Weekend in Madrid

Sunday Walk in the Park

Hallo Igen!

Bill Clinton is the man - Obama 2012!

I am normally a cynic but Bill Clinton is a masterful speaker and a great president - he makes a forceful case for these past 4 years (while cutting through all the bullshit and lies) and dare I say it, gives me some hope:

The O.C.

Shortly after graduating in 2009, I decided it would be good for me to move to Irvine to start work in public accounting. To say that I was less-than-smitten with the city and most of Orange County would be a bit of an understatement but in the end, it was a good experience as I now know better.

The reason I bring all this up is because I came across this really compelling and fun comic/graphic essay today, aptly titled: "Why I Hate Orange County California." It pretty much summed up a number of the reasons I eventually moved back to my beloved (Los Angeles).

http://dmvcomics.com/files/orangecounty/index.html

Finally (summer sun)!

Sunday Bike Ride

The American Dream (another year in Sweden)

Five weeks of paid vacation (which you are "forced" to take), flexible working hours, subsidized gym membership, true 8-hour days, discounted massages, company-issued smartphone - some may dub this "European-style Socialism," I prefer to call it "a good standard of living." One should  keep in mind that Sweden achieves all of this while still ranking 3rd in global competitiveness (behind only Switzerland and Singapore, America is 5th!). And while taxes may be higher in some areas, I'll take the extra vacation time to travel over a house full of Chinese-made crap any day. 

No one here is against capitalism - everyone believes in the free-market, staying competitive and generating profit but the distinct difference is to what extent? I'm all for these things but I'm also for employees getting a fair shake - it all comes down to balance and it seems as though things are becoming very unbalanced back home as far as the middle-class is concerned. And people are attacking Obama for wanting to change things (the little that he can considering the circumstances) for the better?! This singular, corporate-driven focus on profit above all else just seems so shortsighted to me... America is burnt-out and a healthy country should be in everyone's interest. Europe, particularly Scandinavia, is actually a lot like America, except that it puts greater emphasis on a strong safety-net, universal healthcare and education, and ensuring the welfare of its citizens - good value for money in my eyes.

I am a proud American through and through and there are a lot of things that I love about my country but I dislike a certain mindset and willful ignorance that pervades many parts of it and inhibits progress (along with the money in our political system, Evangelicalism, the current Republican Party and the lemmings that support them). We can learn a lot from the rest of the world and I think America becoming more "European" or "Canadian" (i.e. towards a Social Democracy) is a good thing but until we make more progress in that regard, I'll hang out over here a little while longer.

As my favorite quote says, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." With this in mind, I'm getting ready for another year in Sweden...

... please send In-N-Out.

Happy 4th of July!

Bodarp

Lund & Ystad

Obamacare

I was happy to read today that Obamacare was upheld by the Supreme Court. While far from perfect, at least we are making progress and heading in the right direction. But having said all that, one should keep in my that Obamacare is essentially a Republican idea from the 90s (y'know, before the angry, trailer-trash faction took over) - anyone who thinks this is anything close to socialized medicine is an idiot. It's sad to think how crazy things have gotten...

It amazes me how so many people outraged over this issue won't bat an eye over the trillions spent (and young blood shed) on our foreign policy under the guise of "protecting our freedom," yet we cannot spend a much smaller amount (relative to the wars) to ensure people have adequate healthcare? What about the freedom from getting sick or from having to pay exorbitant healthcare costs? This is a non-issue in every other Western democracy (and the majority of developing countries as well) - we need to realize that American exceptionalism just isn't healthy sometimes.

Bill Maher: "Sarah Palin tweeted 'Obama lies, freedom dies' - oh cheer up, it just means when one of your kids gets knocked up they'll be covered."

Day Trip - Stockholm

Favorite airline. 

Fine day for a Burgundy.

Warm and sunny in Stockholm. 

Swebus Sunday

Midsommar

"We sing with our heroes thirty-three rounds per minute.

We're never going home until the sun says we're finished.

I'll love you forever if I ever love at all.

Wild hearts, blue jeans and white t-shirts."

Sommar i Lund

For the ladies... 

"Turn the record over..."

Have you seen my heart, 

Have you seen how it bleeds? 

And the nights are so long, baby, 

Out here in the deep. 

The tick, ticking of hours, lonely. 

I hear the alarm.

I used to hear when she would sleep in my arms. 

But "better sense" says... 

"Hey, turn the record over. 

Hey, I'll see you on the flip side. 

There you go, turn the key and engine over. 

Let her go, let somebody else lay at her feet." 

En Helg i Stockholm

Sweet Rides (STHLM Ed.)