Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Svenska Pride

I often allude to the Egyptian half of my heritage. Today, I wanted to acknowledge the “other half” – my Swedish side. I was born in Sweden. I spent a good deal of the first month of my life there. Apparently, Swedish was my first language. Later, after my second language – English – erased my first, my parents communicated in Swedish when they wanted to hide things from me. I visited Sweden the summer before I turned 9. I remember the town square of my birth city Eskilstuna like it was yesterday – the claustrophobic kiosk where I bought packs of soccer cards (it was a World Cup summer), the green grass, the…. well, that’s about all I remember.

In honor of the Minnesota Wild (a hockey team) signing free agent Daniel Tjarnqvist (I don't know him either), I think it’s finally time for my Top 5 Things About Sweden (in no order):

1. Bjorn Borg. Along with Dr. J, this lanky long-locked Swede was the epitome of 1979-1981-era athletic cool.

2. IKEA. I’ve written about them before. Check the March archives. Hey Blogger people, why can’t I easily link to my own entries in Blogger? I know it’s free. I appreciate the simplicity. But still…

I realize now I don’t have enough material for a Top 5 list. I’ll stop here. I’ll mine the inner depths of my soulful mind for more good things about Sweden. Feel free to sent suggestions in the comments section. And don’t give me ABBA or the Cardigans. They don’t do it for me.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

things swedish:

meatballs
long legs
red wooden horses painted folksy
fruit infused vodka
stoicism
lutefisk
depression
cell phones
pubescent mutual masterbation
ulcerous licorice

Jason said...

Dude, you got spammed!

Also, Ingmar Bergman and his films.
Ingrid Bergman and her films (obviously not in her Rossellini phase).

Also, did you ever make a decision about the first sentence of your new story?

Ali said...

Did I get spammed? Or is FCPG truly a "hot stock" that I need to follow for its "awesome earning potential"?

And to answer your question, Rabbi - yes, I decided to leave the sentence intact.

And Rabbi - would you and Mrs. Rabbi be interested in attending either of the Billy Wilder double features occurring this weekend at the Aero theater in Santa Monica? Friday night it's "Sunset Blvd" and "Double Indemnity." Saturday night it's "Some Like It Hot" and "The Apartment."

And then there's "The 40 Year Old Virgin," which I imagine is as funny as it needs to be.