Origines of the Gnome Hat

In the painting above of Jacques-Louis David in 1788, an interesting item is exposed. The painting reflect a motive from ancient Greece, the seduction of Helen by Paris of Troy. The Illiad by Homeros, where this story is told is supposed to relate to a time approximately a thousand years B.C. If we suppose that this is an indication that the hat of the garden gnome has that kind of history, it is older than 3,000 years. There is good proof of this as a mural painting of the Greek go Priapos was found in an excavation in Casa dei Vetti, Pompeii, Southern Italy, and thereby ought to be at least about 2,000 years old. The painting of Priapos expose him earing a hat similar to the ones used by our contemporary garden gnomes.

One question though of interest is, where did David get the idea of equpping Paris with such a hat? The classisist painter David is connected to the era of Romanticism and the historic accuracy of his motives could be discussed. But what about this one?

President Elbegdorj rides on a stamp

Just now I managed to find this extra ordinary piece of a stamp. Apparently President Elbegdorj is celebrating his ancestry by appearing in front of some traditionally clothed Mongolian riders. This points back to a proud ancestry and ancient times when Mongolia ruled the world. You could see it as a clear line from the days of Kubilai and his invasion of Japan, but hopefully President Elbegdorj don't have any such ambitions. Rather it might be a way of increasing his chances in the upcoming Mongolian Presidential Election in late May this year.

It  would be a small sensation to see either the Swedish King or Prime Minister on the back of a horse. But then again they don't possess the bravery of President Elbegdorj. After all he was one of the protestors on the Sukhbaatar Square back 1991.

Kubilai Khan's Great Fleet and the Economics of Reality

My father is a collector of stamps and his been doing this since he was seven years old. This means that I have an eye for stamps whether I like it or not. On my last trip to Mongolia I found a rather intriguing stamp picturing the great Kubilai Khan and his enormous fleet that were sent to conquer Japan in 1281. Unfortunately, Kubilai forced his hand and gave an order to complete the fleet in just one year, instead of five which should have been necessary. This resulted in a fleet of few really seagoing vessels, but in fact converted river boats lacking an essential trait of a seagoing vessel: the keel.

This was combined with Kubilai's adoption of the finer qualities of financing in that time China; printing paper money. Unfortunately the printed paper money was not secured in any form of precious metals or the like. As the fleet sank in the Japanese sea, those possessing paper money printed to finance the building of the fleet reconned that the value of the money was reflected in the value of the fleet, all of a sudden reciding on the bottom of the sea. This led to the first known hyperinflation.

So what can Kubilai teach us from his mistake more than 700 years ago? Don't laugh, as we are in exactly the same position, as our money are not secured in any precious metals or the like. Sadly enough it reflected in our ability to keep economic growth sustainable; something that at the present seems unlikely in the long run. But as John Maynard Keynes so wisely said: "- In the long run we're all dead!"

The rat was primarely focused on the apples, not the legs...

From the rodents perspective the home looked quite different. Little did the residents know about the surveillance they were put under...

An updating of my travels to Farawaystan countries


visited 32 states (14.2%)

Om räven själv får välja

Hur skulle det vara om till exempel rävar själva fick välja var de skulle äta? En brittisk dokumentär visade för några år sedan att då den lokala korvkiosken stängde, då kom stadens rävar fram och käkade det som människorna ratat tidigare. På liknande sätt anpassar sig djur och fåglar runt omkring oss efter de möjligheter som vi skapar för dem. Ormvråken har blivit motorvägarnas obestridde härskare och på soptippen bestämmer trutarna och på stadens restauranger regerar kajorna...

New Duck in Town

This morning I was out running as I came up behind two ducks. One was obviously a Mallard male, but the other one looked rather strange. Back home I studied Bird Guide - Birds of Europe and the Medterranean in the Field and RSPB Handbook of British Birds for clues on this strange duck. I was unsuccessful! Until I looked a little bit clooser in the RSPB and saw some similarities with a juvinile Mallard. I remembered that Mallards may frpm time to time look strange for different reasons, most probably caused by mixing genetic material with other types of ducks. The picture above is an attempt to show how this strange duck appeared to med this morning. Does anybody has any clue of what it is? Am I on the right track?

Back from Thailand

Ooops, seems like an awful long since I've busy on this site. However, me and my wife went to Thailand for a couple of weeks. We visited my mother-in-law and her husband and experienced some exciting birdwatching in their lovely garden. As the Common Myna for instance. The Common Myna is a very sociable bird, thriving living close to humans. But there were other Mynas as well, the Crested Myna, black birds with a funny set of feathers above their beak. The different Mynas have one thing in common; white spots on their wings which makes their flight look very figurative.



As our hosts lives in the countryside there are lots of White Egrets and they have their special habits during the different phases of the days. They arrive early in the morning, closely following the cows and in the evening they add up in large flocks and leave in a specific direction, for their favorite night spot. Seemingly that is somewhere in a marshland close to the sea, in this case close to Rayong, near the Bay of Thailand.



The prettiest bird on our trip was those nice little doves called Ground Doves. This variety is called the Zebra Dove and is rather tiny, just slightly bigger than a common sparrow.


And the best of all; at the airport my wife succeed in finding my longed for Field Guide of South-East Asian Birds by Craig Robson. Or as David Attenborough would have put it: Absolutely fantastic!

The Burning of Vancouver

Vancouver Canucks lost the final game of the Stanley Cup finals. What happens? Shit we lost! Lets burn the city down! This is an interesting line of reasoning. How did they think? Did they think? Is this something that is general in contemporary Western society? We see these outbreaks of civil violence from time to time. What is interesting is the reasons behind; what triggered these events.

Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931) wrote a book in the end of the 19th century; The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind (1896), he called it. Le Bon claimed that a mass is no smarter than the most stupid individual within it. Consequently an army is no better than the worst soldier within in it.

Here Le Bon was supported by Genghis Khan, who answered a concerned and worried Mongolian general, looking at the Great Wall of China;

"Don't worry, a wall is no better than the worst soldier guarding it!" Of course Genghis Khan was wright and managed to penetrate the Wall and conquer Northern China.

One Canadian hockeyplayer once said:

"The game of hockey has often been compared with war, but it is more serious than that!"

Looking at the events in Vancouver on 16 June 2011, it seems that he got a point there, though I doubt that people being defeated by an opposing army, went on burning down their own city. I have always believed that was the privilege of the winning side! Be sure that this behaviour would even have surprised Genghis Khan!

Reinfeldt - the Statesman

In Sweden we have a Prime Minister that has proven to be an alert and awake statesman. Fredrik Reinfeldt is highly approved of among the Swedish citizens for his listening leadership. Sometimes he goes out among the ordinary people and sense their hardships in their everyday life.

The life of the born statesman is not easy. He and his family has been evacuated from their humble living quarters in the Sager's Palace, and forced to move to another appartment. As many Swedes the Prime Minister is feeling the pressure of paying a rent that eats a large part of his salary. Thus, he is ably to feel the same emotions as Swedish nurses and teachers. The part left when the rent is paid is just a small fraction of his pay as a Prime Minister. I would like to thank him for listening to the people, sharing their burdens, feeling with them and being awake and handling our affairs. How can anybody match this?

Oh, I almost forgot a tiny and not very important detail, in fact, a mere footnote; Reinfeldt does not pay his own rent, that is the task of the Swedish taxpayers. But he feels with the Swedes, be sure about that...

Fredagskatastrofen

Först måste jag erkänna; jag är från Örebro. Där tar vi aldrig något för givet. Tvärtom vi målar alltid upp ett värsta scenario och blir glatt överraskade när det inte blir så. Det lärde vi oss vid sådana historiska tillfällen som då IFK Göteborg, de raringar, hälsade på 1970 för avslutning av fotbollsallsvenskan. Till saken hör att 1969 vann IFK fotbollsallsvenskan. Nu var Örebro SK ofina nog att besegra IFK och sparka ner dem till division 2. Götebrogsupportrarna rev staden på väg hem.

Nästa traumatiska händelse var när stadens stolthet ÖIK skulle ta steget upp i Elitserien i hockey. Det fanns bara ett litet aber i vägen. Nåt konstigt gäng ingen hade hört talas om tidigare; Väsby hette de visst. Naturligtvis, då örebroarna för en gångs skull krupit ur sitt skal och anade ljusare tider, då inträffade den totala och optimala katastrofen; svänggänget från Väsby lyckades vinna matchen med 1-2.

Hela den pessimistiska staden sveptes in liksom i en våt filt av självförbråelse. Spelarna flyttade till andra klubbar och klubben lades ned på grund av ekonomiska oegentligheter.
Så som örebroare i förskingringen finns den där taggen kvar i hjärtat; förhäv dig inte, utan var beredd på det värsta... så blir du inte besviken. Ibland är det ändå så att man sänker garden och vips så händer det; vardagskatastrofen...
Denna fredag satte jag glad i hågen igång att tillreda ett spännande recept: Färgglad falurisotto hette den kulinariska läckerheten. Optimistiskt läste jag in vad som behövdes och inhandlade attrialjerna.

Den stressade nutidsmänniskan är ju dessutom van att dela in tillvaron i delheter. När dess delheter sedan delats finns det inga kopplingar mellan dem. Varorna köptes in och på fredagseftermiddagen skulle det hela tillredas. Mums!

Med stigande förvåning börjar jag göra iordning ingredienserna. Märkligt med 600 gram benfri lax i en falukorvsrisotto... men okej falukorven kommer väl på slutet?

Grovsalt och gurka verkar ju mer normalt. - Hmmm, en matsked dijonsenap... ja det är ju klart... senap och korv det går ju ihop... 4 matskedar matolja, då steker ju inte korven fast... 1 matsked rödvinsvinäger... ja är det inte det så är det ju vitvinsvinäger, det är det ju i allt nu för tiden. 1 matsked flytande honung och en dl hackad dill, salt och svartpeppar... hmmm lite trist kryddning tror jag... plus 2 dl crème fraaiche och 2 matskedar vatten... jojo men var är falukorven... Vafalls, ingen falukorv... hur ska det då bli en falukorvsrisotto?
Nåväl det framgår väl av "Så här gör du" delen.
Steg 1: Koka upp en gryta med vatten och tillsätt ris, lök och buljongtärningen.
Steg 2: Låt koka i cirka 20 minuter under lock på svag värme.
Steg 3: Skär falukorven (se där, där var den), paprikan och rödlöken i tärningar. Lägg falukorven och grönsakerna i grytan och hetta upp. Servera med lite sallad till.
Här någonstans fullbordades sammanbrottet. Ingredienserna passade helt enkelt inte ihop. Inköpslistan stämde inte med receptet. Och ett gott råd: laxrisotto tillagad på detta sätt är inte gott... middagssällskapet såg förvånade och skeptisk ut... i den ordningen...

Vardagens små katastrofer

Observera att björktrasten på bilden inte nödvändigtvis har något att göra med texten nedan.

På väg till jobbet idag höll jag på att bli påflugen av en björktrast. Det här var inte den första incidenten med denna typ av fågel. I förra veckan cyklade jag genom ett grönområde och blev påflugen avg en arg trast. Den flög rakt in i framhjulet på cykeln. Argt kraxande flög den i en looprörelse och kom tillbaka för att flyga in i framhjulet igen. Den här gången rök en hel del fjädrar. Trasten flög dock argt kraxande vidare.

Jag vandrade vidare och då jag passerade en mindre sjö fick jag syn på två skäggdoppingar. Skäggdopping numero uno hade en smaskig groda i näbben och förevisade den för skäggdopping numero due. Allt för att reta skäggdopping numero due tycktes det. Slutligen svalde skäggdopping numero uno grodan hel och hållen.

För ett par månader sedan observerade jag en sörjande gräsandshanne på banvallen, också på väg till jobbet, framför honom på banvallen låg hans väldigt döde kompis, som verkade ha blivit påkörd av tåget. Jag knäppte en bild, men tyvärr var det med mobilkameran så det går knappt att se vad den föreställer.

Vad tyder då allt detta på? Oreda i fågelvärlden? Ett omen om världens nära förestående undergång? Trädgårdstomteguiden föreslår att vi ska spå i kaffesump för att utröna svaret. Han påstår att det är så ekonomerna gör när de försöker förutsäga vad som ska hända på aktiemarknaden.

Epilog: ... senare samma dag kamikazeflög en kaja in i mitt kontorsfönster... är de ute efter mig?

Ödets ironier

Den reinkarnerade veganen återföddes till sin fasa i Köttkulla!

Today Thursday was the ceremonial ending of this part of our Mongolian education project in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Ten lectures at the Mongolian University for Science and Technology (MUST) and one held at the Tsesee Goun Management College was finally done. It felt rather good actually. My method in education can best be described as when Wallace and Gromit build the railroad at the same time as they are running the train. The ceremonial end was a lunch meeting downtown UB with dean G. Batkhurel and my assistant here Anarzul Dorligsuren. The Mrs. and I and our Mongolian friends met at the Mongolian BBQ downtown UB for lunch.
The establishment itself seems to have changed owner since the last time (think it was in 2004 or 2005) when it was owned by a Mongolian and an American. Now it seems to have been overtaken by a company called Nomads (surprise?). Since the last time the American influence on the establishment has seemingly diminished. What are the main impressions of Mongolia 2011? After all there has been some 20 years since the transfer from totalitarian rule to democracy?
On Sukhbaatar square demonstrating herders from the rural areas protest against the criminal coalition government of Mongolia (to their understanding). Mongolians I’ve been talking to claim that all politicians are liars and frauds.
My personal opinion is that this is a direct effect of how international organizations as the UNDP, the ADB and the IMF treat developing countries as Mongolia. They put pressure on Mongolian politicians by talking about where the limitations of economic policies lie. Thereby the Mongolian politicians loose the national economic sovereignty and cannot fulfill any promises given in democratic elections that has economic implications. Thereby the political process is deprived of its meaning. It becomes as described in Seinfeld’s definition of his and George’s TV-series within the Seinfled TV-series and its theme and layout: “It’s about nothing!”
If you remove the economic content of politics, politics turns into a meaningless ceremonial. It’s my opinion that neoliberal policies, designed to deprive politics of economic content actually ruins democracy of its meaningful content. If we want to continue to have a democratic society neoliberal aspirations to de-politize different areas of society must be combated. When democracy has been changed into meaningless ceremonial it is simply too late.

Mongolian politics and new tidings

Today Thursday was the ceremonial ending of this part of our Mongolian education project in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Ten lectures at the Mongolian University for Science and Technology (MUST) and one held at the Tsesee Goun Management College was finally done. It felt rather good actually. My method in education can best be described as when Wallace and Gromit build the railroad at the same time as they are running the train. The ceremonial end was a lunch meeting downtown UB with dean G. Batkhurel and my assistant here Anarzul Dorligsuren. The Mrs. and I and our Mongolian friends met at the Mongolian BBQ downtown UB for lunch.
The establishment itself seems to have changed owner since the last time (think it was in 2004 or 2005) when it was owned by a Mongolian and an American. Now it seems to have been overtaken by a company called Nomads (surprise?). Since the last time the American influence on the establishment has seemingly diminished. What are the main impressions of Mongolia 2011? After all there has been some 20 years since the transfer from totalitarian rule to democracy?
On Sukhbaatar square demonstrating herders from the rural areas protest against the criminal coalition government of Mongolia (to their understanding). Mongolians I’ve been talking to claim that all politicians are liars and frauds.
My personal opinion is that this is a direct effect of how international organizations as the UNDP, the ADB and the IMF treat developing countries as Mongolia. They put pressure on Mongolian politicians by talking about where the limitations of economic policies lie. Thereby the Mongolian politicians loose the national economic sovereignty and cannot fulfill any promises given in democratic elections that has economic implications. Thereby the political process is deprived of its meaning. It becomes as described in Seinfeld’s definition of his and George’s TV-series within the Seinfled TV-series and its theme and layout: “It’s about nothing!”
If you remove the economic content of politics, politics turns into a meaningless ceremonial. It’s my opinion that neoliberal policies, designed to deprive politics of economic content actually ruins democracy of its meaningful content. If we want to continue to have a democratic society neoliberal aspirations to de-politize different areas of society must be combated. When democracy has been changed into meaningless ceremonial it is simply too late.

Mongolia's new political landscape?

My input into the Mongolian education sector was terminated for this time today. Yesterday I finalized a course called "Public Administration and Business in the European Union" at the Mongolian University for Science and Technology (MUST), where I've been given a series of ten lectures. The students seemed happy enough. Hopefully this state of things will continue over the examinations. Today I held a single lecture at the Tsesee Goun Management College on the topic "Mongolian Democracy 1991-2010". It was en exposé over my own election obeservations since 2004 and my careful readings of reports and overviews of earlier elections. I had the idea that the election in 2009 was the last one, but now political development in Mongolia has taken a unppredict turn as longterm dominant political actor Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) has split into two. First, the main part taken back the old name Mongolian People's Party (MPP) and a fraction has broken out under the leadership of former Prime Minister N. Enkhbayar and under the old name MPRP. This has caused a dispute taken to court where the MPP claim the right to the MPRP name.
Politically this split decreases the possibility to predict the outcome of the upcoming election in 2012. This circumstance is very exciting for a political scientist like me. First, the political landscape has thereby changed. Second, nobody can tell for sure which election system will finally be used? Probably there are more question, but they have to wait for a more thorough analysis when time and space allows it.

Mongolian Politics

The MPP Flag on top of the restored MPRP building in Ulaanbaatar.

The MPP Symbol

A week ago I landed in the Mongolian Republic en route from Beijing. I've not been here for two years, so I was surprised to hear that the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) had changed their name into Mongolian People's Party (MPP). Possibly changing their name back to what it was before 1921, or just erasing their communist past. It cannot have been an easy task to change a name in use for 90 years. Its like a trademark for political stability in Mongolia.

The revolutionary part has not been entirely washed away, as their new flag is identical to the French tricolour, with a roselike flower in the middle. However, this change did not come about without protests, as the former Prime Minister and President N. Enkhbayar decided to start his own party, retaking the familiar name of MPRP. The result was that the renamed MPP decided to take the case to court and sue Enkhbayar and his associates. That's where things stands at the present.

Former PM and President N. Enkhbayar

Former President N. Bagabandi

The idea is not new, though, as the former President N. Bagabandi also presented ideas that got political commentators to speculate if he would start his own party after the termination of his presidency. It turned out that nothing came out of this. However, the result seem to be that approximately 20 years after the downfall of communism, the former Communist Party has finally split into two parts.

For the upcoming election in 2012 this means that the result becomes rather unpredictable. MPRP stood for stability in Mongolian politics, as it possessed a superior organizational build-up compared to their opponents in the opposition.

Gradually this changed as the Mongolian National Democratic Party (MNDP) became their coalition party after the election in 2008. After this cooperation (starting in the mandate period before 2008) the MNDP became more and more integrated into the power institutions that preserved MPRP's grip on power. As grip over the Central Election Committee (CEC) decreased after the election in 2006, as the chairman came from the MNDP, the total control of the MPRP started to erode.

However, much can still happen, as we will have to wait for the court decision on the legality of the name of Enkhbayar's party. How will the MNDP respond to this? Where will the legitimacy of the MPRP go? To the MPP or Enkhbayar's party? What kind of policies will evolve out of this?

Oporto in Portugal

Three days ago we had a minor road accident in the tiny town of Felgueiras, in the inland of Portugal. Our left front wheel was damaged and we had a minor brake failure. We managed to reach our hotel in Entres-os-Rios and to travel around the countryside in the Douro Valley. We arrived yesterday in Oporto with our wrecked car. The car-rental-company proudly presented their insurance policy (or actually as it turned out, their insurance company's policy). Oh no, in the policy it was to our astonishment written that the insurance policy did not cover a) windshield or glass damage; b) damage on tires. I told the two guys that the damage done to our car was a little beyond a flat tire. Then they presented another unexpected exception: The insurance policy did not cover damages inflicted on the car from below... Suddenly I remembered an old scetch from "Marty Feldman Show". Feldman is trying to understand the insurance policy in order to find out what kind of damages the insurance do cover. He and the insurance agent go over case after case, but there is always something that makes the insurance company able to claim that they cannot pay for just that particular type of damage. In the end Feldman gets fed up and asks: "- What exactly do the insurance cover?" The insurance agent looks at him seemingly surprised and answers: "- This insurance policy covers only collission between the insurance taker's vehicle and a rhinosaurous on a one-way bridge!" I think that finally has reality been catching up with Feldman's satire...

The Sun is Shining Bright

Finally me and m wife have reached Esposende, Portugal. Safely we made our way out of the horrible climate of Sweden. Travelling from arround zero to five degrees to fantastic 24 degrees and sunshine. Yesterday we took our little Hyundai on a daytrip to Galicia, Spain. We had a very expensive dinner at the Roman Restaurante in Pontevedra. My wife ate a tournedo and drank some Rioja wine, while I took a Galician hot soup and scallops with rice. We had plans on going to Santiago de Compostela, but we ran out of time and decided to turn arround in Ponteverde instead, and return to Portugal. On the way north we had a lovely lunch in Viala Praia de Acostar, in the sunshine, viewing out of the tiny little bay. We had tapas, water and some espessos. Strolling along the beach we saw some sandpipers och a lot of local fishermen and women fishing from the shore. Back in Esposende we spent the evening in a local pizzeria, eating pizzas and drinking the local beer, Superbock. Actually they had a locally brewed stout. Not the best ever, but quite okay. On the TV Benfica, Lisbon played Porto FC. By the sound later in the evening, cars blowing their horns and people yelling and cheering in the street, we concluded that Porto won the game. Assuming that the locals were Porto fans. Which is not for certain, as everyone familiar with football in Southern Europe knows. You might actually be a fan of a club very far away. My friend Rafaele, for instance, lives in Bari, in Southern Italy, but is a fan of Juventus, from Torino in the north. The footballers were not the only disturbance here though, as for some strange reason the local lighthouse blows out a strange sound every minute. I asked the portier why and he said that it was a warning to the fishermen on their boats trying to go out during lowering tide. I asked him if a warning sound being on frequently and almost all the time lost is warning value...