What's on the big and little screen?

It hasn't escaped anyone that movies is a passion for me, but I can also surrender to the addiction of really good television shows. Stuff I'm currently excited about:

Good TV shows

Californication
Excellent TV show, courtesy of "Showtime". David Duchovny is actually very funny and irreverent as a cynical writer trying to piece his life and family together. Really moving and really amusing at times, and both at the same time at it's very best. Quote: "Rehab is for quitters!"



30 Rock
Comedy show, behind the scenes of a comedy TV show. And while the TV show inside the show is like SNL (a type of humor I don't really get), 30 Rock is full of an intelligent, quirky sense of humor. Quote: "DId you know that the inner state schools have lower literacy rates than the Sudan? - That doesn't sound right. -Hm, maybe it was Sweden? Or was it teen pregnancy? (sighs) I need to read more."




Currently, good movies

Juno
Adorable film that will leave you all warm and fuzzy inside, but with enough bite and well written dialogue that it won't initiate your gag reflex. Ellen Paige as Juno is awesome and well deserving of the Oscar nomination. My biggest beef is that Micheal Cera and Jason Bateman (two of the stars of the awesome TV show "Arrested Development") while both in the film, have no common scene :(

WAZ
It starts off with Stellan Skarsgård trying to play a hardboiled cynical cop named "Eddie" (yes, it's about as unintentionally funny as it sounds), which lowered my expectations for the rest of the film. But then the plot and script crank it up a notch, Eddie becomes fleshed out, Selma Blair (black-haired girl in Cruel Intentions, Hellboy and In good company) has the best role of her carreer. Warning: some scenes make Seven look like a picknick and bring Saw to mind.

Stockholm, fine dining

Now that I actually have an income, food's on the menu! I've had the privilege of never having been hungry due to lack of funds, which puts me in the upper percentiles of the planet - but still, fine dining is a joy forever! I've been trying to mentally compile a list of the better restaurants I've had the pleasure of eating at in Stockholm:

• Underbar - lebanese cuisine, Drottninggatan
• Sonjas Grek - greek cuisine, Södermalm
• Hard Rock Café - american cuisine, Odenplan
• Happy India - indian cuisine, Mariatorget
• Underbara bar - swedish cuisine, Medis
• 4 Knop - crêperie, Medis
• Sushi Bar Sandai-Me Kato - Sushi, Medis/Mariatorget

I hope to add more to the list, in particular the very hyped "Restaurangen".

As long as it's a Democrat, I don't care

Obama or Clinton? is the question a lot of people have on their lips. The two candidates have been surrounded with large media attention due to their unusual demographics; woman vs African American. Both are underdogs, and are getting attention and support due to their underdog positions.

If either is better than the other is difficult for me to discern, mainly because during the campaigning session a lot of focus is on the progression of the votes in the primaries, and not on the facts about what the candidates represent. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to find out?

But honestly, I don't give a damn who wins. Both candidates have a good shot at the White House, and probably, neither will be a disaster of Bush-proportions. Because at this point, I'm mostly interested in getting that Republican fool out of office, and not having him replaced by another bloodthirsty Republican (fool or otherwise). I want a U.S. president that will heal the wounds caused by the Bush administration. I mean, the amount of goodwill the world had towards the US on account of 9-11 has been completely squandered.

I've often privately suggested that the entire world's population should be allowed to vote for the US president. But that just wouldn't be faire to the Republicans. So I guess it's up to the good people of US to do the right thing and elect the Democrat, Obama or Clinton!

Freedom of press: the right to oppress?

The controvery surrounding the publication and republication of pictures of the prophet Mohamed is typically the kind to induce heavy headaches. To me, it is a moral, political, religious and ethical grey area which dumbfounds. On the one hand, reading about the frightening surges of violent or dramatic protests rocking through the muslim countries make you curse out religious fanatics; on the other, you wonder what is achieved by pissing them off.

Because, have no doubt about it: while the initial publication may have been a desire to create a buzz and unintenionally led to a bizarrely overstated response, the republication of the pictures serves no additional purpose. Except of riling people up. It seems the Danish press had discovered a button labelled "Piss off muslims worldwide". While the creation of a debate may be a healthy alibi, the immediate consequence is that you portray your opposition as mindless fanatics and effectively alienate them all as a group. "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" indeed. The purpose, in my opinion, is to enforce the wave of xenophobia coursing through the country and isolate muslims, instead of encouraging a real conversation between the immigrant muslim minority and the Danish society.

I, for myself, am not that upset about the publications. I still believe in the freedom of the press, but I also wish that the press had higher ambitions than to create confrontation between two groups who already have some serious communication problems.

C.R.A. Confidential

As I'll be working for a Contract Research Organization, my services will be provided to a number of different pharmaceutical companies on a project basis. A lot in this business is hush-hush, as the potential value of a patent pending new drug can be numbered in the high billions.

I find myself frequently using the phrase "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you". The problem of Internet communications is that if I tell you, I can't directly kill you, but I'll have to rely on your goodwill to carry it out.

Maybe a modified "Paypal donations" button, something like this?

If you enjoyed this website, please kill yourself!

To blog or not to blog

The basic paradox of any form of journalkeeping, whether diary or blog, is the following:

"You either have the time to blog, or the time to do something worth blogging about"

And in the tiny wriggle room there within, I will pursue my mission.

Clinical Research ahoy!

Last week I was employed and began working right off the bat!

The position I now hold is called Clinical Research Associate (CRA for short), or rather, a CRA trainee. What the heck is that? you might wonder. Well, here's a brief explanation:

Clinical trials are studies to test the safety and effect of new medication on human subjects. Once a new drug has been tested throughly in the lab and on animals, it's time to move on to humans. The experiments are performed by medical doctors. Participation in a clinical trial is, in the interest of the study subjects, completely anonymous, but the pharmaceutical company still we need to make sure that the studies 1) are safe for the patient and 2) follow the scientific protocol. Enter the CRA. A CRA monitors the study and makes sure that everything is going according to plan. And since things rarely do, they also make sure that problems get fixed asap.

Biotider: going out with a Bang!

Source:SvD

Previously on "Inside the Mind of Mr O.", I asked the question: if an enterprising business falls in a near-total monopoly, does it make a sound?

The answer is hell yes! After SF decided to discontinue our server access to them, we decided to send out a carefully crafted press release to our associates and friends in the business, as well as several newspapers. The response was overwhelming; twice we made the frontpage of the online edition of Svenska Dagbladet, the #2 newspaper in Sweden, with a total of three articles and one blog; an editorial by Peter Wolodarski in the print edition of Dagens Nyheter (#1 newspaper in Sweden); plenty of blogs, chief among which was our good friend Daniel at Bloggywood, and many, many emails that really cheered for us and admonished us to continue the good fight.

So yes, we made a resounding impact, generating a lot of support and encouragement for us and bombarding SF with badwill. That is a comfort I suppose - but the fact remains, that as long as SF holds a monopoly, they can afford not to care. They can wait out this storm of bad press until it blows over and continue on with their backwards business practice.

And no matter how hard we work(ed) on it, Biotider was still a side project by three highly motivated guys with other (real) careers to consider. How much time and effort can we keep sinking into a project that cannot work as long as SF remain stubborn in being the sole proprietors of their marketing information?

Religion Day

Sunday last week I had an interesting experience. Fans of the show will know that I have a tendency to either do something in overdrive, or not at all. Imagine my surprise when I discovered this applies to religion as well!

A good friend of mine, Olle Ideström, was recently anointed as a minister (not sure about the title, prästadjunkt in Swedish at any rate), and was giving mass for the very first time on his own. My mentor and friend, formerly my Swedish teacher, Ulf Lindgren, and I attended.

Now this was my first mass that wasn't a funeral or confirmation mass, so I didn't know what to expect. Psalms, sermon, holy communion, it was all new and strange to me. Even though I do not share with Christians the central tenet of their belief (JC being the son of God), I have great respect for their faith. (I did not partake in the communion, I instead opted for a blessing. Having an old classmate of mine blessing me was unusual, but did not feel weird in a bad way).

I walked out of the church in a state of blissful confusion. I have always felt spiritual and religious, though I've never in my heart of hearts devoted myself to any one religion nor committed to its practices. But on the way home I did pass the mosque, where I went inside and prayed. I felt more at ease and at home, if truth be told. Perhaps I am a muslim after all, despite all my previous reticence?

Blood and Mardi Gras

Blood. It's good for you! Donating blood can be very self-gratifying; you will get a warm fuzzy feeling inside, especially if you try to stand up too fast. Be warned though: your IQ may drop significantly while your body recovers.

After my donation of "precious bodily fluids", I ate the Swedish decadence known as the "semla", which is basically dough with a ginormous amount of whipped cream bulging through the middle. My opinion of the semla is somewhat like the French opinion of the USA; powerful, nauseating but they have their moment every century or so.

The jury is in. And the verdict is...

...really hard to interpret. SF's response is a disappointment, in the sense that it is neither a positive go-get-em-tiger! (not that we expected that), nor a situation where negotiation is welcome, nor a clear-cut refusal. It's simply a very vague, very Swedish "njaaääääeeeej", non-confrontationalist "cover your bases" sort of answer.

It's sad to see a monopoly reach to the point where even positive forces are brushed aside on a whim. We're not going out peacefully.

On the next episode: if an enterprising business falls in a near-total monopoly, does it make a sound?

Biotider: Do or Die

We've worked long and hard on building the best Swedish website for films and cinema: Biotider.se. During strenuous two years we've managed to build an increasingly popular website - high visitor counts, many cooperations with other websites and cinemas across Sweden and increasing ad revenues. Cinemas sorely need all the help they can get, because it is a decreasing form of distribution for films, losing ground to peer-to-peer and home cinema systems.

Which brings us to our relationship to SF, which for all practical considerations holds a monopoly on cinemas in Sweden after Astoria went the way of the dodo last fall. From the beginning on, we expected them to be excited about our project and hoped they would participate, or at the very least, be carefully indifferent to it. I think we were surprised to receive the cold shoulder from them, but decided that the project was far too promising - and important - not to pursue.

By the end of 2007, we were beginning to attract a lot of attention, including receiving an award for one of the best entertainment websites in Sweden (InternetWorld's top 100 Swedish websites annual listing). Whether for that reason or for something altogether different, SF decided in december 2007 shut down our server's access to their viewing times, effectively crippling one of the mainstay features of the website: showing times for films for cinemas across Sweden.

We are currently in talks with SF. After all, we are promoting their services - so why the attitude? one may wonder. While the dice are rolling, we have to employ the age-old adage: "hope for the best, plan for the worst". And we are doing both.


Check out Nicolas' entry on the matter:
http://behind.biotider.se/2008/02/03/state-of-biotider/

Commercials I've known and loved

Yesterday a lot of good movies were on, which meant that after dinner, I sat more or less non-stop in front of the tube watching Harry Potter 3 (the best one in the series, book and film), Minority Report, Conan & Conan 2 (Aaaaarnold!) and Once upon a Time in Mexico ("Are you a Mexi-can? or a Mexi-can't?").

Apart from public service TV, if you try watching anything which lasts longer than 15 minutes, you will be exposed to vast quantities of commercials. Most are instantly forgotten once it's over or will cause you to zone out while its airing. However, some commercials are really good - when you're even considering buying Falcon, which tastes like most Swedish beers (i.e. flat pee), you know they're good!

Here's a rundown of my current top TV commercials:
1. Falcon Beer commercial - Russian version
Manly Russian men trying to decide who is the coldest. Add the Kalinka, and you have a future smash hit!

2.Coop Forum - Bäbisar
I'm not that fond of baby commercials in general, but this one is so endearing and cute I just can't help myself. Note: watch until the end, and you will know the true definition of ABA ("art by accident").

3. Peugeot 308 - Winds of Change
Beautifully composed. Even though some of the CGI could have profited from being subtler, it is an interesting thing to see.

4. Falcon Beer commercial - Irish version
Not quite as good as the Russian version but still very funny.

5. SJ - We could be Heroes
A very clever use of David Bowie. This commercials makes me want to listen to my David Bowie albums - AND take a train ride. At the same time. Now.

This is Sparta!

I hereby issue a challenge to my friends. We've all been enthralled by the movie "300", and one of the most emotionally charged scenes ever to be seen on a screen is the one where King Leonidas of Sparta screams:

"This... is... Sparta!!!"
-Gerard Butler, as King Leonidas

To review the splendid glory, watch the Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDiUG52ZyHQ

The challenge is the following: the first one to yell "This is Sparta" while having sex, preferably during orgasm, wins! Your partner must be able to corroborate your statement. While there is no cash prize, our everlasting honour, glory and respect will be yours.

Welcome to the Mind of Mr O.

I'm a terrible perfectionist, so it is not unlikely that at some point, I will edit this post to make it original, beautiful and enthralling (well, at least I didn't call it "First post" :). So keep in mind that this might no more than a placeholder post waiting to be replaced with the most terrific post ever.

There are too many meaningless blogs out there, crowding the Internet, which long held me back from starting and maintaining my own blog - who wants to be unoriginal guy #3 billion to blog about his pets? Add to that the fact that I have in fact only seldom read blog entries written by my very close friends - and not unless they begin withholding affection from me as long as I don't read it.

So why now? Probably because I feel that I am standing at a junction in my life. In the coming months, I hope to leave behind the last few years of a confusing, sedate, going-with-the-flow lifestyle and engage in a more run-of-the-mill professional life. Though I finally desire to come out of the shadows (so it seems), I realize that I will still require a creative outlet, somewhere to vent, to collect and organize my thoughts, as well as provide a suitable stage should I wish to exhibit to a select circle of friends my work - in whatever form that may take.

What will I post in the blog? I have no definite idea, but I definitely hope to cover a wide range of topics that matter to me. Which means that the blog will most likely contain posts/rants about politics, movies, music, travels, diary entries, religion - basically things that thrill, amuse or upset me.

Warning: You will not find anything about sports in this blog. Those who know me know that physical exercise is anathema for me, even though I have sufficiently good genes for it not be painfully obvious :)