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Today I came across a site with a woman who claims that she will do anything that we (everyone else) are too scared to do. Seems cool, huh?

But as I scrolled to the many (read: endless) pages of blogging only very few had anything to do with what she pronounces as the reason for her blog. At least in my oppinion. So, in very basics it's all about a little thing called following through.

At first I got a little offended on the behalf of us bloggers. But then an even more scary thought came to my mind; what if, like most other projects that is started, this is just another one to fail.

The last thought, as already said, scared me more than anything else. In this post-moderne society that we live in, more and more projects are left behind, given up on etc. It seems as if no one knows how to finish anything (me included) anymore. I can help but wonder; are we just too restless? Is it the constant search for something new and exciting that leaves us jumping from project to project, person to person? Or is it that everyone around us has demanded of us to be flexible and ready to embrace changes that we are no longer able to stick to a project. Well, maybe the poor woman just ran out of ideas..

Materialisten i jeg'et

Overvejer kraftigt at skifte min mobil ud, faktisk - (min er også en værre skrotbunke, Alexander ;D) Lige nu falder valget vist på en LG Viewty GT400. Meget smuk, meget cool, men om jeg køber den er endnu ikke sikkert. Det må være en senere opfølgning

Men, men, men; en kommentar i mit sidste indlæg skrevet af en meget kløgtig fyr, fik mig til at tænke ydermere omkring den her stigende materialisme, som er foregået de senere år. At vi skal have det nyeste, det bedste.. og måske også nogen gange det dyreste. Bare så vi kan blære os lidt for vores naboer og venner; "Jep, det er den nye Weber grill," siger man stolt og tilføjer derefter meget afslappet: "Ja altså den kostede jo der omkring de 10.000 kr. men hva' fanden, man skal vel have det bedste."

Selv jeg, som påstår, at være en rigtig livsnyder, synes jeg da ikke, at der findes noget meget bedre end at hive de der nye sko ud af skotøjsæsken for allerførste gang - eller bare den lille glæde man får når kortet kører gennem maskinen og man ved, at nu er de sko eller den trøje ens egen. Kald mig bare shopaholic,  materialist eller addicted og smid mig ned på den nærmeste afvænningsklinik. Men jeg selv påstår, at man godt kan være begge dele..

ENGLISH: I very much consider buying a new cell phone, actually. Right now it’s going to be a LG Viewty GT400. Very beautiful, very cool, but if I buy it or not is yet to be found out.

But but but; a comment in my latest post written by a very smart guy had me thinking more about this rising materialism that we tend to see in the society the past decade or so. That we have to have the newest, the best – sometimes maybe even the most expensive. Just so we can show of for our neighbors and friends: “Yeah, that is the new Weber grill,” you say with pride, then add a little more casual, “Well, it cost about 10.000 DKR but what the heck, you gotta have the best right?”

Even I, who claim to be a real enjoyer of life, don’t find many things much better than pulling those new shoes out of their box for the first time – or the little joy you feel when you’ve bought those shoes or that dress and know that now it is yours. Call me a shopaholic, a materialist or addicted and throw me down to the nearest rehab clinic. But I, myself claim that you can be both.

Are the Danish population really the happiest on earth?

Der har været en del diskussioner omhandlende en undersøgelse for et par år siden, der påstår at danskerne er de lykkeligste i verden. Personligt synes jeg slet ikke at det er rigtigt… Men det vil jeg ikke plapre om denne gang – i hvert fald ikke lige nu ;)

Grunden til at jeg besluttede mig for at tage diskussionen op igen på trods af de år den efterhånden har på bagen er, at jeg forleden dag så en genudsendelse af Oprah – et afsnit hvor hun er på et besøg i Danmark.

En ting som virkelig irriterede mig var den her kvinde fra Danmark som – sammen med en kvinde til - skulle svare på nogle spørgsmål over Skype. Og hun svarede præcis hvad man kunne tænke sig til, at Oprah ville have hende til at svare. Såsom at vi sætter kvalitetstid med familien højere end forbrug, at penge egentlig ikke rigtig betød noget for os, at glæde har noget at gøre med at vi gør noget vi holder af osv. osv. osv. Og som den store afslutning; at vi altid tager hjem fra arbejde mellem 16 og 17 hver dag. Og ved i hvad? Det er simpelthen ikke sandt!

Der findes så mange folk som arbejder over de normale arbejdstider og et stigende antal mennesker hyrer folk til at hente deres børn fra diverse dagsinstitutioner osv. fordi de simpelthen ikke selv har tid til det.

Undersøgelser fra 2007 viser at Danmark er det land – sammenlignet med både USA og alle andre europæiske lande – hvor befolkningen arbejder mest. En anden undersøgelse fra samme år fortæller at danskere arbejder på overtid, fordi de føler at kulturen er således – altså føler de et pres for at arbejde så meget, som de gør.

Men tilbage til den her kvinde; Jeg blev næsten helt vred da jeg hørte hende sidde og sådan set lyve for at tilfredsstille Oprah. Den anden kvinde, som sad ved siden af hende, prøvede da også at fortælle at ikke engang hun altid fik fri omkring klokken fire, men hun kunne dårligt nok få et ord indført.

Så for at opsummere; Jeg selv ved ikke hvorfor vi danskere er det lykkeligste folk på jorden. Når jeg vandrer rundt i gaderne er det ikke det indtryk jeg får. Men måske er det bare mig. Alt jeg ved er, at det ikke handler om at sætte kvalitetstid højere end penge. Bare kig på Dubai; næsten alle har familie – forældre, brødre, søstre – som bor på samme gade, som de selv gør. Nogle spiser aftensmad sammen hver dag. Jeg har set folk i Dubai som spiser både morgenmad, frokost og aftensmad sammen. Og her har både mænd og kvinder også gode jobs, som læge og så videre. Er det så på grund af vores velfærdssamfund? Måske ikke. Igen vil jeg bruge Dubai som et eksempel; når det handler om at tage sig af de fattige er de nemlig lidt ligesom os. Folk i Dubai har også et gratis sundhedsvæsen, og de behøver heller ikke engang betale for elektricitet! Og regeringen sørger for at folk ikke sulter eller bor på gaden – og det samme gør folket i Dubai. Mange donerer mad til foreninger, som derefter giver det videre til de ”fattige”. Alligevel er folk i Dubai ikke ligeså glade som os danskere. Måske var undersøgelsen bare ikke sand. Måske er det danske folk ikke det lykkeligste i verden…

ENGLISH: There's been a lot of discussion about this study a few years ago that claimed the people of Denmark to be the happiest of all. In my oppinion that's not really true.. But that is not what I will blurb about in this post - at least not right now ;)

The reason I've decided to write about it even though it's a few years ago now, is that I saw a rerun of Oprah's show - the one where she had taken a trip to Denmark. 

A thing that really pissed me off was this one woman from Denmark who - along with one other - was answering a few questions of Oprah's through Skype. And she just answered exactly what you knew Oprah wanted her to say. Like that we care more about quality time with our family than consuming, that money didn't really matter much to us, that happiness was about doing what you cared for etc. etc. etc. And the great finale; we always get off work between 4 and 5 pm every day. And you now what? It is not true! 

There are so many people that do work more than the regular hours everyday and a rising number of people have someone to pick up their kids because they just don't have the time to do it themselves.

Studies from 2007 show that the Danish people work more than both the USA and all other European countries. Another one from the same year tells that the reason why most Danish people work more than the regular hours is that that's how the culture is and that they therefore feel a pressure to work more.

But back to this woman; I almost got angry at her for sitting there and practically lying to please Oprah. The other woman beside her even tried to say that also for her, it's not always true that she get off work around 4 pm, but she almost couldn't get a word in.

So to sum it all up; I don't know why we are the happiest people on earth. When I walk around in the streets I don't get this expression of us being that happy. But maybe that's just me. All I now is, that it's not about putting quality time higher than earning money. Just look at Dubai; most people have their families - parents, brothers, sisters etc. - living on the same street, sometimes even eating dinner together every night. I've seen people in Dubai eating breakfast, lunch and dinner together. And both men and women has good jobs, like being a doctor and so on. Is it because of our welfare society then? Maybe not. I'm going to use Dubai as an example once again; they're a bit like Denmark when it comes to taking care of the poor. People there have free healthcare as well, and they even don't have to pay for electricity! And the government makes sure that people aren't starving or living on the streets - and so does the people of Dubai. Many donate food to shelters or other places that then pass it on to the "poor". 

Yet Dubai is not as happy as Denmark. Maybe the study just wasn't right. Maybe Danish people aren't the happiest on earth...

There once was a guy named Fred...

I was listening to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen earlier today and I came to thinking how sad it is that people like Freddie Mercury doesn't exist anymore. I mean, sure there are still people that dress up extremely weird and has a great singing voice, but none of them really adds up to Freddie, do they? To me, there will never be one like him again. In a way it's sad, but then again; how lucky was we to have had him? Even if it weren't for long. Luckily his music still exist and we just have to enjoy that.

Looking back at what I just wrote, I find it ironic to base all this on the song "Bohemian Rhapsody". I don't know about you guys, but I never quite got that song... Well, of course I understand the message hidden in the text, but it seems like every verse has its own message and none of them really fits together - ergo there's no conclusion. And it's a bit weird too...

Well, I guess that was it for now. Hopefully the next blog will make a bit more sense ;D