Saturday, August 30, 2008

Jægersborggade at Nørrebro: trendy shopping street

A few blocks from my street you find Jægersborggade - a little street with many small shops and cool cafés. Two years ago Jægersborggade was nothing but the street to buy weed. Then the residents decided to give the street a makeover going green and innovative. Since then 30 mini-shops have arisen.
Now you can go shopping in Jægersborggade - for cool stuff and for hash.

Pictures from Jægersborggade (after closing time):








Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Kisamakibo - Rap shake dance

When I was at Bongo Camping in Tukuyu I shot this video with two of the members of Kisamakibo (artists from Bongo Camping) who are playing at events all around Mbeya Region in English and Swahili.
They are right now doing recordings of their Swahili songs which I am looking forward to hear!

I really dugg the song and I still do digg it, but tell me, honestly, how does it sound when you don't hear it in the karma-loaded hide-out of Bongo Camping??
Please leave a comment

Kisamakibo - Rap shake dance (opens in youtube)



Kisamakibo - Rap shake dance
Dance oho dance I am dancing all alone
Shake oho shake I am shaking all alone
Rap oho rap I am rapping all alone
Rap shake dance
The guys are getting up.

1. verse
If art's your dear
the field is here
I love you teens
I also love you greens.
Art to me
Is not only funny
When I cultivate
Art is in my head
When I play football
I shake them all
When I go out
Down I fall.
La la la la la Down I fall.

2. verse
When troubles come to you
And you dont know what to do
how to make them go away
Is to watch people play
A football match
The fans they watch
People playing pool
They feel so cool
And the boxing man
Puts a glove on his hand
la la la la la on his hand.

3. verse
When the young are partying
and they dont have a thing
Hands they fling
everybody in a ring.
We are leading
on the streets
we are leading
on the beat
Young hot stream
dont think it is a dream!
young hot motion
we are on the ocean.
la la la la la on the ocean.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Obama vs McCain

Obama speaking in Berlin, Germany



McCain about the president of Germany, Putin!??!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Running: no medal, but an olympic feeling

Just ran another 20 minutes run with Kristian and Andreas from the basket courts. I reached 4350 meters – a 150 meters improvement.

20/Aug/08 Run: 4350 m
13/Aug/08 Run: 4200 m
06/Aug/08 Run: 4150 m

Talked to Kristian about how we hated running. It's nothing but pain. But we could agree that it felt really good – afterwards! And it's a victory every time you don't give up. The devil inside always want you to stop, telling you things like “ohhh, does it hurt a lot?? you have run 2000 meters, great job, better than laying in the couch, really, don't you feel hungry and all proud. stop now, you can run again tomorrow...” and so on, but you have to tell that little devil to zip it because you have to accomplish your goal right now. You set a personal goal for yourself and by making it and succeeding you show that you can accomplish – even when it hurts.

So every time you run you can win. You just need to set a goal and get motivated. Remember Pacino's motivation speech from Any Given Sunday?
"I'll tell you this, in any fight it's the guy who's willing to die who's gonna win that inch... now, what are you gonna do?"

Sunday, August 17, 2008

4 Pics: Nansensgade Streetparty 2008

The residents of Nansensgade held a streetparty yesterday. What a cool street!! Me and Jones went bananas with the Nightshot Portrait of my Casio EX-S10. We also pimped the bikes of some lucky girls.




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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Running at Genforeningspladsen Stadium

I am trying to run 5 km in 20 minutes. At my first run I did 4150 metres and 4200 at my second. Yes, I am no athlete!! (Though, I still hold the high jump record at my gymnasium: 1,75 meter...)

I run 20 minutes everytime. It may not be best practice in reaching 5 km, but it is simple and motivating. No matter how much pain the running brings me, I always know it will only last 20 minutes.
Map (see you, guys!) to Genforeningspladsen and pictures of me strugling against the time:


Vis stort kort

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

My friend, Broken Foot, told me to listen to this album, I think it was some weeks ago, and ever since I have been listening.
It's nothing special, really! I just can't stop putting it on...


Discover Bon Iver!

From Skinny Love (song 3):


Discover Bon Iver!


I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

More Kajakpolo by Islands Brygge

Sunday I played some more Kajakpolo with the great K-man and again we sweeped over our opponents and won another crushing victory, 10-2.
It was a bit windy so we jumped in the wetsuits. If you want to play Kajakpolo by Islands Brygge the price is 1.700 kr. pr hour for up to 12 persons. And if you want to challenge me and K-man, we will whoop your ass!!
Thanks to Ullams for the great pictures.






Saturday, August 2, 2008

Can Europe learn from China in Africa??

Well, I am no expert on China or Africa. But I've been to Tanzania twice and I've seen Chinese people constructing roads (at a fraction of the cost charged by Western companies) and doing all kinds of business there. China is really going all in on Africa.
In Europe there is a widespread suspicion that China must be up to no good, but I do think there are two sides to that picture. But like in any other Western coverage of China nowadays the media prefers to show us the ugly side.

Hong Kong-based researchers Barry Sautman and Yan Hairong argues about China:

“The Western characterisation of China as engaging in an amoral, neo-colonial scramble in Africa has developed out of the larger ‘China Threat’ discourse. The discrediting of China in Africa serves to contain a perceived strategic competitor and to negate the notion of a pluralism of paths of development. This new discourse also retroactively vindicates European colonialism in Africa and constructs the Western self-image as ‘promoters of democracy and good governance’ on the continent—despite US, UK and French continuing support for most of Africa’s authoritarian regimes.”

I believe in trade, business and infrastructure (physically and mentally) as the means to development in Africa. If Europe did not subsidize the farming we could buy cheaper agricultural products from Africa who in turn would have money to buy knowledge-based products from Europe. Instead African markets are flooded with excess EU produce at prices below that the African farmer can compete with.

United Nations acknowledges the steps taken between China and Africa for a liberalised trading partnership:

"More Ethiopian agricultural products would be allowed into China duty-free, he revealed, and China had pledged some $500 mn for various development projects in Ethiopia. “China is an inspiration for all of us,” he added. “What China shows to Africa is that it is indeed possible to turn the corner on economic development.”

I know that China, like USA and EU, are also supporting some terrible regimes in Africa. And this harms all the good development China is bringing to Africa. But I do believe that Beijing these days are choosing the right way. In the end the trading strategy that China is promoting in Africa would benefit more from stable economies than war and corruption. Because the economic relationship matters to China, its government has a vested interest in long-term stability, and China's current rhetoric suggests an understanding that this is best procured by “harmony” and the careful balancing of interests, not by force.

Now I hope that EU will learn from China's policies in Africa making it easier for the citizens of Europe to do business with Africa. Cut the toll barriers and scrap the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). Let us through social entrepreneurship or just common import-export make money while we make up for our colonial debt to Africa. I got a lot of entrepreneurial friends in Tanzania who are impatiently waiting for the wall to fall.

But like the president of Senegal said at the EU-Africa summit December 2007: "Europe is close to losing the battle of competition in Africa." It was the first EU-Africa summit since 2000 because of Europe's worries about human rights abuses, so it actually seems the EU is waking up. So Europe and Africa are talking again, but it has given no trade results yet, partly because Europe does not have one voice (some countries are still reluctant to engage in free-trade and to remove agricultural subsidies) and Africa now has greater negotiating power.

China Development Brief knows a lot more about this case than me, so I will let them say the last words here. A bit provocative, but it is still the bitter truth:

"Westerners typically believe that although China has the largest society in the world it has no civil society worth mentioning. But this is at least to some extent because China is not easily visible or comprehensible to Westerners, who have a long tradition of finding the Chinese “inscrutable”—a quality that, of course, depends on the cognitive powers of the observer, not the observed. Africans should not be so short sighted."

Friday, August 1, 2008

Diving and Kajakpolo in Copenhagen

At Islands Brygge in the center of Copenhagen, we are doing free water activities this weekend. A concept called Kulturhavn (culture harbour). I played some Kajakpolo with K-man and Ullams. And we won a crushing 5-1 victory against three young guys!


We also did some swimming. The water was so nice. Uhhh, I feel fresh and young! (and thirsty for some wine)
K-man diving from trampoline








Ullams diving from trampoline



Pictures from a day at Nørrebro

Shooting hoops with Jones

at Ravnsborggade banen



Nørrebro Rules street party in Nørrebroparken

New biking bridge connecting Nørrebro and Frederiksberg over Ågade


Graffiti from Nørrebro Rules