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Sunday, April 22nd, 2007: Top Toilet Tips: Pubs in Helsingborg - Part One:
2007-04-18 22:54:00
What I think:Welcome to the first in this new series of Top Toilet Tips , your indispensable guide to the toilets (US/CAN: bathrooms, washrooms, restrooms) in pubs in Helsingborg. Before you visit this fine city in the south of Sweden, you simply must read this guide.I'll start with the Charles Dickens pub, located on Södergatan, in the vibrant and bustling southern part of the city.How to get to the toilets:Once in the pub, walk straight past the bar on your right towards the back. Pass by the gambling machines on your right, and the pool table on your left. You'll see the grand entrance to the magnificent toilet hall just to the left of the dart machine (don't worry if people are playing; they use plastic-pointed darts). By the way, some pubs will only allow you to use their toilets if you're a paying customer. At Charles Dickens, they're pretty laid back, and will usually let you use their facilities without buying anything (unless you're one of those yellow-jacketed so-ca...
More About: April , Sunday , Part

Wednesday, April 4th, 2007: A spammed blog about Helsingborg
2007-04-04 08:45:00
What I think:I received a comment recently that was "written" in "response" to my blog entry Five Things You Don't Know About Me, which I wrote on February 3rd. This is it:"If you would like to really understand the Kennedy assassination, compare what Dorothy Kilgallen said about the assasination on November 29, 1963:http://surftofind.com/dorothyCompare what Dorothy said with what J. Edgar Hoover said on November 29, 1963:http://surftofind.com/documentAnd you must also understand what fake researchers like John McAdams are saying because they target the truth:http://surftofind.com/targetThe simple fact of the matter is that many so called Kennedy assassination researchers are trying to control free speach through domination rather than through the sharing of information. Researchers like Dorothy Kilgallen for example, seek to expose the truth. Writers like Gerald Posner seek to discredit those who expose the truth."Hhmmm...I managed to find a contact e-mail address for this drivel,...
More About: April , Blog , Wednesday , Helsing

Sunday, March 18th, 2007: Punk gig, pubs & snacks in Helsingborg
2007-03-18 16:05:00
What I think:For one of my birthday presents this year, my girlfriend decided to take me to a Punk gig in Helsingborg last week. The band was called Asta Kask, and they'd had some success in the Eighties. That was all I knew.As I've written before, there aren't too many places here in Helsingborg where they (occasionally) have good live music. So the gig took place at the Tivoli - the place. That's really the only place in town where you'll find anyone who may have heard of performing - and that's only if you heard of them a very long time ago, or if you have very eclectically obscure tastes in music.I was a little bit wary when the opening band started. Although their songs were in English, the lyrics had boringly predictable and bad rhymes (e.g. "Nothing's gonna change/Everything's the same", etc.), and there was absoutely nothing original about their music.I tried to keep an open mind, and hoped that Asta Kask would be better. I was not disappointed.Although I barely unde...
More About: Snacks , Sunday , March , Snack

Friday, March 9th, 2007: 42nd in Helsingborg
2007-03-09 00:09:00
What I think: It was my birthday yesterday; well today actually, as I haven't gone to sleep yet.Birthday: Marc h 8thNow: March 9thHere's me, a bit too bloody content: At first, I didn't want the photo above to be published, but then I thought: "What the Hell(singborg); I can pretend it's someone else who looks a bit like me."Ish.Here's a so-called Meme you can do when it's your birthday (enter your date in Wlikpedia (some may not be from Wiki)); and here's mine:- Three events in history that happened on my birthday:* 1844 - King Oscar I ascends to the throne of Sweden-Norway. * 1884 - Susan B. Anthony testifies before the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives arguing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote.* 2007 - Anna-Nicole Smith's sex video "stolen". Err...Umm....Four other people born on March 8th:* 1896 - Charlotte Whitton, Canadian politician, Mayor of Ottawa (d. 1975)* 1945 - Micky Dolenz, American musician (The Monkees...
More About: Friday , Frida , Helsing

Tuesday, March 6th, 2007: Honoured for snow in Helsingborg
2007-03-06 17:38:00
What I think:Hhmm...It appears that I've been nominated for some kind of a Swedish Blog Oscar on a blog called Kulturbloggen.The nomination was triggered by my previous post, and is in the category of Snow .I swear it's true.It says, "I kategorin Snö nominerar jag inlägget Snowy Chaos in Helsing borg hos Mark Base.Eftersom det har flera bilder som hör till inlägget kan jag inte citera något ur det inlägget heller. Ni får se det på plats i bloggen helt enkelt."This means, "In the Snow category, I nominate Snowy Chaos in Helsingborg at Mark Base. Because there are several pictures listened to in the egg, I can't cite something out of it in the egg either. You've simply got to see this at the bus stop."I guess my Swedish needs some improving.Go to that particular blog entry and see for yourself.While you're there, be good pals and nominate me in the comments, will ya? In fact, nominate me a couple of times - do what I did: In the name field, when you leave your second commen...
More About: March , Tuesday , Marc

Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 (Lunchtime*) : Snowy chaos in Helsingborg
2007-02-22 12:56:00
What I think:*Note to any bosses at work who might read this: It's lunchtime, OK?I'm not blogging during working hours. So there.The weather in Helsing borg has been weird this winter. It's been so mild, with hardly any snow, and the little that we did have melted in no time.Then yesterday, it started snowing. Lots.And this morning, The Local (Sweden's news in English) reported that there's a "stay at home" warning to people living in Skåne.(Skåne is the county on the southwestern tip of Sweden. Both Malmö and Helsingborg are in Skåne. End of Geography lesson.)I took a few photos on the way to work this morning:This is a view of Tranemansgatan - my road: Here's a hill that I walk down every day(although today I skied down on my Doc Martens): This is a bus stop on Södergatan:This is a view ofthe outside of Sam's Bar on Carl Krooksgatan:The building where I work is called Tretorn - this is Swedish for "The Three Towers". It used to be the site of one of Sweden's largest ru...
More About: Thursday , Chaos , February

Wednesday, February 21st, 2007: Bowling in Helsingborg
2007-02-21 21:36:00
What I think:Last Saturday, I was supposed to meet my mate the Yank for a few beers. He was out with a Brit in the afternoon for a few drinks, and told me to give him a call if I wanted to join them later.It turned out that I did indeed fancy some over-priced crappy beer that evening, so I gave him a call.When he answered, he said he was at the bowling alley. I remembered that I had been invited to this a couple of weeks back (a mutual friend had booked a couple of lanes), but had kindly declined. Not really my scene, plus I was a bit skint (US/CAN: broke).But that night, since I hadn't had a beer with the Yank for a while, I thought I'd go along anyway, and just drink beer and have a bit of a laugh.When I got there, I had a look around, but couldn't see the gang who was supposed to be there. People did seem to be enjoying themselves though: Then, while continuing my search for Yank & Co., something caught my eye. What was that between the screens that show the scores?Was that.....
More About: Bowling , Wednesday , Helsing , February , Bowl

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007: Fat Tuesday in Helsingborg
2007-02-20 14:41:00
What I think:Today was "Fat Tuesday " in Sweden (aka Shrove Tuesday in some other countries). There's a pastry called a Semla that it's tradition to eat on this day; the idea is to fatten you up before giving everything up for lent.It's basically a bun with the top chopped off, the bottom part then has some kind of sweet almond paste and topped with whipped cream, then the bun's top is placed back on and sprinkled with icing sugar.We were served these at work today during our afternoon break.Here's a photo:I don't really see the big deal, personally. The bun is a bit too bread-like; kind of dry. I think it should be sort of cakey, and it's time that the Swedish government did something about it. That's what I think.
More About: Helsing , February

Thursday, February 15th, 2007: More links from Helsingborg!
2007-02-15 18:59:00
Quick note:I've just added loads more links from the entry I made on February 13th, 2007. Many are to fellow bloggers, and many are to other sites on the Internet. Some are relevant and some not, some are educational, and many are ridiculous.That is all.
More About: Links , Thursday , Helsing

Tuesday, February 13th, 2007: Travel (to) Sweden: the Unofficial Guide to H
2007-02-13 18:07:00
What I think:Helsingborg is a beautiful city. So beautiful, in fact, that it's a great place to get away from once in a while - just to enjoy its splendour anew - all over again. Except in the winter. During the winter, doing the laundry is more fun than Helsingborg. Try doing your laundry in Helsingborg in the winter.Before you start thinking that I've started working for the Swedish Tourist Bored - I mean Board, I'm trying a little experiment, loosely based on an experiment by some Irish guy in Denmark. He's asked all his blogged-linked mates to link to him with "Irish in Denmark".I don't know what he hoped to achieve, but if you find that you're linked to here through some weird random links, please link back to me somehow, using the term: "Travel (to) Sweden with invisible Zimbabwean banana-flavoured underpants".My experiment is about trying to get the top Google search for "Zimbabwean banana-flavoured underpants" because we all know how common that is. So please, link now...
More About: Guide , Tuesday , Official

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007: Pantspotting in Helsingborg
2007-02-03 19:51:00
What I think:You know that "fashion" of wearing trousers (US/CAN: pants) that are too big for you, so that the top of them actually comes down to about halfway to your knees? It seems that a lot of people in Helsing borg are really into this "look". I find it both entertaining and educational; you really get a good insight about the current trends in pants (US/CAN: underwear). Like I care.Whenever we're out on the town, GF and I always point out the different kinds of underpants we see. It's become a sort of in-joke for us.We were at a trendy little bar called PL13 a few weeks ago, and we noticed that this really was the Mecca of underpant exposure.By the way, despite being quite small, PL13 is actually quite cool, especially if you're into Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Smiths, some Punk & Goth, and stuff like that. I much prefer the choice of music there to anywhere else. I've only got two issues with the place: it's only got one toilet, and it's usually full of guys whose mums ...
More About: Saturday , Ants , February

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007: Five Things You Don't Know About Me
2007-02-03 16:07:00
Yikes! I got tagged by High Priestess Kang!I had a similar thing a while ago, so I've had to think of more stuff to share.OK, here goes:1. After brushing my teeth every evening before bed, I smoke a cigarette.Marlboro, since you're asking.2. I usually yawn almost exactly thirty seconds after sex. No offence to my girlfriend. In fact, she's the one who pointed it out.She finds it cute.3. I snore. Loudly. But then, so does my girlfriend. It's definitely a match made in Heaven, or whatever good place you believe in - like Dublin, maybe? I hear it's nice there. Although I've never been, myself. But yeah, let's go with that: it's a match made in Dublin.4. I've been told that I'm a "natural" at modelling.No, it's true.5. I studied Theatre in high school and college, both in Montreal and Birmigham, England.That's it.Now whom shall I tag this time...? Hhmm....OK: Shazzer (from Shazzerspeak), Montchan (from By The Way...), Bluesoup, Tug (from Just Tug - let's see if she can come...
More About: Saturday , Things , Thing , Five , February

Monday, January 29th, 2007: Recycling: Sweden vs England
2007-01-29 19:08:00
What I think:In December '05, I wrote a bit about recycling in Sweden . Now, after a recent visit to London, where I did some extensive research, I'd like to illustrate the differences in attitude between Sweden and England with regards to this most important topic.In Sweden:Most buildings have a sort of shed which houses large bins into which you dump your different recyclable materials. Above each of these bins is a helpful sign indicating what should go where.The photos that follow show the bins in my building's rubbish (US/CAN: garbage) shed.First up, we have the cardboard and printed paper bins: Papper is Swedish for paper, but in this context, it's mainly meant as packing material, which includes cardboard. This is where you put your empty cardboard beer crates that you bought on the ferry, your IKEA furniture boxes, and if you're really an eco-warrior, your empty Marlboro packs.Tidningar is the Swedish word covering both newspapers and magazines. But this bin applies for ...
More About: Recycling , January , Monday

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007: Helsingborg: North vs South
2007-01-17 21:52:00
What I think:There's quite a difference between people who live in the northern part of Helsing borg and those in the south. Many people who live in the north are extremely snobby, and often brag about not living in the south.It may seem like a sweeping generalisation, but it's been proven to me time and time again.Example One:A couple of weeks ago, I arranged to meet a visitor from New York at Utposten, a pub in town (neutral territory). He was staying with some girl who lives in an area in the north called Viken, who tagged along with him. Cool, I like meeting new people. I'd spoken to her over the phone beforehand, and she seemed OK (although she sounded absolutely mortified when I said that I didn't know where Viken was).So I turned up at Utposten with my girlfriend, and we waited for them to arrive. A while later, they showed up, and this girl immediately went into a monologue about some minor bureaucratic issue she was having with her credit rating.OK, many of us have had s...
More About: January , North , South , Wednesday

Tuesday, January 9th, 2007: Speaking English in Helsingborg
2007-01-09 20:42:00
What I think:When I first came to Sweden, I was keen to start learning Swedish as soon as possible; I had moved in with a girlfriend who had two children under ten, and they didn't know any English at the time. Animals and body partsI started studying these little picture books to try to help me build a vocabulary of nouns describing all kinds of things: from stuff you find in every room of the house or out on the street, to animals and body parts, to different modes of transport and sexually transmitted diseases - you get the idea.I remember really enjoying the sound of many words, words like fågelholk (birdhouse - roughly pronounced "fogle-holk") and stuprör (drainpipe - it's really not worth the effort to try to explain how this one's pronounced).Pissed offWhen I started working, my employers paid for some Swedish lessons for me, and actually sent me to Stockholm for this intensive two-week Berlitz language course as well. I slowly started learning a bit here and there. Livi...
More About: January , Tuesday , Speaking , Peak

An A-to-Z of life in Helsingborg (so far)
2007-01-01 17:43:00
A handy and educational reference post!For your convenience, I've listed my previous observations about life in Sweden by key words, and in alphabetical order.I will add topics to this post as I go along, so be sure to come back to check out this page from time to time.I wanted to make this a complete A-to-Z, but it appears that I don't cover all of the letters of the alphabet with my posts so far. So I've filled in the remaining letters with key words linking to other sites.See? This really is an educational blog! Now, let's get started.ANope, I have no A's. Sorry. Here are some links to other Sweden-related sites:Abba - The official site of the 70's super-group. Yawn.Allsång på Skansen - A crap show with boring celebrities singing boring songs at some park in Stockholm. Swedes love it.BBeaches & shy people - July 21st, 2006Beer, buying - December 31st, 2005Beer, buying rounds - January 16th, 2006Beer, how to get cheap - February 8th, 2006Beer, Swedish - January 27th, 2006B...
More About: Life , Helsing

Monday, December 11th, 2006: Tagged in Helsingborg - This may sound weird,
2006-12-11 18:50:00
What I think:As my regular readers may have realised, I usually write about idiosyncrasies about Sweden I've found as an expat living here. But I got tagged a couple of days ago, by a Canadian blogger called Lost In Life, to list six weird things about myself. I've then got to tag six other people.At first, I thought this would be quite a difficult thing to do, as there is very little that's weird about me - as far as I'm concerned anyway. So I decided to try to think whether there's anything that other people might consider weird about me.Here's what I came up with:1. I always wear black. I started doing this in the mid-90's. There's no really good reason for this; I'm not a goth, and I'm not into making any big fashion statements or anything. But I have to say that it does make doing the laundry just that much simpler - no sorting of colours, etc. So perhaps I wear black because I'm lazy. I don't know.2. I was married for fourteen years but only lived with my wife for ...
More About: Weird , Sound , Tagged , Monday , Onda

Thursday, December 7th, 2006: A short-legged cat in Helsingborg
2006-12-07 17:18:00
What I think: Firstly, totally off-topic, I've been watching Sky News on telly because there's been a tornado in residential Kensal Rise, Northwest London. Weird. No one was killed - it happened at about 11:00 a.m. GMT, so most people were at work - but six were injured, one of them seriously. Hundreds of people have to find somewhere to sleep tonight because their homes have had their roofs ripped off, or have been severely damaged. My mate Roland lives within walking distance of Kenton tube station on the Bakerloo line just seven stops up from Kensal Green, so try him if you're really stuck. But beware his rabid sock monkey.What was I going to write about? Oh yeah, OK...On October 25th, I got a lift to go pick up a cat in Svedala, which is a little town outside of Malmö. I wanted a cat because I missed having another living creature walking around my flat. And I like cats. And I guess I was a bit lonely.As luck would have it, I met a girl a few days earlier, on the 21st, so I ...
More About: Thursday , Short , December , Helsing , December 7

Saturday, December 2nd, 2006:Tattooed in Helsingborg
2006-12-02 18:27:00
What I think:Gosh readers, we've got a lot to catch up on, eller hur? (London-Brit. English, roughly: "innit?")November is not very well-liked in these parts of Sweden; it's just started to get dark, but it's not quite cold enough to be called "winter" yet. It's generally just a really blahhh month all round.I, however, happened to quite enjoy this particular November. I met a girl and I got a cat at the end of October, and I've had some great experiences. But more on these another time. Firstly, I'm happy to announce that I finally had that tattoo done; you know, the one I wrote about earlier...I made the appointment at the House of Pain tattoo place, and trotted merrily off on November 16th to have it done. It was a Thursday (work day), and I must say that I was more than happy to leave it the meeting I was attending. The tattoo would definitely be less painful.House of Pain is a friendly place, staffed with a few talented people who are happy to stab you with ink-filled nee...
More About: Saturday , Atto , December , Helsing

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006: A big update from Helsingborg!
2006-11-29 22:51:00
What I think:November was really good.I'll tell you about it in December.That's what I think.
More About: Update , Wednesday , Helsing

Wednesday, October 18th, 2006: It's Rude Guru - Yeah!
2006-10-18 23:29:00
What I think:I was in a band in Montreal in the late-80's. It was called Rude Guru , and we were truly the pioneers of Goof Rock. We played a quite a few really good gigs, and we even had a bit of a following. We called our fans the "Rude Guru-pies".The lead guitarist from the band has recently started up a website. It's only in its infancy, but it tells the story of the Rude Guru himself, and how he set out to use the band as a vehicle for spreading his good word. It also has a section with a few photos and some songs we recorded as well.Go and take a peek at www.rudeguru.com to see what I looked like about eighteen years ago. I'm the guy with the Gibson SG, if that means anything to you.More stuff will be added over the coming months, but it's definitely worth checking out now.The new Swedish government could certainly learn a thing or two from the teachings of the Rude Guru, and all the ministers should visit the site, and then arrange a reunion concert in Helsingborg. Maybe a...
More About: Wednesday , October , Yeah

Monday, October 16th, 2006: Instant sleaze with Sweden's new government!
2006-10-16 16:40:00
What I think:The newly-elected Swedish government is off to a brilliant start. In the news today, the new Culture Minister, Cecilia Stegö Chilò, has resigned. The reasons: 1. She had hired nannies and paid them cash-in-hand (US/CAN: under the table), prior to her appointment as a minister. 2. She hadn't paid her TV licence for sixteen years.How cool is that? The Culture Minister, who is ultimately responsible for the Swedish television network for which the fee exists, hadn't paid it.She's actually the second to go for the same reasons.I love this country.Here's what she had to say, "By not paying my television licence fee and employing black market domestic help in the period before becoming minister, I have committed errors which are not acceptable, but which I have attempted to rectify as far as possible."And The Local (Sweden's news in English), had a fantastic scoop today; they certainly managed an amazingly impressive journalistic coup by getting this exclusive quote fr...
More About: Government , Monday , Sleaze , Onda , October