The Daily Blues

So, my wife and I went away for the weekend. As far away as we could go without leaving Denmark.

This means we ended up in Skagen. A very popular travel destination, especially for Norwegians it seems. I guess it makes sense, since Skagen is only about 50 kilometers away from the southern borders of Norway.

Obviously some of those Norwegian gentlemen had discovered that the price of beer is considerably lower in Denmark than in Norway.

Anyway, on our way up there we took a break in a town called Bislev where we stayed for the night in a vacation rental. On arrival I went out on the balcony of the place to check out the view.

This is what I saw:



A nice view with a church and a bus stop.

Most people will go away for a while to see something else, experience new things. However, this is the view from the front lawn of the place where I live.



See, what I mean?


PS: With all due respect, I think our church is prettier than that old barn on the first picture.

Sometimes reality is a tricky business associate.

As I have already told you I have recently entered the research phase of writing a book. I chose North Africa as the geopolitical location for the events leading to the plot of this story. This choice was based in the notion that there has not really been any media focus on this part of the world recently - except for the trouble in Libya. So, I thought that I could comfortably indulge in fabricating a fictional set-up in this area without having to be 100 percent authentic.

Recent events have proved me wrong.

I suppose you have all heard about the trouble in Mali. Islamists. Probably teorrists. Probably al-Qaeda. Definitely a pain in the back-side for the French. Oh yeah, France left North Africa in the early sixties after having had quite a colonial adventure there for many years, but 'adieu' doesn't mean goodbye, as I'm sure you know.

It seems the Sahel zone of North Africa is becoming the new international hot spot. Both governmental and private contractors, operators, entrepeneurs and prospectors are present. And not only oil and gas but also gold and uranium - you know, the stuff they use in nuclear reactors.

And troops.

It's the ongoing quest for natural ressources. The prospect of 80 billion barrels of oil can make any government go beserk.

Including the Chinese...

Another race has begun And this time the race track will be Sahara.

Did anyone say Dakar Rally?

It is not entirely uninteresting to dive a little into France's relationship to Africa. Yes, it is true that France in 1960 declared independence for almost all colonies in North Africa, but not without leaving a heavy footprint.

The decolonization began primarily after massive pressure from the United States who wanted room for free trade and investment on the continent, while the UN General Assembly the same year issued a declaration on dismantlement of the colonial system, creating a corresponding committee. But you can not say France without saying Algeria. And it seems that much of the turmoil we see in West Africa has political as well as military basis in Algeria.

In May 2001, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney claimed that "West Africa is expected to be one of the fastest growing sources of oil and natural gas to the U.S. market." Thus, ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco have worked in the area for almost ten years, along with French, Italian, Dutch and British oil companies.

I believe it is fair to say that the Sahel zone defines the Southern borders of Europe.

In fact, the EU has an independend strategy for the area. The figure of 20 billion dollars is mentioned in the reports I read. The word "pipeline" appears several times. Names such as Total SA, Eni SpA and the more wellknown Royal Dutch Shell shows up. Combine this with French tanks, British troops, US drones and Danish transport planes in Mali, and this game of Solitaire is almost solved. However, wellknown acronyms like MI6 and CIA complicates the game. Rumours of British trained Afghan freedom fighters leading the 'islamic rebellion' in Mali dims the view even further.

Interesting... By far enough for an oldschool thriller plot. Even without the Cold War backdrop.

So, reality has overtaken me, and I have to go even deeper in my research because I can't afford to be too imaginative, since CNN is covering the shit and within a month every television viewer in the World will be an expert in North African matters.

On the other hand, this actually suits the purpose. I did mention the term 'bestseller', didn't I?

So, yesterday evening we went to see Skyfall. I take it, I don't have to explain anything about that film, since you probably already heard just about everything there is to know about it. Most of you probably already went to watch it.

It features this guy



Now, I might not be the most fashionable guy in the World, but I do know smartness when I see it, and I absolutely fell in love with that pea coat Daniel Craig is wearing in that scene.

So I decided I wanted one.

After a brief research I came to the conclusion that getting myself the original Billy Reid single vent navy blue leather trim pea coat would perhaps be a tad over the top for me. I would hate spending $695 plus shipping on a single piece of garment.

I mean, there are limits as to how far you'd go for smartness, right?

So, I went down to the local second hand shop and got me this one for 100 DKK - that's $17/£10.



It's not exactly a pea coat, though it has the broad lapels and double-breast front. In fact, the length of it gives it the shape of a bridge coat, which actually makes it even more fancy, because where pea coats were originally worn by the common navy soldier, the bridge coat is an officer's garment.

I know, I haven't quite got the build of Daniel Craig, I'm almost 5 inches taller than him, but I do think it suits me, and I know I will be wearing this coat for many years to go.

Classic, but still smart.

Both my wife and me were born in the sixties, so we are slowly approaching middle-age, and the signs of... erm... maturity are beginning to show. This is not alltogether bad.

A couple of years ago my wife decided to quit dying her hair. She says she simply can't be bothered. I like that. I also think the grey streaks look good on her.

Most of you guys know me quite well by now, and you also know that I like teasing - jokingly, out of interest and love, not the bullying sort of teasing. I can't help it. I am the youngest of three siblings, and it is little brother's duty to be a nuisance.

So, I sometimes call my wife Wolveress - primarily when her hair is all over the place, and she gets that particular Wolverine hair style. It started when I found out that she has a fancy for Hugh Jackman.



Now, take a look at this picture of my better half...



See what I mean?

PS: She actually has the temper to back up the hair style. I would not mess with her. And she don't need adamantium claws either.

Disclaimer:
Sorry about the poor quality of the image of my wife. It doesn't do her any justice at all. It's a snapshot captured with a smartphone, in bright sunshine, and I couldn't even see what I was doing. Anybody with a smartphone knows what I'm talking about.

So, here's a picture that shows both the immediate and the more subtle levels of my sweetheart's beauty. This is what she looks like IRL/3D/HD:

Do you know this eye?

I am asking you, because you might have looked into this eye before. Sitting in the skull of somebody you met or even knew. Thing is, the guy who is peeping out from that picture chose this particular eye, because he liked it. Yes, this guy actually gets to pick which eyes he wants. Incidently this goes not only for eyes but just about any body part he needs replaced.

That is the nature of The Creeper.

When I first saw Victor Salva's Jeepers Creepers, I was actually shocked several times.

Now, I know you would claim that this is the point with horror films, and I know that, but I very rarely get shocked watching horror movies, because most of them are so very predictable. This doesn't stop me from watching them or enjoying them, because predictability is actually what I like most about the genre.

However, this film actually got me sitting on the edge of the seat, because I could not predict what would happen. It simply takes the classic horror film standard and pushes it quite a few inches forward.

For example: The Creeper will not die.

Yes, I know, you heard that one before: just as you think they finally got rid of the monster, it comes back - a stadard horror kliché. Only, The Creeper is different. There is something about him that you get to like, you actually come to sympathize with this man-eating, apparently invincible creature.

You want him to stay alive.

Because he is different. Not only from the human race, but from other horror film antagonists.

He is not a funny clown, like Freddy Kruger, or the village idiot, like Jason Voorhees, and he is not a superior, advanced species, like Predator or Alien. He is something else. The closest you come to a definition in the films is the legend on the wall of the Taggarts' barn in the final scenes of the sequel: Bat Out Of Hell.

And he is extremely cool.

So, if you don't have anything else to do one late night this Winter, go rent this modern classic, and, while you are at it, rent the sequel as well, because you will want to when you've seen the first.



Jeepers, creepers, where'd ya get those peepers,
jeepers, creepers, where'd ya get those eyes?
Gosh all, git up, how'd they get so lit up,
gosh all, git up, how'd they get that size?