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<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023" rel="service.post" title="How to learn Swedish in 1000 difficult lessons" type="application/atom+xml"/>
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023" rel="service.feed" title="How to learn Swedish in 1000 difficult lessons" type="application/atom+xml"/>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">How to learn Swedish in 1000 difficult lessons</title>
<tagline mode="escaped" type="text/html">by Francis Strand</tagline>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com" rel="alternate" title="How to learn Swedish in 1000 difficult lessons" type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023</id>
<modified>2005-02-20T15:26:05Z</modified>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This is an Atom formatted XML site feed. It is intended to be viewed in a Newsreader or syndicated to another site. Please visit the <a href="http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=697">Blogger Help</a> for more info.</div>
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<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110891316347631263" rel="service.edit" title="I haven't worked as a waiter in 20 years. But, I s..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-20T16:12:00+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-20T15:26:03Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-20T15:26:03Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110891316347631263" rel="alternate" title="I haven't worked as a waiter in 20 years. But, I s..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110891316347631263</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">I haven't worked as a waiter in 20 years. But, I s...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">I haven't worked as a waiter in 20 years. But, I still have waiter dreams. Like last night, when I dreamt I was serving three tables full of people - girls ordering vodka and frangelico, and a guy ordering some strange drink with caraway seeds and eggs - and I couldn't get the drinks out fast enough, and then the bowls for the soup were strangely shaped like fish with knobs sticking out in</div>
</summary>
</entry>
<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110881460852845422" rel="service.edit" title="The Christian right has it all wrong. The biggest ..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-19T12:47:00+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-19T15:28:07Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-19T12:03:28Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110881460852845422" rel="alternate" title="The Christian right has it all wrong. The biggest ..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110881460852845422</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">The Christian right has it all wrong. The biggest ...</title>
<summary type="application/xhtml+xml" xml:base="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com" xml:space="preserve">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The Christian right has it all wrong. The biggest threat to the heterosexual lifestyle is not the widespread practice of numberless girly-men like myself marrying each other, it's the widespread practice of numberless girly-men convincing their straight counterparts that depilation is a good thing.

"Doesn't everyone shave their balls? Hairy balls are disgusting!" said our badboy boarder, sitting</div>
</summary>
</entry>
<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110866570797106926" rel="service.edit" title="Swedes have an interesting attitude about fame: It..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-17T18:16:00+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-17T18:47:26Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-17T18:41:47Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110866570797106926" rel="alternate" title="Swedes have an interesting attitude about fame: It..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110866570797106926</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">Swedes have an interesting attitude about fame: It...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Swedes have an interesting attitude about fame: It's not a good thing, more or less. (Not unlike being a boss, which is also nothing to aspire to in Sweden. It all has to do with that damn jante-law thing wherein no one is better than anyone else, supposedly.)

As an American, it comes as a shock to see popular rockstars, TV actresses, duchesses, best-selling novelists or beloved comedians walking</div>
</summary>
</entry>
<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110857886294587237" rel="service.edit" title="I'm nothing if not inconsistent as I sigh to mysel..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-16T19:20:00+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-16T18:34:22Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-16T18:34:22Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110857886294587237" rel="alternate" title="I'm nothing if not inconsistent as I sigh to mysel..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110857886294587237</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">I'm nothing if not inconsistent as I sigh to mysel...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">I'm nothing if not inconsistent as I sigh to myself that at last, Stockholm has a good thick coating of snow, nearly a foot. Despite my whining about spring being far away, I'm quite childish in that I still like my winters to be snowy. So much so that I'll even go out of my way as I walk home at 6 p.m. just to meander through Humlegården, the park that surrounds the royal library, to be cast</div>
</summary>
</entry>
<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110830364436372083" rel="service.edit" title="If you let it, preparing food can be a kind of rit..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-13T14:32:00+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-14T11:34:02Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-13T14:07:24Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110830364436372083" rel="alternate" title="If you let it, preparing food can be a kind of rit..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110830364436372083</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">If you let it, preparing food can be a kind of rit...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">If you let it, preparing food can be a kind of rite, a connection to all the people who ever prepared and ate food before you. 

You should start by taking the corn husks from the bag - cutting the knotted piece of cornhusk that was used to tie the back shut - then pick through them and choose 12 that seem large enough or maybe just please you for no particular reason. It seems a bit cruel to have</div>
</summary>
</entry>
<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110813853022847337" rel="service.edit" title="The third Mr. Marilyn Monroe has died. I never car..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-11T17:01:00+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-11T16:15:30Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-11T16:15:30Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110813853022847337" rel="alternate" title="The third Mr. Marilyn Monroe has died. I never car..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110813853022847337</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">The third Mr. Marilyn Monroe has died. I never car...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The third Mr. Marilyn Monroe has died. I never cared much for the few plays of his that I've seen. But, he was one the guys who stood up to Joe McCarthy, and that counts for a lot. Even more, he was married to Norma Jean Baker, and that's really something.

The Swedish phrase for the day is Men pappa, du vet att jag vet att det finns ingen jultomte!. Which is what a little boy walking behind me</div>
</summary>
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<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110798306689444133" rel="service.edit" title="On the train back from Västerås today, the woman s..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-09T21:57:26+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-09T21:04:26Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-09T21:04:26Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110798306689444133" rel="alternate" title="On the train back from Västerås today, the woman s..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110798306689444133</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">On the train back from Västerås today, the woman s...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">On the train back from Västerås today, the woman sitting in front of me - probably 70 - carefully set herself down and delicately patted her hair, as if every strand weren't already carefully shellacked into place, instantly bringing back memories of my mother when I was boy, when she would go and get her hair set.

Does anyone other than 70-year-old women in purple overcoats get their hair set</div>
</summary>
</entry>
<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110772950120432261" rel="service.edit" title="Damn the policeman! He was over here yesterday wit..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-06T23:02:59+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-07T09:43:59Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-06T22:38:21Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110772950120432261" rel="alternate" title="Damn the policeman! He was over here yesterday wit..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110772950120432261</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">Damn the policeman! He was over here yesterday wit...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Damn the policeman! He was over here yesterday with the priest and their daughter, Signe, and he played this  Jimmy Durante song for me and now I can't get it out of my head.

"I'll never forget the day I read a book. 
It was contagious. Seventy pages. 
There were pictures here and there, so it wasn't hard to bear, 
the day I read a book. 
It's a shame I don't recall the name of the book. </div>
</summary>
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<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110754086264840445" rel="service.edit" title="Seen from the No. 42 bus at 6:38 p.m.: two women t..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-04T19:03:22+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-04T18:14:22Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-04T18:14:22Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110754086264840445" rel="alternate" title="Seen from the No. 42 bus at 6:38 p.m.: two women t..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110754086264840445</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">Seen from the No. 42 bus at 6:38 p.m.: two women t...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Seen from the No. 42 bus at 6:38 p.m.: two women tanking up their car at the gas station on the corner of Kungstensgatan and Birger Jarlsgatan (I think I read somewhere that it's the oldest gas station in Stockholm); one is dressed in a bathrobe and slippers and appears to be wearing nothing underneath as she stands chatting with the other, who is dressed in typical parka, jeans and boots.

The</div>
</summary>
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<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110737053062078594" rel="service.edit" title="Worst Swedish translation of a movie title: Måndag..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-02T19:44:06+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-02T19:00:06Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-02T18:55:30Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110737053062078594" rel="alternate" title="Worst Swedish translation of a movie title: Måndag..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110737053062078594</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">Worst Swedish translation of a movie title: Måndag...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Worst Swedish translation of a movie title: Måndag Hela Veckan - which means Monday the Whole Week - for the movie Groundhog Day.

To be fair, I guess it was hard to come up with something that would make sense to the average Swede because oddly enough, groundhog day is not mentioned on any Swedish calendars.

Now, off to watch my favorite holiday movie ever. 

(Isn't Bill Murray great? Even</div>
</summary>
</entry>
<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110729837186269731" rel="service.edit" title="When travelling to far-flung places, Paul Bowles i..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-01T23:28:20+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-01T22:53:20Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-01T22:52:51Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110729837186269731" rel="alternate" title="When travelling to far-flung places, Paul Bowles i..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110729837186269731</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">When travelling to far-flung places, Paul Bowles i...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">When travelling to far-flung places, Paul Bowles is perhaps not your best choice for reading material. It's easy to become suspicious of even the generous and trustworthy Thai people or the horrendously poor Cambodians if you're spending your evenings reading short stories that feature hapless westerners faced with strange cultures that they invariably fail to understand or worse, misread so</div>
</summary>
</entry>
<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110729416292608355" rel="service.edit" title="I feel like Sally Field: &quot;You like me!&quot; It's all o..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-02-01T22:13:15+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-02-02T18:30:15Z</modified>
<created>2005-02-01T21:42:42Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110729416292608355" rel="alternate" title="I feel like Sally Field: &quot;You like me!&quot; It's all o..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110729416292608355</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">I feel like Sally Field: "You like me!" It's all o...</title>
<summary type="application/xhtml+xml" xml:base="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com" xml:space="preserve">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">I feel like Sally Field: "You like me!" It's all on account of a Satin Pajama Award for best writing, my second blog award since I started this whole writing project. Thanks, David Weman and the rest of the folks at Fistful of Euros. And kudoses to Mike M., who won two awards, and to Torill, who won one, and to those - Mig and Zoe and Des and Mr. H, Stefan, for instance - who should've won as</div>
</summary>
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<entry xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#">
<link href="http://www.blogger.com/atom/3101023/110718583766750698" rel="service.edit" title="Talking on the phone today with the former punk ro..." type="application/atom+xml"/>
<author>
<name>Francis S.</name>
</author>
<issued>2005-01-31T17:28:39+01:00</issued>
<modified>2005-01-31T15:37:39Z</modified>
<created>2005-01-31T15:37:17Z</created>
<link href="http://francisstrand.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_francisstrand_archive.html#110718583766750698" rel="alternate" title="Talking on the phone today with the former punk ro..." type="text/html"/>
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101023.post-110718583766750698</id>
<title mode="escaped" type="text/html">Talking on the phone today with the former punk ro...</title>
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Talking on the phone today with the former punk rockstar, who has been homebound for over a week suffering with a flu that won't seem to go away, she told me that she has had it with television. The only thing on anymore are these horrible reality shows, she told me.

"Pretty soon there's going to be a new kind of psychological syndrome and a whole group of people suffering from it," she said.</div>
</summary>
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