Fictional Fixed Gear

Here's two images I came across of fictional characters on old-timey fixed gear bikes. Really, no one knows if the bikes are actually fixed because, well, one is a cartoon and the Kermit pic doesn't offer a view of the back hub. Although, I do have a good reason to believe Tintin's bike is fixed (read below). Anywho, I get excited by stupid stuff like this.




This is Tintin. If you aren't familiar with him, he's a Belgian world traveler and first-class problem solver. Here he is in Beijing. Just the other day I caught the cartoon of this episode on TV. Shorty after this shot he skids (a sure sign of his fixed gear riding skills) into a truck. Bummer.

Cast of characters

It's only a training match. They call it a "friendly" in the football world. I don't have to actually choose a side. It's just for fun! Right? I can cheer regardless of who scores or wins. I can speak English and Swedish while I watch the game. Drop local references here and there, 50/50. This will be fun?

16 of the US's 19-man roster already play professionally in Europe. One, Charlie Davies, plays for my team of choice here in Stockholm. Some players had to do nothing more than hop a regional train to catch up with their respective national team. It'll be cool to see everyone at the same place at once, sort of like when a good majority of the Hanna-Barbera cast showed up in the same episodes of Yogi's Space Race.

Tonight: Sweden vs. USA
Göteborg, Sweden. 8:30 local time

UPDATE


Sweden 1, USA 0. Tight and fairly equal match. Both sides had a handful of chances but Sweden's persistance proved to be enough. I was impressed with the US's technical passing and eventhough they didn't score they looked quite good in my eyes. Next up, Sweden vs. Denmark and US vs. Brazil (this game is in CHICAGO)

Anthems

So I want to blog more frequently, I do. It's just that stuff is a bit slow right now. So instead of putting up tiny one-liners here and there I've moved into a habit of saving up and letting loose compilation blogs at least for the time being.

Last Monday I found myself back at Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm's main football arena, for a classic match against two of Stockholm's top division teams, Hammarby and Djurgården. Now, when I first moved to Sweden I was asked which team I would support and had no clue as to which teams existed. I was quickly told by a friend to support Hammarby. It stuck. They're my team. They are based on the southern side of Stockholm, an area I enjoy. And the fact that they've got an American forward, eventhough he never scores, doesn't hurt either.

So my pal Pete (American who just moved here to Stockholm) and I made our way into the stadium and into our assigned area. When we stepped up out of the stairway and saw the field and our surroundings we quickly realized that we were surrounded by a sea of blue and black. Hammarby's colors are green and white. Yup, wrong side. The areas of the opposing teams are totally segregated from each other. Eventhough Sweden is a pretty laid back country with a low crime rate I have a feeling that everything goes out the window when football is concerned. The police in their riot gear and empty vans (room for plenty of hooligans!) would prefer if the two didn't meet. So Pete, also a Hammarby supporter, and I found our place directly behind the goal (standing room only, we showed up too late for a seat, total amatuers) in the complete midst of Djurgårdens' most indebted fans. It felt like a gang war. Wear the wrong colors and you'd be fucked with. Luckily we thought of this ahead of time and were, at least in my mind, invisible.

The fans sang their teams' songs the entire game. They didn't stop once. It was sort of wonderful eventhough they weren't the songs I actually wanted to be learning. The culture and experience of being at this match is hard to put into words. I enjoyed it as much as I possibly could've. Hammarby lost 1-0 and had very few scoring chances. But worth it. Totally worth it.



Here's a little video I took while at the game. It'll give you an idea of the atmosphere there.
And on a completely unrelated note, my pal AJ put up a response post to the a-Ha "Take on Me" entry I did a couple weeks ago. He went ahead and compiled something like 10 different cover versions of the song. So if that's your style, go peek his blog Hope Sets Sail.

List: Denmark, Danish, Podcast, Remix

A quick side trip to Denmark proved to be worthwhile. We spent a couple days out on the country staring at the Kattegat. Then we rolled by train into Copenhagen. It rained and then it rained again but it's always nice to browse around a new city. Check out more pics in this Flickr set.

Problem with Denmark / problem with me: Danish people usually understand the Swedish language quite well. The language is definitely related to Swedish as they share a lot of words. And I'm guessing that since Denmark is so close to Sweden and Swedish television and various media sources are broadcast there the Danes begin to pick up Swedish at an early age. The problem comes in with people like me who fall into that gray area where the Danish accent, even when Swedish is spoken, is just about impossible to understand. It sounds like a lot of mumbly jumbly. No offense. Native Swedes have a far better chance in understanding because obviously they have these Nordic sounds down. I just switched to English after a bit. It's not like it was hard to tell I came from somewhere else with the map upside down and the camera flashing like a Top Model photo shoot.

In other news, the August podcast is now up. I scraped together another Unreleases compilation (vol. 4 if you were counting). This might just be the last Unreleases since I'm running out of quality material. However, when I bounce back to Chicago in late September I'll have access to a whole other box of old tapes. I'm hoping I can replenish the stash and come up with enough material to make it through the year as planned.

And finally, if you slide over to my Myspace page you can jam a new remix I just finished. The song is by a fabulous band from Malmö, Sweden called The Lovekevins. I've been told that the guitar bit I put in there sounds like something off of the Top Gun soundtrack. That's a compliment. But you decide.