Scandinavian cell technology gives Palestine a new ghetto blaster
Like in Canada, Palestine scarves (Keffiyeh) as fashion before politics are sort of a big deal. Like jeans though, these don’t appeal so much to the 20-something set but rather kids from high school. Who is to really say what these people know about the political situation and where they stand? Who is to really say anything about the two guys in the photos above?
Now, about two weeks ago, while walking home, a group of kids came to me like they have nearly every day. They started dancing and for some reason I took my phone out. It may be something you do countless times a day without thinking but a few seconds later, this guy ran up behind me and yanked my phone from my hand! This led into a pretty good foot chase that ended when he jumped off a second-storey balcony but not before saying but two words to me: Fuck you. Quickly, this other guy (passer-by/accomplice/kid-in-the-know?) said that he could help me get my phone back. “Great!” Shortly after, he declares that this can only be done for a fee. Protesting a little, what choice did I have? I offered him 100 kroner (about $20). Not enough. I insist that this is the most I can give but he continues to ask that I offer more. “How much more?” He shrugs. Finally, he says “300 kroner” (about $60). Fine. And I got my phone back about 5 minutes later.
With a November 9 release date in the UK and speculations that Canadians will have to wait until Q1 2008, it should go without saying that there are no iPhones in Scandinavia yet. Inquiring minds willing to drop about $700 might want to know that some online stores are starting to sell unlocked ones that should work on most North American GSM providers, however. Still, iPhone or not, with Ericsson being a Swedish firm and Nokia being Finnish, this area is fairly well covered. What’s more, as cell phones are increasingly becoming the site of technological consolidation, it comes as no surprise to hear that on top of doing telephony things, my phone can take photos, record and edit video, record audio, play radio, play mp3s, (badly) surf the internet, wake me up with Rhianna’s help every morning, store 4GB of media and Bluetooth my life away.
All this but still, I practically always travel with my iPod which does some of the things my phone does but really only does one thing well and that is play mp3s. Not everyone feels the need to carry two devices though and who can blame them? What we can blame them for is forgetting headphones or the headphone adapter and riding the bus while listening to the latest (post-humous) Tupac single. Evidently, using cell phones as a bus ride boombox had once become such a serious problem that the city of Århus even put notices at every stop instructing passengers not to do this.
These are the sounds of a generation though and really, not much can or should be done to squash it. Truly, what I find most funny about this whole thing is how these speakers seem to only cater to one style of music. For example, once, I naively put Louisville band Lords on my phone, hoping that I could jam out on some sick riffage. Well, It turns out that the guy who designed the speaker on my phone favours Atlanta hiphop to Louisville hardcore.
Mislabelled Canadian Goods
This is what maple syrup looks like in Denmark. Pretty typical product design, right? The clear glass bottle lets you see how dark the syrup is and of course, the maple leaf on the label is a given. The confusion lies in the fact that this is apparently Ver(t)mont brand maple syrup, yet, is a product of Canada. The way I see it, I might as well start a company that sells Israeli oranges called Yukon Oranges. Sure, Vermont neighbours Québec, probably Canada’s largest producer (and consumer) of this delicious nectar but why not just call it what it is: Canadian Maple Syrup?
In any event, a can of Canada’s finest sirop d’érable was the only food item I brought with me from Canada. After corrupting my roommates with its delicious qualities, I am not running dangerously low and refuse to pay the exorbitant prices for this important wonder-juice.
Nicolai Fuglsig – Photojournalism graduate of Danmarks Journalisthøjskole
Remember how everyone lost their mind when Sony released this ad? So much that a nearly exact copy of it that used vegetables, instead of bouncing balls, also made it to Cannes. (If anyone can tell me who made this one, please do because I can’t remember)
Well, it was directed by Nicolai Fuglsig, a graduate of the school I am currently attending. Legend has it that for his final project as a fourth year student at the school, he took a trip to Muslumovo, Russia to capture a series of photos that would be celebrated by the photojournalism community throughout Denmark. When some critics began calling them “too perfect”, he insisted that they were completely factual and shot with a traditional reportage approach. It was only a few years later, during an interview with a Danish journalism magazine, that he suggested that perhaps some of them were staged. Effectively shooting himself in the foot and ending his career as a Danish photojournalist, he moved to the United States and started directing commercials.
Some have called him one of the strongest visual communicators in the world – adding that it is also very good that he no longer has anything to do with photojournalism.
Colour correction by the numbers & Jean Chrétien circa 1996
We looked at photo today where a face was much too red. It is possible that it could not have been saved but there are certain things worth trying besides converting to black and white (the cheap way of salvaging a noisy or weirdly coloured photo).
At the 15:04 mark in this video produced by The Radiant Vista, the narrator explains ways to colour correct “by the numbers“. This isn’t fool proof but it can be useful when you need to accurately correct an image that’s too rich in one colour or another. has too much of one colour.
The video also starts by explaining how to improve features using the Liquify tool and goes into detail about adding catchlights into dark eyes but these parts aren’t really that awesome.
On that note, since I am in Europe and am trying to teach my Euro-friends a thing or to about Canada, I leave you with an image from 1996 of former Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien, strangling activist Bill Clennett:
Dance Tonight, Denim Tomorrow
This label is stuck to a pair of jeans made by French denim label April 77. Do they know that their slogan for Spring/Summer 2007 is the name of Orchid’s sweet 10″ from 2001?
Scandinavian street fashion is pretty interesting in comparison to what hip kids wear in north America. For example, while brands like Nudie or Cheap Monday or whatever else might be labels that certain people covet and whose products only a few people actually own, here, every other person in their late-teens or early 20s seems to be wearing Nudies or $400 Evisu jeans with cool selvage and terrible graphics. In a place like this where everyone is rocking what I’ve come to know to be next-level shit, it’s a little hard to tell what are the latest fashions in this country and exactly who is raising the bar. Then again, it doesn’t really matter.
What is most interesting though is how insignificant brands are. Besides H&M (which permeate this city in a serious way), it’s hard to find a pair of jeans anywhere for under $100 but Evisu jeans are still sold in what you might consider to be a Danish equivalent to Foot Locker. Also, the same person you’ll see wearing this fancy denim will also be seen wearing the same sneakers that your mom would probably wear if she was Danish. What seems to be the top selling sneakers here are not glow in the dark Nike Dunks or whatever (though people still rock these and Adidas) but this terribly made Kawasaki shoe that seems like a bad version of Chuck Taylors or something. You can find this sneak on bargain tables outside nearly clothing store and everyone buys them.
So, my dear North American comrades, next time you think about dropping $150 on a pair of European jeans, remember that if you were actually here, you’d probably be dressing like the half the 15 year olds on the bus.
On that note, I love the Cheap Mondays I was able to get for 200dkk (about $40 – no tax).
Where I live
Until sometime in December, I’ll be living in Århus, Denmark.
My brother lives here:
Who got the better deal?
Powered by WordPress with Hiperminimalist Theme design by Borja Fernandez.
RSS: Entries and comments feeds.
Valid XHTML and CSS.