Miami Vice is a beautifully directed piece based on the two detective characters Crockett and Tubbs from the 1980's action drama.
Well, she's not - just patching the car, replacing the windshield wipers. You haven't seen the manual by the way?!
Babel is a thought-provoking creation based on three distinctly separate stories taking place in different parts of the world, on three individual continents.
Is it art? Well, I file it under art...
For some reason the tradition is to shop in Malmö. Don't know why, it's just tradition. However, instead of the traditional Chinese cuisine we decided to go for Thai food at Möllevångstorget after a tip from Per. The tip was Krua-Thai, a Thai restaurant that's definitely worth a visit since they do dishes Thai-style upon request; a little bit spicier...
The temptation of rejuvenation is brilliantly and provocatively portrayed in Fruit Chan's colorful and horrific tale Dumplings, a ninety-minute masterpiece based on an initial shorter version part of Three...Extremes.
Last page."Barnen stirrar mig i ögonen, sträcker fram sina små slitna emaljkoppar och viskar "please, money, please". Som om vi behövde ytterligare en påminnelse om obalansen."Po's article portrays western consumerism as it's right now showing it's face in China's backyard markets. Westerns going to Beijing on 72 hour shopping quests for cheap pirated goods. Bargaining over fake Gucci and Ralph Lauren shirts in trading districts becoming more and more organized and structured.
Culture?! No, not interested. I'm here to shop. Only got seventy-two hours. No, I don't have any money to spare. Have a nice day.Read it.
This was Jenny's first Kullrusk session. She immediately took control over the musical analysis part, identifying beats, etc. I think that's just normal behavior if you're part musician, part physicist (well, she's more than just "a part" in the latter case, but you get the picture).
I got the band's latest released audio CDs. Since they were running out of discs to sell at the brunch session they told the audience to fix it themselves - i.e. copy the music from each other...
Per "Ruskträsk" Johansson and Jonas Kullhammar; action shot.
The music is perfectly balanced and served - electrically mixed and blended - with effects.
This was my first live encounter with the band; arranged by Jazz i Malmö at Jeriko. It won't be the last though. Their experimental jazz is very well suited for live performances.
At least, that's has been my reflection of that particular piece of art up until now. But this evening something had changed for the better. It was actually spinning around when I walked by on my way home.
It's finally "speaking" again.
The entrance fee is normally low at S:t Getrud. I think it was around 50 SEK this evening - for up to two hours of live music that's nothing. Could be the reason why Erik is so relaxed and happy...
Movie: Casino Royale [SF Royale theater, Malmö, Sweden]
After the movie Sony Ericsson arranged a short interview / quiz on stage with Mads Mikkelsen, one of the villain characters. It was very appreciated - Mads is well known to us that consume Danish movies; the Pusher trilogy, etc.
Rating: The action scenes were nicely done. Some twists in the plot which is mandatory - just got to have them in a standard Hollywood production nowadays since it's no longer enough with a number of explosions (has it ever been?). It lost speed in the middle part - some love story mixed with "I'm quitting my agent job" lines - but luckily regained it again for the grand finale. All in all, it's a worth-to-watch 2.5 hour movie.
Leaving Thailand. From Phuket on a domestic flight to the new airport just outside Bangkok to swap to the flight home to Sweden.
So, what's Thai massage really like? Is it rough? A handful of violence mixed with two cups of pure rage? Is it true that the massage girl / woman is walking and climbing all over your body making it look more like an expedition to Everest than traditional massage? I had to find out. Since no one - except Per who had done this a number of times already - volunteered, I had to use my own body, roughly 2m of prime Swedish male, for the experiment.
"Ok. I'll go for a one hour Thai Massage. 200 Thai Bath."
It was dark inside the massage institute. Reminds me of the phrase "It's always darkest just before it goes pitch black"...
Me to the left, Per to the right. No oil, just one tough Thai woman kneading my body like dough.
Aouch. What's this move called? Was it even in their massage instructions?
Almost done. Putting the pieces together again.
Me trying to deal on the local frog market:
50 Bath.
I could go on dealing the whole night here...
Anonymously located at Soi Patong Tower, one of the quieter and not-so-crowded side streets in Patong, just off the beach, you'll find The Famous Old Dutch, a small Thai bar and restaurant.
Introducing Sor Fee, aquaintance from the Similan dive trip, to the delicious food at the Dutch.
Per is trying out one of the hats sold by a local fake-frog-hat-bracelet-dealer. Fake since it's wooden frogs they're selling, not real ones. The dealers (they're all dressed in the same way) circulate around bars and restaurants, trying to make you buy something you have absolutely no need for at all - but since it's so cheap, and you get "special price for you my friend" it's sometimes hard not to... Next time maybe.
Ronald and one of his Thai-dealer-friends hanging out at the local McDonald's restaurant in Patong. Dealer to the right.
Every morning starts early to get the most out of the day. Four dives are planned each day, including one night dive. Around 06.30 wake-up calls can be heard in the corridor.
The dive crew at the table, planning todays dives for the different groups.
Since there's eat-what-you-ordered breakfast right after the morning dive a few toasts and a coffee is more than enough before the first dive in the morning.
Into the blue; giant strides from dive deck into the Similan ecosystem. The water was clear, blue, warm, ...
Lunch time. Mm... Always lots of food, lots of great Thai food. Delicious.
A visit to one of the Similan islands. I have climbed up on the rocks to get the view - fantastic... A few dive boats can be seen anchored in the sea.
Night dive. Had to watch out for the barracudas.
Time to go to bed. More diving tomorrow...
Eleven Minutes is a fascinating story about Maria, a young woman from a small Brazilian village that gets heartbroken at a tender age. She becomes convinced that true love doesn't exist, that "love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer . . .".
Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.
Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.
