StumbleUpon | Septembre's blog posts

http://Septembre.stumbleupon.com/review/11399954/

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:53:25 -0700

For all who wondered what kept me busy during the last months: here is a list of the audio books I've been listening to:

Morten Ramsland
"Hundehoved" (dk) - the true reason why I learned Danish!
"Hundhuvud" (se) - the Swedish translation was very helpful

Henning Mankell:
"M�rdare utan ansikte" (se)
"Hundene i Riga" (no)
"Den vita lejoninnan" (se)
"Mannen som log" (se)
"Villosp�r" (se)
"Den femte kvinnan" (se)
"Steget efter" (se) - the Wallander I liked best
"Brandv�gg" (se)
"Pyramiden" (se)
"Italienska skor" (se) - a very nice book

Leif GW Persson
"Grisfesten" (se) - for all who always knew that something is rotten in the state of �h.. Sweden ;-)

H�kan Nesser
"Picadilly Circus ligger inte i Kumla" (se) - an outstanding book!

Karin Alvtegen
Bedrag (dk)

Currently listening:
Helle Helle "Roedby-Puttgarden" (dk)

"se", "no" and "sk" stand for Swedish, Norwegian and Danish. After about 200 hours of listening to Swedish audio books, I understand the language quite well. Now it's time to move on to Danish and Norwegian :-)

http://Septembre.stumbleupon.com/review/10947321/

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 09:48:22 -0700

Hi People!

Sorry, I've been away for a long time. Abroad, work, more work, vacation...

Here are some pictures from my vacation in �land - enjoy :-)

Yes, this is a sauna - it can be seen from the Mariehamn-Turku ferry at the coast of N�t�!

http://Septembre.stumbleupon.com/review/9732084/

Sat, 12 May 2007 03:05:25 -0700

Again I have to say I'm sorry for having neglected my SU friends. I've been more than busy at work, and again there were business trips abroad. The kids needed help at school. The Finland-Swedish news sites seemed a lot more interesting than the English, and there were Swedish or Danish audio books to listen (Henning Mankell, Leif G.W. Persson, Morten Ramsland, Karin Alvtegen). And last but not least, the UniLang servers sometimes need some attention, too. Please bear with me :-)

http://Septembre.stumbleupon.com/review/9211210/

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:19:00 -0700

There will be protests, discussions, parents will demand the control of firearms in the USA. And in the end, the NRA will be the only winner. As we all know, Americans /must/ have the right of /self defense/. That's why every good American needs a gun. Or more than one. It's the credo of the USA, it's a dogma imposed by the PR department of the NRA.

http://Septembre.stumbleupon.com/review/8609203/

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 12:01:43 -0700

I have been to the Netherlands - again. Everything went fine, and the customers are happy. However, five days solving problems, using a foreign language, spending the evening in a car or in a hotel room, takes its toll.

http://Septembre.stumbleupon.com/review/7686219/

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 14:06:16 -0800

I'll be off the next two weeks - first a business trip to the USA, and later on to Finland.

This isn't exactly a vacation, but I can't think of a better way to learn to know country and people.

Please drop me a note if you live in or near Lexington KY or Cincinnati!

http://Septembre.stumbleupon.com/review/7563314/

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:41:17 -0800

I have a strange hobby: listening radio news in foreign languages. My current favorite is the Finnish-Swedish news from YLE.fi. I really love the Finish-Swedish dialect (did I mention that I have a strange hobby? ;-) ).

While hearing about todays Finland for months, I realized that I had insufficient knowledge about contemporary Finnish history.

Fortunately there are people who have been sharing their knowledge in Wikipedia! I had no idea about the bloody Finnish civil war 1917-1918, and the struggle for independence from the Russian Empire and from the USSR ( maybe the USSR wouldn't have lasted long, had there not been fears about the loss of independence after a restoration of the Russian Empire ). Independence from Russia was what made Finland an ally of Germany in WW II. Even now, 60 years after the war, there is no question of becoming member of the NATO. I'd like to find out, if there is a deep rooted fear of the mighty neighbor Russia behind today's political discussion.

http://Septembre.stumbleupon.com/review/7217976/

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 17:43:03 -0800

1 January 2007: the European Community has two new member states!
... and Slovenia has the EURO ...

Le Monde
"Avec l'entr�e de ces deux pays des rives de la mer Noire, jadis communistes, c'est d�sormais "l'Europe des Vingt-Sept".
...
"Ce soir nous �crivons l'Histoire", titrait dimanche le journal roumain Evenimentul Zilei, sur fond de drapeau europ�en, 17 ans apr�s la r�volution qui a chass� le dictateur Ceausescu.
...
L'arriv�e de la Roumanie, le plus grand des deux nouveaux Etats membres, et de la Bulgarie va faire cro�tre la population de l'UE de trente millions d'habitants, � 490 millions. Leurs revenus repr�sentent seulement le tiers de la moyenne europ�enne, malgr� une forte croissance. "Nous n'aurons plus � faire la queue dans les a�roports � c�t� de la file pour les ressortissants de l'Union... mais de toute fa�on nous n'avons pas d'argent pour voyager !", plaisante Maria Krasteva, une comptable bulgare de 33 ans."

Der Spiegel: "Ich bin voller Hoffnung", sagte die 23-j�hrige Bulgarin Radoslawa Dimitrowa. "Etwas Neues, etwas Besseres wird kommen." Der 14-j�hrige Rum�ne Alexandru Ghitulescu sagte, er freue sich darauf, mit seinem Personalausweis in jedes EU-Land reisen zu k�nnen.
...
Die Entwicklung in den beiden s�dosteurop�ischen L�ndern soll aber streng kontrolliert werden, insbesondere was die Bek�mpfung von Korruption und organisiertem Verbrechen angeht.
Nur zehn der bisherigen 25 EU-Mitgliedstaaten wollen Rum�nen und Bulgaren v�llig freien Zugang zu ihrem Arbeitsmarkt erlauben. Wie Deutschland planen die meisten L�nder eine zweij�hrige �bergangsphase. Rum�nien und Bulgarien sind die �rmsten Mitglieder der EU. Die Durchschnittsgeh�lter liegen dort bei monatlich 200 Euro."

The Guardian: "People from Romania and Bulgaria, which join the EU today, were given a stern warning by the Home Office yesterday that they would face �1,000 on-the-spot fines if they breached the restrictions that prevent their working except in some seasonal agricultural work and a small number of highly skilled jobs.

But the Department of Health confirmed that, in common with other citizens of EU member states, all Romanians and Bulgarians will have access to free NHS treatment while visiting Britain. Previously visitors from the two countries had needed a visa."

El Pa�s: "El futuro inmediato no ser� f�cil, y los pasos de los nuevos socios estar�n estrechamente vigilados por Bruselas, que ha impuesto deberes de reducci�n de la corrupci�n y rigor presupuestario a los respectivos Gobiernos. Pero por complicada que sea la tarea, rumanos y b�lgaros la viven con la felicidad del n�ufrago que ha logrado subirse al �ltimo bote salvavidas. Atr�s quedan los a�os duros del exilio econ�mico, de la entrada ilegal en la mayor�a de los casos, del trabajo diario de sol a sol, del largo proceso hasta abrirse camino en la sociedad espa�ola."

http://Septembre.stumbleupon.com/review/7217514/

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 16:55:05 -0800

I wish you a Happy and Peaceful New Year 2007!

http://Septembre.stumbleupon.com/review/6984142/

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:53:09 -0800

I learned French, I learned Dutch, today I spent an evening in the wonderful country of Belgium.... (*)

Une soir�e en Belgique - Een avond in Belgi�

Vlaanderen onafhankelijk - l'ind�pendance de la Flandre

Une "mauvaise id�e" pour 53 % des francophones

Le public n'a pas sanctionn� la RTBF

Raad van bestuur RTBF legt geen sancties op

Boek 'Bye-Bye Belgium' als opvolger van RTBF-uitzending

Vlaanderen eerst

Enkel Nederlandstalige naam voor Vlaamse gemeenten

(*) Viewers fooled by phony newcast on Belgium split