Happy New Year...

Happy New Year to all Swede in America readers...

Be prepared for pictures, videos, and tales of Danish debauchery in the coming months. Be sure to bookmark http://swedeinamerica.blogspot.com for updates from around Europe!

I'll Take Sweden!

Bob Hope at his best... After seeing this movie, I'm even more excited to go home in 27 days. Bob Hope (Bob Holcomb) and his daughter (Jojo) move to Sweden, and hilarity ensues. See the attached video clips for a feel of how this 1960's classic produces quotes such as, "It looks like the smartest decision I ever made was to come to Sweden…for more than one reason," "Well this is the first time someone has decorated my interior with your exterior," and my personal favorite "That's like leading me to the Smörgåsbord table and taking away the herring!"

Are we there yet?

Still soooo much time till I leave, so I decided to eat an entire tin of Danish butter cookies and drink a whole bottle of non-alcoholic Glögg. Excited yet?

Swede in the city...

The shirt says: Kiss me, I'm Swedish... thats all I really wanted for Christmas, but I also got a Nuvi GPS unit to help me navigate the streets of Europe on foot (just 28 days left!) Now follow the directions on the GPS (or better yet, the directions written on my shirt.)

Food for Thought

Here is my plate from Christmas eve dinner:

Two pounds of Lutfisk wasn't close to enough. I can't wait to eat like this EVERY DAY for the next six months... nothing says good morning like a herring for breakfast! Smörgåsbord here I come...

Make Love, Lutefisk, NOT War

This evening, the 21st traditional Swedish Christmas Eve Lutefisk dinner will occur. For those of you unsure of what this delicious feast is:

"A common food dish of Sweden, made from whitefish, usually cod, soaked in water and lye (caustic soda) prior to cooking, using a process referred to a "luting" which served to dry the filet so it could be preserved. During earlier times, potash was used instead of lye. The whole or cut pieces of the cod were placed in a tub filled with cold water changed daily and allowed to remain in a cold area for approximately a week. After a week, lye was added to the water and again the fish was kept in the solution for 4 days, during which time it began to swell in size as half the protein in the fish is removed. At this point the meat of the fish is poisonous and cannot be eaten, so it is then washed with cold water and placed in a bath containing only water for another 4 to 5 days to remove the lye. The steeping and bathing of the fish fillets as well as the loss of protein, which continues as the fillets are washed prior to preparing, results in a clear, gelatin-like appearance and texture to the cod meat. It is the lye which contains an alkali solution that causes the reaction to occur so the meat of the fish takes on a clear, translucent, Jell-O consistency.

If delicious comes to mind, you might be a Swede! I'll save leftovers (if I don't eat it all) for anyone interested...

Bakkelund Reunion Tour

Many finger snaps for Marquette graduate, Naturals Director, favorite buddy, and current Seminarian at the Pontifical North American College in Vatican City, Jon Bakkelund. Jon is arranging our magnificent reunion and three day stay in Prague's finest upon our arrival in just 34 short days. Be sure to check out his pontifical blog from Vatican City.

Mmmmmmmmmm... Guinness

Thursday, January 25, 2007:
Aer Lingus Flight 124
Depart: 6:00pm Chicago, IL evening Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)
Arrive: 7:20am Dublin, Ireland
Change planes. Time between flights: 8hr 50min (insert Guenniss Brewery Tour/Pint(s) Here!!!)
Depart: 4:10pm Dublin, Ireland afternoon Dublin (DUB)
Arrive: 7:40pm Prague, Czech Republic evening Prague Ruzyne (PRG)

A Room with a View

Another video of Sønderborg. A Room with a View would be nice...

While I'm abroad...

For those of you that will miss my olfactus presence for the next six months... fear not! All you want for Christmas is the BreathCapture:

Everyone is born with it. A desire to be near the ones we care about most. And we find ways to remember them when they're away. A lock of hair. Letters. An old photo. And now there's Breath Capture. Capture the breath of a loved one or friend and keep them close. Forever.

I'll cover half the cost if anyone is seriously interested...

It's more than Chemistry...

You should have paid more attention in Physics 001... The three deadly sciences: Chemistry, Biology, and Physics could come in handy when you decide to settle down with someone. My theory of these qualitative observations:

Biology -
DNA - How's the gene pool? Would your composite genes produce adorable offspring?
Ecology - can you live in the same ecosystem as this person?
Interaction of organisms - is the relationship co-operative, aggressive, parasitic or symbiotic?
Virus' - Do they have cooties?

Physics -
Magnetism - Are you attracted to this person on a molecular level? Opposites attract.
Thermodynamics - Does the room seem to heat up when they're around?
Statics - for every action... there an equal but opposite reaction by him/her (Newton was dead wrong about the "equal" part of this reaction, as we all know intensity of this reaction varies disproportionately with the action)
Quantum Physics - nobody understands this one... just like we never understand each other.

Chemistry -
Elements - What element are you? What element are they? Are you both noble gases or transition metals? Don't kid yourself, lithium and zirconium don't mix.
Reactions - When you two were brought together was there a reaction and the creation of an entirely different element? (can't change palladium to platinum I'm told)
Bonds - How do you bond?
Polar Covalent (share electrons equally)
Covalent (Share electrons unequally... someone's got the higher affinity and gets more)
Ionic (one of you has something that the other wants... gives up something to be a part of this bond)
Phase - Are you a solid, liquid, or gas? Do you melt or boil in the presence of this significant other?

Looks romantic... eh?

Video of my new home... i think this will do!

Welcome home...

Back in 4th grade I invented the "Blog." The inaugural entry:

November 23, 1996
Dear Diary,

My hair is like the color of the Sierra Desert at high noon.
My eyes are the color of the shell of an Australian box turtle.
My legs are as fast as the cheetah after its prey.
My soul is made from the best stuff on earth.
My mind is like the mind of Bill Gates, smart and clever.
My friends are the best thing in the world because at times they guide me.
My arms are the diameter of angel hair spaghetti.
My laugh is like the laugh of a hyena, which is sneaky.
My heart holds love that is as loving and caring as a mother panda bear.
I live in a computer and eat RAM and Chips.

We were required to journal every day for Ms. Degrandt, and I thought it a novel idea to supplement the obligatory paper journal with a shared version over "The Net" for the world to read. The first entry of "Dear Diary," was posted at geocities.com/~benallenallen and everyone who was anyone read it. After a few years of making the world laugh, benallenallen's diary passed by the wayside (Damn those ackward middle school years.)

Now that puberty has come and gone (i think)... I have decided to bring back "Dear Diary" (it seems that my "blog" concept really caught on...)