Stamps of the Day: Classic cars ('Bilar')

A First-Day-Cover (FDC) from the Swedish Postal Service in 1997, featuring stamps with classic car brands.  Here you have SAAB (of course, with Carlsson's Monte Carlo rally car), an E-type Jaguar in classic green, Chevrolet's Bel-Air, a very French Citroen, a Volvo Duett - 'the car that is two', and finally Porsche...  Nice old shapes... Enjoy!

This morning I read in the local newspaper that someone had stolen a $80,000 Porsche in our town.  It was parked in a driveway and the owner was home, but someone drove off with it, without the owner noticing anything...

No more "Just one more thing"

Today, one of our most favorite actors died, Peter Falk, 83. He is most famous as the police detective Columbo in the TV series with the same name, but I think I first saw him in the movie the Princess Bride where he plays the old grandfather reading the story to the sick kid in bed.  That is a lovely movie.

And as Columbo, he became Columbo, famous for his smart intellect he hid behind his everyday rumpled looks inside an old gray beaten up French car and his trenchcoat that looked like he had slept in it.  His most characteristic line was probably, while walking out after an interview with a suspect, turning around and saying: 'oh, just one more thing', and then the question came that skewered the unsuspecting person, or providing some important clue to the solution. He was very popular as Columbo in Sweden when I grew up too.

He was also in Wings of Desire and in the very funny movie Murder by Death.  If you haven't seen him acting you have missed something, but these days that is easy to fix.  Just rent the movies!

Here is a slideshow of photos from his movies. Enjoy!

Book review: Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann av Jonas Jonasson

One more book review of a Swedish book in Swedish on this blog, but this one it on its way to be translated into English and a multitude of other languages.  It was a long time ago I read such a hilarious book.  It helps that the long beginning takes place in a small village not far from where I grew up, and that the author successfully makes fun of Swedish society, world history, politicians and incompetent bureaucrats, and puts together an obviously too-incredible story, but it is fun!  Just like crazy movies like Young Frankenstein is fun.  It is not because the story is believable, but because the book (or movie) creates laugh-out-loud moments in your life. 

In Swedish this book by Jonas Jonasson is called 'Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann', which means The 100-year old who stepped out the window and disappeared. It will be made into a Swedish movie in 2012.  Jonas Jonasson is a former Swedish journalist who had the first draft of this book in his drawer for over 20 years or so.  The story seems simple, but it is not.  An old man turns 100 (named Allan) and decides to escape before his birthday party at the old-people home, and steps out the window.  And then the story starts, which includes murders, elephants, police, journalists, mafia, drug dealers, akvavit, swedish summer, swedish women, and much more... all written in a hilarious Swedish based on 1940-1950s intricate and sometimes stilted grammar with words of today thrown in. Throughout the book the 100-year old reminisces about his colorful life, where he has traveled the world, and in fact, helped (or not) world history personalities such as Franco, Roosevelt, Mao, Einstein's brother, Stalin, and he visits and deals with the associated gulag camps, atom bomb makings, secret submarines, and Iranian revolutions.  The book gives a great work-through of 20th century history, but of course it is all wrong because Allan is inserted in it.  But hilarious! I won't tell you the ending of the story, but it is good to the end.

I loved this book.  Apparently many (snobbish?) book critics in Sweden didn't like it at all, and thought it was silly, overwrought, or just plain dumb.  Well, dumb, that is Danielle Steele.  Overwrought, sure, but that is the point!  Just like a Mel Brooks movie, get it!?  Remember Springtime for Hitler - just the same thing, but this is nearly better, I think.  Silly - come on, good culture can be FUN. One critic complained that the book wasn't believable (hello, it wasn't meant to be!). This is pure entertainment, not serious literature... I am keeping this book so I can read it again next time I get the flu and have to lay in bed for a day or two. It will make me laugh many times again.  (And thanks to BOS for sending it to me!)

So, English-speaking readers, keep your eyes open and get it when it comes out in your country in the translated form.

A night story from second grade (Smygande natt)

Another old story written by me in 2nd grade:

Inbrott
Det var månsken och regnade och var tyst. Bakom den höga muren, där borta var juvelerna. Nu, sa tjuven till sin kamrat. De sprang över skogsgläntan. Nej, jag vill inte vara med om det här sa tjuvens kamrat, med en rysning. Tjuven klättrade upp i ett träd och hoppade ner på andra sidan. Hans kamrat gjorde likadant men hamnade i en jordhög och gav upp ett skrik av skräck. Tyst, sa tjuven. Han var stel av spänning. Nu såg dom huset. Det var mörk i fönstren. Nej inte i alla längst upp var det tänt, där syntes en skugga av en figur. Det var nog en flicka. Tjuvens kamrat gjorde stora fotspår utan att han visste om det. Han öppnade väskan och tog ut några vapen och en kniv. Då, fick dom syn på de gula, runda ögonen. Slut.

Theft
It was moonlight and rained and was quiet. Behind the high wall, over there was the jewels. Now, said the thief to his partner. They ran across the opening in the forest. No, I don't want to do this, said the thief's partner, with a shiver. The thief climbed up a tree and jumped down on the other side. His partner did the same, but fell into a soil heap and screamed out of fear. Quiet, said the thief. He was stiff from tension. Now they saw the house. It was dark in the windows. No, not in all, up at the top it was lit, and there you could see a shadow of a figure. It was probably a girl. The thief's partner made big foot traces without knowing about it. He opened the bag and took out some weapons and a knife. Then, they saw the yellow, round eyes. The end.