The Cove

Yesterday, as part of my Swedish course, we were asked to talk about something that had happened in the world, something remarkable that we wanted to share with the others.

Some talked about Tunisia, others about the floods in Australia, or the discovery of a possible cure for Tinitus.

I talked about what happens in Taiji.

I talked about Ric O'barry and The Cove, his shocking documentary.

One of my classmates is Japanese ... she had no idea what I was talking about. Dolphin slaughter? Mercury? 

Serves to show ...

For those of you who also have no clue what I'm talking about, check this out:

Wanna do something about it?

Take Part!

Loyal Loot

Yet another post dedicated to something so beautiful that I wish I had (at least) one for my self ...

Beautiful beautiful bowls made of locally reclaimed trees
by Loyal Loot Collective

Like so many wonderful things (think maple syrup!) these come from Canada, but you can order them online @
The good egg shop

Or you can post a picture on your blog and get happy just by looking at it every now and then :)

I LOVE!!

The Horsey. Photograph: Eungi Kim/designboom.com

As a kid I used to pretend my bike was a horse ... I even gave it a name! But why oh why didn't I come up with this idea?

Slushy snow and dreamy thoughts

The snow started melting and beautiful white Gotland is slowly turning back to its less sparkly state.
There's nothing beautiful about brown snow & slush I'm afraid ...
I wouldn't have minded minus degrees & heaps of snow until we leave Sweden on the 1st of Feb to come back to an early spring in March, but I guess you don't always get what you want.

To keep spirits high I selected a few of the winter pictures me and my sis took over the Christmas holidays, most of them taken on the wonderful island of Furillen:

A New Year ... New Resolutions ...

Like so many others I also have my little set of new years resolutions such as read more, take more pictures, find joy in little things, ... the regular things really ... but I found a little extra inspiration in some quotes of philosopher Immanuel Kant.

"Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law." You can't be truly happy with yourself if you don't act according to what you think is right, right? "Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness." And the right thing is not always the easiest or most fun thing ... but the easiest option is not always the most satisfying either, right?

"Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end." Wouldn't our world and our every day life be a little bit more beautiful if we could all treat each other with respect?

"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."  And can't we extend this to our friends the animals too?

"Immaturity is the incapacity to use one's intelligence without the guidance of another."  Let's not always follow the pack ... why not start to think for ourselves and make our own decisions?

"It is not necessary that whilst I live I live happily; but it is necessary that so long as I live I should live honorably." 

Nevertheless, I wish all of you a happy and honorable 2011.

Enjoy life!

Valuable Life Advice!

You can actually argue with the sunscreen but all the rest is definitely food for thought! Enjoy!

The Empathic Civilization

This little clip is something worth thinking about ... Empathy.

Isn't this what Christmas is all about? Joyous giving is after all only one part of how we celebrate Christmas. What about love, hope, and eventually maybe peace on earth?

To view the original (slightly bigger) version click here.