Saturday, June 16, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
from the mercury news
| Paris Hilton's parents breeze past line on visit, while others wait hours |
| By Raquel Maria Dillon Associated Press San Jose Mercury News |
| Article Launched:06/13/2007 06:24:13 AM PDT |
| LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton's parents visited their daughter after breezing past others waiting to see loved ones - an incident that raised new complaints that the heiress is receiving special treatment. The visit Tuesday came less than a week after Hilton was reassigned to house arrest days after being jailed for violating parole. The 26-year-old socialite and reality TV star was later ordered back to jail. Alvina Floyd, one visitor to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, waited more than four hours to visit her fiance. It normally takes two hours, and Floyd, 20, blamed the Hiltons for the delay. "I have to be at work later," she said. "I can't wait here all day." Shatani Alverson, 23, said she was hustled out of the jail's visiting room moments after her husband walked in because of the Hiltons. She was told to come back after lunch. Steve Whitmore, a sheriff's spokesman, said it was routine for high-profile inmates to receive visitors during lunch, a time when the visiting room is normally cleared out and closed. The visit came shortly after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ordered Sheriff Lee Baca to respond by next week to allegations of favoritism for reassigning Hilton to house arrest. At the time, Baca cited an undisclosed medical condition as the reason for making the decision. Hilton was sent to a medical ward, where sheriff's officials said it costs $1,109.78 a day to house a female inmate compared with $99.64 a day in the general population. Mary Tiedeman, who regularly visits the jails as a monitor for the ACLU, said the area where Hilton was being housed was usually reserved for high-security inmates or those worse off than Hilton has appeared. "I don't know what her health issue is, but you have got to have a pretty intense medical or mental health problem to be in that part of the jail," she said. Meanwhile, the Endeavor talent agency has dropped Hilton from its roster of clients, Michael Donkis, a spokesman for the company, said Tuesday. "She is no longer a client," he said, declining further comment. Hilton has been represented by the Beverly Hills-based agency since 2005. |
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
in bohuslän it's called to "maja"
When I was a kid a rite of passage was the adult-free picnic. It consisted of a drink and some crackers, and a walk around the corner to the first available bit of grass that was not someone's back yard.Since I grew up in a safe decade, and a very safe neighborhood, I was probably around 4 or 5 when this happened.
The crackers were kept in some container I don't remember, and the drink in a plastic bottle that previously had held golden syrup. I still use the same kind. (Thanks IKEA.)
that's what 's sick
On The Larry King Show on Monday night several people discussed the Paris Hilton case. One of them was Susan McDougal, a woman who was involved in the Whitewater deal with her then husband and Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Susan McDougal spent something like 21 months in prison. On Larry King she spoke about that experience. She was angrier than the Reverend Al Sharpton, who was on the same show. He barely got a word in.
She told two stories. One about a pregnant woman who was bleeding, and one about a woman unconscious from a drug overdose. In neither case medical help was called, and Susan was told to "help the best she could".
Ms. McDougal was a white, middle class, educated, woman in prison along with mostly young working class women of color. What she saw shocked her. But to the women of color what happened was normal. "It's all about class and race", Susan McDougal yelled on CNN. Rarely do we see white people that enraged over inequality.
What they were talking about on that show? The fact that Paris Hilton was let out of jail for "medical reasons".
Susan McDougal spent something like 21 months in prison. On Larry King she spoke about that experience. She was angrier than the Reverend Al Sharpton, who was on the same show. He barely got a word in.
She told two stories. One about a pregnant woman who was bleeding, and one about a woman unconscious from a drug overdose. In neither case medical help was called, and Susan was told to "help the best she could".
Ms. McDougal was a white, middle class, educated, woman in prison along with mostly young working class women of color. What she saw shocked her. But to the women of color what happened was normal. "It's all about class and race", Susan McDougal yelled on CNN. Rarely do we see white people that enraged over inequality.
What they were talking about on that show? The fact that Paris Hilton was let out of jail for "medical reasons".
Monday, June 11, 2007
michael tolliver lives (hej hasse!)
Armistead Maupin has written a new book connected to his Tales Of The City series. It's out tomorrow, but an excerpt was printed in today's San Francisco Chronicle.
There has been a couple of TV-series based on the series, but those aren't very good. The books are, though. They tell the story of life in San Francisco in the 1970's and 1980's and they are fantastic and real at the same time.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
shaking in my cozy socks
I think there are squirrels in that space between the ceiling and the roof, whatever it is called. I am freaking out.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
back to paris hilton
I don't think she should get a harsher sentence than someone else would have gotten, for the same offense.
I don't think it's the job of the judicial system to be her parent. What she may or may not need for being a spoiled brat is irrelevant. She can stay spoiled until she dies of old age and there isn't anything anyone can do about that.
What we can do is stop watching, reading, and caring about it.
I don't think it's the job of the judicial system to be her parent. What she may or may not need for being a spoiled brat is irrelevant. She can stay spoiled until she dies of old age and there isn't anything anyone can do about that.
What we can do is stop watching, reading, and caring about it.
Friday, June 08, 2007
justice
I just heard on CNN that Paris Hilton (who was mysteriously released from jail yesterday) didn't want to go to court today for a hearing. She did offer to talk with them on the phone, though.
Last night on the same channel I saw a civil right leader saying something like "if everyone with mental health problems were let out if jail, prisons would be empty."
Right now Paris is driven to court by the police, in hand cuffs.
Last night on the same channel I saw a civil right leader saying something like "if everyone with mental health problems were let out if jail, prisons would be empty."
Right now Paris is driven to court by the police, in hand cuffs.
Friday, June 01, 2007
yeah, it looked funny to me
Last night at Safeway a really tall and skinny woman wearing really high heels bought gladiolus.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
matthew 25:40
Regarding racism, and the slew of other -isms that give some the right to think less of others: I think we should all be angry when others are belittled, oppressed, or threatened. Even if it is not us, it could be us. And if you believe we are all part of the same creation, it is us. There is a Bible verse that talk about this and that I always quote, but incorrectly. I looked it up:
Matthew 25:40 What you do onto the least of your brothers, you do onto me.
(No, I don't quote the Bible every day. But once in a while it really fits.)
Matthew 25:40 What you do onto the least of your brothers, you do onto me.
(No, I don't quote the Bible every day. But once in a while it really fits.)
job 42:15
Someone used the Bible for their license plate:
In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters;
and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.
In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters;
and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
in our nation's service
Memorial Day: "Originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service." Observed last Monday of May. I wrote this story for Memorial Day 2003 (in Swedish).
about growing up as an illegal immigrant, and go on to higher education:
"The thing that I hated the most was seeing people... the way that they looked at us, and made us feel less than them. For some time as a child I grew to hate myself. I was embarrassed of my culture, embarrassed of who I was, embarrassed because of other peoples' comments. I did not want to speak Spanish. I hated to translate for those that I loved the most, my family. Because it wasn't cool, it wasn't accepted.
I wanted sandwiches on white bread, with cheese and ham in them. I didn't want burritos filled with chile verde, and frijoles and nachos. It wasn't until someone actually told me to my face that I shouldn't bother studying or taking hard classes because people like me - brown, Mexican, black, whatever - we would simply grow up to work with our hands. Manual labor is all that we know and all that we were fit for. At that point I finally changed. I was so upset that this became my motivation."
- from a panel on immigration, Santa Clara University, May 23, 2007
I wanted sandwiches on white bread, with cheese and ham in them. I didn't want burritos filled with chile verde, and frijoles and nachos. It wasn't until someone actually told me to my face that I shouldn't bother studying or taking hard classes because people like me - brown, Mexican, black, whatever - we would simply grow up to work with our hands. Manual labor is all that we know and all that we were fit for. At that point I finally changed. I was so upset that this became my motivation."
- from a panel on immigration, Santa Clara University, May 23, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
I came across his name just now and I was reminded how great he is
When I was still living in Sweden and still doing media research I had this image on my office wall. It shows a man watching TV at a camping site on the island of Öland. It's by Swedish photographer Lars Tunbjörk. The exhibit was called "A country beside itself".
Saturday, May 19, 2007
no freddie wadling for me
Seems I can't buy music from the Swedish itunes store. This is disappointing.
ok I changed my mind
Dan smuggled celery into the veggie juice right now thinking I wouldn't notice. But I did. And even though I have said for ever that I eat "everything except celery" I have to admit it tasted pretty good.
I also have to admit the following:
When I am on an airplane and they ask what kind of pre dinner drink you want I always order tomato juice. And I sit there very happily sipping it. Super good!
But now when I had the veggie juice I recognized something. And I realized that what they give you on planes is not tomato juice. It's Bloody Mary mix. It has celery.
Liked it all along, apparently.
I also have to admit the following:
When I am on an airplane and they ask what kind of pre dinner drink you want I always order tomato juice. And I sit there very happily sipping it. Super good!
But now when I had the veggie juice I recognized something. And I realized that what they give you on planes is not tomato juice. It's Bloody Mary mix. It has celery.
Liked it all along, apparently.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate, of course
Before we became all healthy sometimes we would eat things like multicolored wafers. Those are good.
Monday, May 14, 2007
utlandssvensk
Två saker jag hört på radion senaste veckan:
1. Hur man uttalar "Pekgul" (har annars bara läst detta namn).
2. Uttrycket "att göra en pudel" (begrep inte).
1. Hur man uttalar "Pekgul" (har annars bara läst detta namn).
2. Uttrycket "att göra en pudel" (begrep inte).
Friday, May 11, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
recipes for isle dance (and everyone else of course)
So here is an attempt:
Take about 1.5 cups of the stringy pulp a juicer makes. It should be a good amount of vegetables and greens in there (carrots, beets, spinach, parsley, whatever). Mix in spices (salt, pepper, chili, cumin is a good start, but use whatever you like). Cut up a little onion (a couple of table spoons), and maybe a garlic clove. Mix. Taste. It should be well seasoned. Mix in an egg. Mix well. Use your hand.
So far I have figured out two ways to go from here. But obviously the possibilities are endless (I am thinking pie fillings, bread...).
1. Patties. (Serves two.)
Shape golf ball sized balls, flatten, dip either side in bread crumbs (I had matzo meal so I used that), and fry on medium heat for a little while before flipping. They will taste a bit like falafel and a yogurt based sauce is good on the side.
2. Breakfast scramble. (Serves two.)
Instead of patties, drop little (teaspoon size) pieces into a hot pan. Cut up a couple of small tortillas in 1.5 inch pieces, and add those to the pan. Medium heat. Stir and flip. Beat two eggs with a little water and pour over. Mix a little until done. Don't over cook because that will make it dry. Bon apetit!
Take about 1.5 cups of the stringy pulp a juicer makes. It should be a good amount of vegetables and greens in there (carrots, beets, spinach, parsley, whatever). Mix in spices (salt, pepper, chili, cumin is a good start, but use whatever you like). Cut up a little onion (a couple of table spoons), and maybe a garlic clove. Mix. Taste. It should be well seasoned. Mix in an egg. Mix well. Use your hand.
So far I have figured out two ways to go from here. But obviously the possibilities are endless (I am thinking pie fillings, bread...).
1. Patties. (Serves two.)
Shape golf ball sized balls, flatten, dip either side in bread crumbs (I had matzo meal so I used that), and fry on medium heat for a little while before flipping. They will taste a bit like falafel and a yogurt based sauce is good on the side.
2. Breakfast scramble. (Serves two.)
Instead of patties, drop little (teaspoon size) pieces into a hot pan. Cut up a couple of small tortillas in 1.5 inch pieces, and add those to the pan. Medium heat. Stir and flip. Beat two eggs with a little water and pour over. Mix a little until done. Don't over cook because that will make it dry. Bon apetit!
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
mendez v. westminster
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) is the famous Supreme Court case that led to the nationwide desegregation of schools, and spurred the civil rights movement.Mendez v. Westminster School District of Orange County (1947), another Supreme Court case, desegregated public schools in California and gave access to children of Mexican descent. It's a far less known case, but it actually proceeded Brown v. Board of Education.
Race politics in the US are often black and white. What has been happening to and with other groups is unknown, even if the events at the time were groundbreaking.
Monday, May 07, 2007
we're so healthy now
Dan's mom gave us a juicer, so now we are having vegetable and fruit juices several times a day and our skin is glowing and I am sure our insides too.
And I take the leftovers, the pulp and stringiness that the juicer leaves behind, and I mix it with an egg and some spices and garlic and onion and I make veggie burgers.
I have never liked veggie burgers but these are of course delicious.
And I take the leftovers, the pulp and stringiness that the juicer leaves behind, and I mix it with an egg and some spices and garlic and onion and I make veggie burgers.
I have never liked veggie burgers but these are of course delicious.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
maybe my shopping therapy is paying off
I had a neck and back massage yesterday, and was told I was "relaxed". It made me happy.
Then we talked about how for some people it's a compliment to be told they are tense.
Like a validation: they are working hard.
This is not a good thing.
Then we talked about how for some people it's a compliment to be told they are tense.
Like a validation: they are working hard.
This is not a good thing.
Friday, May 04, 2007
"Because I trust you."
A Chinese young woman told me yesterday that when she was traveling in Scandinavia by herself, the Swedes were far more welcoming and helpful than the Danes.
She said in Denmark people didn't talk to her, but in Sweden people approached her to give her information, lent her their passes for the local buses, and generally were very nice. She says she wants to move there.
This just really surprises me. It goes against all notions Swedes have about the Danes. We see them as warm and friendly, and ourselves as stiff and cold.
When I think of it, though, it doesn't surprise me that someone would lend her their bus pass. She said the guy working at the front desk at the hotel did. He also gave her a map of the city with downtown bars circled, and told her to have a good time.
She said in Denmark people didn't talk to her, but in Sweden people approached her to give her information, lent her their passes for the local buses, and generally were very nice. She says she wants to move there.
This just really surprises me. It goes against all notions Swedes have about the Danes. We see them as warm and friendly, and ourselves as stiff and cold.
When I think of it, though, it doesn't surprise me that someone would lend her their bus pass. She said the guy working at the front desk at the hotel did. He also gave her a map of the city with downtown bars circled, and told her to have a good time.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
I am putting mine on the roof, just to make sure.
Just learned this on the Today Show: To have your washer and drier on the lower levels of the house is sooooo yesterday.
comes on a long stem with long green leaves
I think this is wildflower is onion-related. Next time I will just be Scandinavian about it and taste it.
never compare - never compete
I just stumbled across those there words of wisdom from Karl Lagerfeld.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
what are you?
One thing I think about a lot is cultural identity. I think about it, and then I talk about it in class. Sometimes to the point of actually confusing the students, maybe. Because it's a really complicated issue, and a personal one too. There aren't any easy answers.
So... now I wonder what YOU think? What does it mean to you, to be American, or Swedish, or Mexican, or Californian, or however you would identify yourself? Email me, lotta.k@gmail.com, or write a comment here. I am really very curious.
So... now I wonder what YOU think? What does it mean to you, to be American, or Swedish, or Mexican, or Californian, or however you would identify yourself? Email me, lotta.k@gmail.com, or write a comment here. I am really very curious.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
chocolate fudge
So yeah what you don't want to do is aim for equal parts sugar, butter and golden syrup (sirap), and overdo the sugar.
If you keep the parts equal it's a good plan, though. Simmer until desired texture. Stir in cacao powder until desired color, and a pinch of salt. Pour into a buttered container, and cut into pieces.
(The chocolate sauce I figured I could make the same way, and let it boil for only a second or so. I did, but the sugar made it hard, especially when it hit the vanilla ice cream. Good idea, poor execution.)
If you keep the parts equal it's a good plan, though. Simmer until desired texture. Stir in cacao powder until desired color, and a pinch of salt. Pour into a buttered container, and cut into pieces.
(The chocolate sauce I figured I could make the same way, and let it boil for only a second or so. I did, but the sugar made it hard, especially when it hit the vanilla ice cream. Good idea, poor execution.)
thumbs up for students, thumbs down for me
Earlier tonight I read a bunch of papers/more like journal entries actually. They were good. I like it when my smart students let their guards down and tell it like it is.
And I made a chocolate sauce today that turned into very hard fudge very fast. I didn't think you could make bad chocolate sauce but apparently you can.
And I made a chocolate sauce today that turned into very hard fudge very fast. I didn't think you could make bad chocolate sauce but apparently you can.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
today: one band-aid, and lots of neosporin
Yesterday I had blood on my hands, twice.First from some violent gardening involving a bougainvillea and a nameless wine. And then from pulling out the splints. My arms look as if I have a cat. Which, sadly, I don't. The nameless wine is also gone. The bougainvillea is chopped in half.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
email from mayka
excerpt from an SF e-mail newsletter:
lotta love.
just like mom never used to make, old-school lotta's bakery is a throwback to when all your carb-loaded needs were baked in-house daily at the crack of dawn. named for owner g. earl darny's drag persona ("an ex-adult entertainer who's over the hill but still thinks she's got it"), this just-opened bakeshop is way over-the-top. 1720 polk street. at clay. 415.359.9039.
lotta love.
just like mom never used to make, old-school lotta's bakery is a throwback to when all your carb-loaded needs were baked in-house daily at the crack of dawn. named for owner g. earl darny's drag persona ("an ex-adult entertainer who's over the hill but still thinks she's got it"), this just-opened bakeshop is way over-the-top. 1720 polk street. at clay. 415.359.9039.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
so beach boys it is not, and it's out of season too. but it's good.
Fairytale of New York
It was Christmas Eve babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me, won't see another one
And then he sang a song
The Rare Old Mountain Dew
I turned my face away
And dreamed about you
Got on a lucky one
Came in eighteen to one
I've got a feeling
This year's for me and you
So happy Christmas
I love you baby
I can see a better time
When all our dreams come true
They've got cars big as bars
They've got rivers of gold
But the wind goes right through you
It's no place for the old
When you first took my hand
On a cold Christmas Eve
You promised me
Broadway was waiting for me
You were handsome
You were pretty
Queen of New York City
When the band finished playing
They howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging,
All the drunks they were singing
We kissed on a corner
Then danced through the night
The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing "Galway Bay"
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day
You're a bum
You're a punk
You're an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse
I pray God it's our last
I could have been someone
Well so could anyone
You took my dreams from me
When I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Can't make it all alone
I've built my dreams around you
copyright 1988 Shane MacGowan & Jem Finer
Sunday, April 22, 2007
but oh the pogues. five times fairytale of new york later I am liking it better.
My ipod lets me listen to the Swedish news while I am on the trail. Itunes lets me buy music I miss.Everything is accessible at all times and post modern layers are blah blah blah really cool blah blah.
But: Is this now or is it 1990? Is that car I hear here, or is it in Paris, part of the background noise from the story about the French election?
It's freaking me out I am not joking.
reading
I re-bought George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier the other day. I have another copy somewhere but this one I am reading right now. It's good.
I also got the New York Review of Books to read an article about Joan Didion.
These things, in addition to the two 'get to know the library'-sessions in the chapel-turned-classroom last week make me feel quite the intellectual.
I also got the New York Review of Books to read an article about Joan Didion.
These things, in addition to the two 'get to know the library'-sessions in the chapel-turned-classroom last week make me feel quite the intellectual.
and guess what, fox news is taking the high road. no images of cho. (they talk about him non stop, though.)
I got tacos for breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, garlic, and onion in them. And hot sauce on top. And coffee in my small Arabian glass. This is a good Sunday.
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