den. Vi män har utan att protestera gått med på att förminskas till tvåbenta testosteronbehållare där hjärnan bara används vid konstruktion av klaffbroar och inloppsventiler, och kuken sköter resten. Vettefan varför. Kanske för alla vinster som uppenbarligen kommer med att man gömma sig bakom sitt primitiva rykte. Att man bekvämt kan skylla allt från ojämställdhet till sexualbrott med ett “the defendant claims innocence due to Y chromosome-related mental incompetence at the time”.

Att förvanska, förminska och förnedra båda könen på det här sättet i domstolarna (och samhället i övrigt) är fan primitivare än om SMHI skulle börja köra sin prognoser på det här sättet: “Efter ett bråk med Loke är Tor väldigt arg och är ute bland molnen och viftar med hammaren Mjölner, så vi har åska och nederbörd att vänta över Östergötland och delar av Närke.” Det är 2014 nu, vi borde inse att det var väääääääääääääääääldigt länge sen vi slutade med att släpa knogarna i marken och bli rädd för månen.

Vi dras med uråldriga hitte på-könsroller som är så mögliga att Miljöförvaltningen skulle stänga ned verksamheten vid en inspektion. Vi har så sjukt många skäl att ifrågasätta, sanera och uppdatera dem. För alla inblandades skull. Låt oss. Please!

PaYfronten

 

Läser: Joyce Carol Oates: The Accursed
Lyssnar på: Eyes Set To Kill 
Tittar på: Oddities 
Gör: Fryser & sover
This entry is filed under Swedish, Världen.

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