↑Gudrun's blog

Uploading some more shots from Italy. Then on to another country.

My daughter has just uploaded her first file on ipernity, to congratulate a good friend who is 30 today.

I hope you all go for a visit and make her feel welcome. The video she made is in Icelandic, so now you can all learn a little bit of our language.

ipernity.com/home/23684

I have uploaded quite a few shots from Italy the past week or so and thought I would move on to a new country. ipernity.com/home/iljuschin uploaded som spectacular shots from Croatia recently and his shots portray something so utterly different from what I saw in Croatia two years ago. On our way from Hungary to Slovenia we decided to take a little detour and drive through Croatia. An eerie place, somehow devoid of any joy. Now Iljuschin is uploading shots from Germany again and one of the new ones ipernity.com/doc/iljuschin/592118 reminded me of one of my shots from Croatia. It is not a spectacular shot in any way, but I sometimes think about the girl in the shot and hope that she has a guardian angel, like the one hanging above her in the shot.

From Croatia

Please visit him, he is feeling lonely in his Ufo. He does indeed come from outer space (I have always suspected that - many Danes do come from outer space). He has tried to hide that fact when chosing an earthly name, but don't laugh at him, he needs a lot of TLC. Broke his back very recently (while trying to flee this planet) but the powers that be were able to stop him. And a good thing that was, as his son Julius was born just a couple of days later.

The name is voETmann (I told you it was a dead give-away).

His house is here: ipernity.com/doc/voetmann/608133

I am uploading shots from Slovenia at the moment, from two years ago. Just now I am looking at shots from Hostel Celica, the place we stayed at. It is an old jail that has been made into a youth hostel (they do allow grey-haired fifty-year-olds).

Behind the hostel were barracks that once were the Slovene headquarters of the Yugoslav National Army. In 1993, the public space was occupied by people that wanted to keep it from being demolished and have a place for different activities. In many ways, it reminds me of Christiania here in Copenhagen, except the size. But it was a fascinating place to be, fantastic graffiti, wonderful mosaic works, installations, buildings, cars - everything between heaven and earth. Since we visited the place, it has been demolished, it is not there any more. It is a shame that places that try to be different, try not to stay in a box, seem to be a thorn in the side of the powers that be. Six months ago, the Ungdomshuset here in Copenhagen was torn down. Violent demonstrations followed, police brutality and the house is not gone. It used to belong to the workers unions here in Copenhagen, they built it many years ago to have a place to hold their meetings, because the police would raid their meeetings just about anywhere they tried to be. The young people that have used it the last decade or two have had many different kinds of activity there at all times. It was actually in that house on Jagtvej 69 here in Copenhagen, that Clara Zetkin put forward the idea that March 8th be International Women's Day. Björk has performed there, so had Nick Cave and many others.

OK, I shall try to get to the point. Globalization is a popular world at the moment, and I am all for trying to work towards a better world, a world were we can communicate with each others, without using weapons, but words. But it seems that for many, globalization means that you can buy a McDonald and a Coca Cola all over the world. Even though it means that in order to have water, Coca Cola buys water rights in countries that do not even have water enough for their citizens. Making Coca Cola is more important. And it is ok if McDonalds gets rid of a few "lumps" of rain forest in order to let their cattle graze. We all know how healthy their food is. Here in Copenhagen the City Council proudly present us with their plans, trying to make the city a metropolis of sorts. I had no idea you could "make" a metropolis, I thought it was the people of the city and the visitors that create the atmosphere. I always thought a metropolis should be a place were there is room for all kinds of activity and people with different believes, dreams, opinions.

Metelkova Mesto was a beautiful place. My shots do not do it justice in any way, but I am glad we went there and I wish there would be more tolerance in the world.

Thank you all for your visits and your comments and your mails and for being such a wonderful community. Thank you for sharing wonderful photographs, videos, music, wisdom and a certain amount of craziness, a very important ingredient in life, makes it easier to survive the huge madness all around.

Looking through shots of my granddaughter, and uploading a handful. She will be 7 in December and is the love of my life. Well, so is her mother and my youngest of course. And my significant other, and my mother and and and - it is lucky I have a big heart. :)

Please match the shot below with a shot of your own. Apart from using your amazing photographic skills, Use your imagination, your photo editing software and humor too. And then it is up to someone else to match that shot, and so on and so forth. Using the reply button when you post your match is a good idea.

Trains and Railroads

Amel Kthyer & Halla Bassam, Ir…

Early in 2002 George W Bush launched the term "The Axis of Evil". According to him, Iran, Iraq, North Korea "and their allies" are the enemies of the US and the free, democratic world. It was time to identify nations as the enemy - and not only terrorist cells. ... Who are they fooling?

At the moment, apart from Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a "proxy" war going on between Iran and the USA - they are "throwing words" at each other. Just recently the US moved a battalion right to the boarder of Iraq and Iran, because it helps when they try to keep weapon smugglers at bay. ... Sure

I think it would be safe to say that there are many nations in the world, war-loving nations, that are not very good at communicating with each other. ... USA being among them.

The two men that got the idea for this fantastic CD knew that in a lullaby, it is crystal clear what is being communicating. In Bush's Axis of Evil, children will go to sleep tonight, their mothers will sing for them., and hopefully, they will all wake up tomorrow and survive the day.um

When the two men behind the alb contacted various artists in the world, it became clear that many were afraid to take part in this venture, afraid of the consequenses. Not afraid of "the Axis" but afraid of the power of the US, of not getting a visa next time they were to preform there. A kind of self-censorship. Many of us here left F**** because of their censorship. Freedom of speech is essential in any democracy.

But even though a few were afraid, and others were busy with previous engagement, many brave artists took part in the project:

• Sad Sol - You're my destiny
  Mahsa Vahdat, Iran
  Sarah Jane Morris, England
• "Dilelol" – Sleep, my child
  Amel Kthyer and Halla Bassam, Iraq
  Eva Dahlgren, Sweden
• "Lalolao" - Don't you worry, my child
  Kulsoom Syed Ghulam, Afghanistan
  Lila Downs, Mexico/USA
• "Ya Lel Ma Atwalak"– This never ending night
  Rim Banna, Palestine
  Kari Bremnes, Norway
• "Luna, Luna" - Luna, Luna little doll
  Mayada Killisly Baghdadi, Syria
  Mimi, USA
• "Peace song"
  Halla Bassam, Iraq
  Sevara Nazarkhan, Uzbekistan
• "Aruru" – Lullaby, sweet baby
  Martha Lorenzo, Cuba
  Nina Hagen, Germany
• "Stars are rising"
  Sun Ju Lee, North Korea
  Eddi Reader, Scotland
• "Nami" - Angel
  Viva Killisly Chachati, Syria
  Katia Cardenal, Nicaragua
• "Lalalala Gohle Laleh"
  Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat, Iran
• "Nami ya la'aubi" – Sleep, my doll
  Rim Banna, Palestine
  Annisette, Denmark
• "Gohlelale" - My tulip, my pearl
  Pari Zanganeh, Iran
  The Washington National Cathedral Girls Choristers, USA
  Elana Fremerman, USA
• "Nami" - Lament
  Jawaher Shofani, Palestine
• "Mazar" – Some day, my boy
  Fanzya and Razya Khan Ali, Afghanistan
  Elana Fremerman, USA
  
• "Watch Over Me"
  Halla Bassam, Iraq
  Ricki Lee Jones, USA

One day, I would love to get my hands on a DVD with Marguerite Duras' film India Song. I have a part of it on only. A fantastic film and hearing this song I just uploaded is wonderful.
You hear this song repeatedly throughout the film. Duras often uses that method. In her books (and at least in this film) she would use the same text or narrative again and again, maybe a little bit altered and perhaps in a context that is slightly different, but it works every time.

I do not speak French, and there were no subtitles. It was absolutely ok, she gets through to you.

I have a few old photographs that I have scanned earlier, and a few that are waiting to be scanned. I think it's time to do something about that. Starting with my mother.

I made a group today o´boy

You are all welcome to join. It is a place were we can post information about ongoing photo exhibitions near and far.

photo.exhibitions.group.ipernity.com

Since I was a child, I have always wanted to take the "Hurtigruten" in Norway. Last summer my dream came true and I have decided to upload some shots from this 12 day trip. We sailed from Bergen and all they way up to Kirkenes at the Russian boarder and then back again. The places you see in the daytime on your way north, are the places you sleep your way through on the way back. And vice versa.

hurtigruten.com

Now they have deleted a photo of a person under 18 who is smoking. Grabbed this over on Photomotion's blog.

flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/54658/

What a bright fellow he is.

www.youtube.com/watch

When I walked back from the gym this morning (trying to get rid of some middle-age-nuisance that sticks to the worst places) I suddenly saw something very strange 30 meters ahead. I thought, well, the Martians are here, at last. I came closer and saw that the poodle was filled with bubbles. I guess someone threw soapwater on the sidewalk, must have been some oil in it, and when they rain hit the ground, bubbles appeared. I ran in, got the D, and out again - I needed the shower anyway.

It seems that the popularity contests from f***** are over us www.ipernity.com/blog/rumple/23527 I hope I wont get any of those invitations - they will not make me happy. Shine on Rumple.

If so, there is a shot here that will be of enormous value to you. www.ipernity.com/doc/voetmann/754249

The media players I have on my pc (WMP and Nero) show hours:minutes:seconds when I am playing a video. For a job I am taking on the next several months, I really need a player that shows the time even more exactly, 00:00:00:00 instead of just 00:00:00. What I need to see is the actual frame.

Is there anyone here that can point me in the right direction? It does not have to be a free download.