Tina Dickow & Helgi Jonsson koncert

Sidste uge blev jeg tippet om, at Tina Dickow skulle optræde i Hollywood, så afsted med os for at heppe og opleve en af mine danske favorit musikere. Hun havde selskab af islandske Helgi Jonsson, så det var ligesom dobbeltbonus med en dansk og islandsk musiker sammen. Wauw, og det var simpelthen SÅÅ godt! Det var et lille spillested med plads til 50-100 mennesker, så det var meget intimt og hyggeligt. Der var super stemning med stående applaus, folk der sang med på gamle numre og god kemi mellem de to på scenen. Godt gået! Jeg stod der og var helt stolt over at stå på den anden ende af kloden, og se hvordan hun også her kan have publikum i sin hule hånd.
Vi hilste på dem begge to efter koncerten. De stod og hang ud i baren og skrev autografer, og vi var jo alligevel på vej forbi. Wuh, hva' så Tina?! Vi fik oss lige en krasser på CD'en, der eller førtst udkommer herovre en gang i det nye år. Hun flytter åbenbart herovre i et par måneder næste år, så jeg håber vi kan se hende igen inden vi flytter til juni. Vi har besluttet os: Østrig er next stop.

Crazy times.

These days everything seems to be happening. Like we say in Icelandic, 'rarely is the wave alone' (bad translation). First of all Iceland, seems to have become bankrupt when some filthy rich bankers and businessmen gambled with the small island's money as well as reputation. More are of course to blame, e. g. our central bank director, who claims he foresaw the whole situation but somehow failed to act accordingly. And then of course the rest of the nation which blindly believed everything these inspiring bankers said, and that all criticism of their banks from abroad was only due to envy. As a consequence we've had to turn to new allies, e.g. Russia, in search of money to pay off the country's debt.

(Our newest bank note, which has become necessary due to immense inflation.)

Here in the US, our NATO ally, things are also quite crazy. The presidential election is soon, and the media is constantly discussing it. While Icelanders might be cheering for Putin, here in LA, Obama is clearly favored. A lot of people drive around with Obama stickers, or have put Obama/Biden signs outside their houses. Furthermore people will also vote on a number of proposals, or measures, as well as voting for congress. Among the most debated proposals is Prop 8, whether or not to allow gays to marry. Apparently this proposal is in dead heat, and ironically due to African Americans voting for Barack Obama in record number, gay marriage is expected to be banned here in California.


Besides the election we have actually done something other than constantly studying or working. Last weekend we went to Julian, an old gold rush town up in the mountains in San Diego County. Julian is nowadays famous mostly for it's apples and their apple pies. October is the harvest season, and the town was propped full of tourists. It was interesting to see this rural other side of California, where unlike the Obama/Biden signs there were more McCain/Palin signs, along with "Yes on Prop 8" (ban gay marriage).






After having a slice of fantastic apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream at the Julian Pie Factory, we headed out to the Cuyamaca State park, which was nearby, for a short hike up a hill. The view was spectacular...





Finally, Dorte and I went to a Garba dance event at USC last week, which is a north Indian festival. Dorte got dressed up by a couple of Bangladeshi and Pakistani friends, and here's the result.


Dorte with loads of makeup... yep these are crazy times.

Cheers, Bjarni

Hverdagsindtryk

Vi fik nye seje telefoner for et par måneder siden, og har blandt andet brugt dem til at dokumentere de hverdagsindtryk, som man studser eller glædes over. Det er så smart at man lige kan hive telefonen frem, hvis der er et eller andet man gerne vil tage billeder af, for det er ikke altid man lige har sit almindelige kamera ved hånden.

Kunst reklame nær ungdomsherberget i Hollywood

På Tribal cafe med Ziggy

Poolen på Standard bar på toppen af et højhus i downtown LA

Bjarni brygger espresso

Jep, her i West Adams hepper vi på Obama.
Vægmaleri på Figueroa Street


Selvportræt i parken på UC Irvine