PCCE here; I’m posting Hili as I’m sitting at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport with time to kill. My visit was, I think, a success, and was certainly enjoyable. I met all kinds of scientists, from grad students to professors, and most were interested in or working on speciation. Further, atheism is the default worldview here, and Swedes simply can’t understand both the pervasiveness of and respect for religion in America. It was really refreshing to be around rational people who have no truck with superstition, and to hear how incredulous they were at America’s religiosity. And, as far as I can see, Sweden is moral and law-abiding, putting the lie to religionists’ assertions that you can’t have a moral society without God. I had two good meals during my visit, one Italian and the other Swedish (photos to come), nice breakfasts (Swedish pancakes with FRESH lingonberries this morning); and my talk was well attended, so that people were sitting in the aisles and lining all the walls.
It’s been a short two days here, and now it’s time to head to Atlanta for the AAA convention. It will be a long day today, what with a 9-hour flight to Newark, a four-hour layover, and then a 2.5-hour flight to Atlanta. Sadly, I have a window seat across the Atlantic (I much prefer the aisle) and a dreaded MIDDLE SEAT to Atlanta, despite my request otherwise. (This is known as a First World Problem.) The good news is that the Swedish equivalent of the TSA didn’t grope me or even touch me.
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili has her own concerns: about noms, of course (Hili always perks up when she nears noise in the kitchen):
Hili: Let’s change our location, there is some movement over there.
Cyrus: Cool it. It’s just dish washing.
Hili: Zmieniamy lokal, tam jest jakiś ruch.
Cyrus: Spokojnie, to tylko zmywanie naczyń.
Australia if freer of the religious disease than the US, however we look forward to the Scandinavian view of secularism. We fight the incursion of religion into state schools, however at least in Australia abortion is safe. The fundies still talk about it, and it doesn’t get any airplay. What the Republicans say about all sorts of things wouldn’t pass, what we call ‘the pub test’.
We need more pubs and fewer churches.
Turn churches into pubs.
In NZ, a lot of churches have been turned into cafés. There are several really nice ones.
Churches also make great concert and recital halls. Many are good for various forms of theatre, too.
b&
I didn’t think of that – I bet the acoustics are excellent!
Some are for shit…but some are also literally as good as it gets. The mission in San Louis Obispo, for example…well, you can stand at the entrance at the far end from the stage, clearly hear people inhale at the stage…and it’s got an incredibly sonorous neverending reverb…but not even the slightest hint of echo. And even major symphony orchestra brass musicians playing at full volume don’t overpower the hall. I’ve no clue how that’s even physically possible with modern acoustical engineering — and this thing was built before the Revolution!
b&
Wow!
A few years back, during the 2nd half of the Bush Jrera, I composed a short list of places I would move to if the US devolved too far for me to take. New Zealand was on that list, near the top
Very cool! One of the pieces Jerry posted recently of something that had happened over there (can’t remember what it was now) made me feel like I should be inviting all his readers to move to NZ. Lots of those stats that make Scandinavia look like a great place to live are pretty much the same here, and we’re warmer and further from nukes. 🙂
But if you want licorice in any shape, taste or colour, you should try Dutch
drop.
We have drop with honey, salmiak (NH4Cl), mint, I think I’ve even seen strawberry. We have soft drop, spungy, crunchy, elastic drop or hard drop. We have drop pure or sugar-coated or frosted.
(I feel like Cheech Marin in Dusk til Dawn now.)
Years ago Baskin Robbins 31 Flavor ice cream stores used to regularly stock licorice ice cream around Halloween. Although I’m not a big fan of licorice (at least, as judged from experiencing US dime store versions), I developed a taste for licorice ice cream, which has a peculiar flavor similar to anise. Unfortunately, last time I checked this is no longer made by Baskin Robbins — and I haven’t been able to find it elsewhere either. Not consistently, at any rate. They keep stopping production due to lack of sales. It sounds weird to most people.
My brother was born around Halloween so his birthday parties were usually costume affairs. Once my mother bought two gallons of ice cream for the party which were appropriately colored orange and black: pumpkin and licorice. The little boys wouldn’t touch it after the first bite. That conveniently left me, as big sister, to dig happily into both.
Ice cream is pretty easy to make — and drop-dead easy if you spend a few pennies on a countertop ice cream maker.
If you like anise…give fennel tea a try. A generous spoonful of whole fennel seeds, perhaps bruised in a mortar and pestle, in a pot with boiling water, left to steep for some minutes. Also works very well in combination with chamomile. I think it’s supposed to have some sort of folk therapeutic effect, but, regardless, it’s a very pleasant hot beverage.
b&
I’ve had that flavor and I did really like it. But true, I haven’t seen licorice ice cream in ages!
Something like 40yrs ago I went to a party around this time of year, and so I stopped @ Baskin Robbins. I got a combo of licorice ice cream and orange sherbet. They guy said it seemed so disgusting he gave it to me.
Yes DZ for the win! But, I know Jerry will hate it as most people do who weren’t raised on it like I was. I know people who cruelly get people to taste it knowing they will be repulsed. I never do such a thing, for it’s a waste of a perfectly good DZ!
http://www.dutchsweets.com/images/QrS6GIrV1e.gif
You are not supposed to EAT lutefisk – you are supposed to play it! 🙂
As a swede (who is not based in Stockholm, and therefor could not attend your speech 🙁 ), I’d say that lutfisk (the extra ‘e’ is the norwegian spelling) is quite OK. Odd, but OK. Now, surströmming (sour herring) on the other hand…
You beat me to it. (although I have mentioned surströmming in a post a little more than a month ago).
It occurs to me that a nice way to get back at the US’s TSA would be to pack some sour herring in a can with a screw-top lid — and put it in a bag of expendable luggage.
Aw shucks. Travel plans thwarted.
You’re not thinking this through all the way.
Get a jar of surströmming slightly too big for security regulations. When the TSA Nazis object, do the whole, “What do you mean this is forbidden?” act, and, to demonstrate that it’s harmless, open the jar, take a taste, and generously offer some to the TSA. When they continue to object, dump it in the garbage bin, maybe carelessly enough to drip some on the carpet.
For bonus points, also have some samples of mercaptans….
b&
“wha? …you would deprive an old man of one of the few remaining delights in this life?” *whoosh*… 3 security dogs run for cover… *lick, chomp, smack* “murph, they go great with virgin boy eggs. Here… you must try some… we cannot let these go to waste… whoops…
Holy Urine Bat Man! How does someone even come up with the idea of simmering eggs for hours in the urine gathered from the toilets at the local boys school?
Despite what many people think about me, I’m really not an expert in such matters… but I’d *guess* it involves hanging out extensively in the toilets at the local boys’ school.
“Expert” is a relative term. Suffice to say, you know a great deal more about the psychopathology that might lead to such behavior than 99 44/100% of the rest of us….
b&
PCCE…”E” for emeritus?
I wondered about that. That must be it!
You guys haven’t been keeping up with your reading of WEIT! Shame on you! 🙂
Oh no, what did I miss? I felt sure it was “Emeritus” since Jerry just retired.
It is Emeritus, but we talked about it at the time it happened. 🙂
My impression is that they like licorice even more in Finland. And the packaging is interesting, too.
Thanks for sharing with us all the news and photos during your trip. I don’t post often and just wanted to let you know that every post is read and enjoyed, even if the news is bad, like the Oprah story earlier.
That person could be doing so much good, yet persists in furthering fictions and superstitions. It is so dispiriting(!)
Actually, during last few weeks I read quite a lot of commentary about Sweden and my overall impression that this is a country making first bold step towards totalitarian state [*], with rising levels of antisemitism, crime (including rape). Some stories I’ve read were so unbelievable I thought I was trolled. Seems like a decent country slowly slipping into the darkness.
[*] Political violence against opposition (mostly against nazis, but also against SD and liberals, as well as against their friends and families) supported by many academics, not condemned by most of the media and even some politics, limitations on free speech (i.e. I’ve read that they tried to make something like Fox News, but they couldn’t, because TV must promote equality, while they wanted to be liberal – in a european sense), vote counters openly stating they pondered whether throwing out voting cards if they went for the opposition and so on. Still a democracy, of course, but I’d stay on my opinion that the first step away from the democracy was made.
Some people in Sweden are struggling to handle more multiculturalism, especially an influx of Muslim guest workers, immigrants, and refugees. That’s creating a bit of right-wing angst. But it’s still better than most places.
I wouldn’t say that extreme left-wing beating right-wing opposition with full approval of media and some politicians is “right-wing angst” (as according to what I’ve read, 95% of the political violence is from the extreme left). I wouldn’t say that when vote counter says “I had the urge to shred cards of voters who voted for SD” and this causes no consequences for said voter, this is right-wing angst.
After reading reports of many similar news, I stand my case. If by most places you mean countries all over the world, yeah, sure. But in Europe I think we would have to start to wonder. I mean if Jerry Coyne would be Swedish citizen, some of his post in his own blog (about Islam) could cause that he would be accused of racism and hate crime in Sweden, isn’t it?
Licorice is also a laxative. Y’all be carefull.
And the salt in it does the opposite. It’s the beauty of salt liquorice – it lets the body fight it out. 😀
Ouzo is licorice liquor, which will ease any occlusion.
And this is why SCANDINAVIA is the most progressive and successful society on EARTH!! Too bad not enough have the courage to follow their lead.
I suspect it’s more about the inability of many to admit that the US just might not be the best at everything.
Oh, I think a lot of us realize that. It’s just that infamous 1%, those corporate citizens, the 158 families that have funded more than half of the presidential race so far, the conservative majority on the SC; just little things like that that get in our way…
Scary really.
Tell me about it!
It was, but it is not.
I was watching one of the later Doctor Who episodes and in it The Doctor thinks the President of the United States is going to be helping stop an attack of Cybermen. He says, “We don’t want Americans bobbing around the place. They’ll only start praying.”
It’s then I realize how the rest of the world sees America. I think I just get used to it being in Canada, that that is how America is, but when you hear a British TV series say it, you realize how odd it is.
It’s how some of us see ourselves, too. It is refreshing to know that some of those outside of our bubble are unafraid of coming out and saying as much. There’re a lot of Doc Whom fans in the States; maybe that sort of ribbing will reach through to some of them….
b&
Long-time reader, first post. In contrast to the previous Swedish poster on this thread I was lucky enough to attend the talk, and get a good seat! Great talk on Drosophila speciation on the island of San Tomé. *The* curious fact that sticks with me is that only hybrid males are found at the top of that volcanic island. God couldn’t have the imagination to come up with such a weird observation.
I might also add that I was lucky enough to participate in the Italian dinner. Too bad we didn’t get the opportunity to eat lutfisk, which is really very, very good, as long as you know how to prepare it correctly 🙂
I hope you had a pleasant stay.
Cheers,
Per