Taking the garbage out...

Egypt has many wonders - some ancient and some modern. One example of the latter is a slum settlement on the outskirts of Cairo, appropriately referred to as the 'Garbage City'. The residents - mostly Coptic Christians - practically live in and on the collected garbage and spend their time sorting through what is usable and sellable. During work visits to Cairo, I often drove by the settlement and browsed through hundreds of pictures of daily life there by a photographer colleague. The images and smells of the Garbage City are still vivid and fresh in my mind and senses.

Sweden has many wonders - its breathtaking natural beauty and highly modernized lifestyle. One example of the latter is the expectation - nay, the requirement - that you sort through your garbage before getting rid of it. The first time my father-in-law took me through the process, I was hit by a massive tide of culture shock! Sure, I knew about recycling bottles and boxes, but here we had to wash and clean all bottles and plastic packs, separate everything into every imaginable sub-category, and carefully and reverently deposit them into the appropriately marked containers. And just in case you are temped to speed up the process and put something in the wrong section, a considerate neighbor will ensure you are reprimanded swiftly.

As with most such life issues though, Cyprus, the center of the universe, has got the right balance and mindset. Sorting through our garbage? You must be kidding! We are too civilized for that. We just dump everything in those large blue Lordos bags, put them out on the sidewalk outside, and sit back contently, knowing that the garbage collectors will pick them up and chuck them over the hill a few minutes up the road!

On A High Note

My wife, Anna, first told me about this amazing Norwegian singer, Sissel, the first Christmas we were together. Apparently she became very popular in the Scandinavian countries when she sang at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games, and since then, her concerts (particularly her annual Christmas ones) and recordings have been much sought after.

I watched a number of the videos Anna had of Sissel and we often listened to her CDs. Last Christmas, we were able to get tickets to see her Christmas concert in Stockholm, and just this past weekend, we went to Sundsvall (more accurately, Timro) to see her new concert.

Was it good? A better voice on this planet I know not of. Sissel not only has a uniquely angelic, pure and soothing voice (no annoying vibratos!), but also a ridiculously effortless way of delivering the highest notes, without breaking her beaming smile or betraying any strain. I was in a state of regret throughout the concert on Saturday night because I could not re-live every minute that passed by, nor listen again to every song that finished. My internal music batteries got charged up again, after quite an intense year of musical output in Cyprus.

And there was an extra bonus at the end. I was able to meet Sissel and tell her we had come from Cyprus to hear her. She thought that was really cool, and we ended up chatting for a bit before she autographed our program and Anna took our picture. She seemed very down-to-earth and genuinely humble - rare characteristic associated with pop stars and music divas.

I told Anna afterward that I am now adding two items to my ever-growing list of 'life wishes'. First of all, I would love to bring Sissel to Cyprus. We both agreed that a special concert at the Curium Amphitheatre would be amazing. Secondly, and this may be bordering on the fairy tale, I know... but if I ever had the opportunity to write or arrange a song for her to sing...well, that would be more than amazing. Well, one should be allowed to dream, shouldn't one? (-:

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Sissel's website's biography reads: "Sissel's rich and varied career has spanned over 20 years. She has performed in front of royalty and heads of state, shared the stage with superstars of every musical genre ‐ classical stars, punks, pop idols and rappers. Highlights include singing the Olympic hymn at Lillehammer, representing Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize Gala Concert, and performing at the first Christmas concert in Moscow after the fall of the Soviet Union, invited by the great tenors Placido Domingo and José Carreras. Sissel has shared the stage with superstars including Celine Dion, Sting, Moby, Angelic Kidjo, Willie Nelson - she’s toured and sung at Carnegie Hall with The Chieftains and appeared twice on David Letterman’s talk show in New York, and performed on Good Morning America both alone and with Placido Domingo."

Nobelama

Five years ago, when Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her environmental work in Kenya, I was left scratching my head at the logic and selection process of the Nobel Committee. Sure, she deserved some kind of an award for planting trees and trying to save the planet...etc, but the peace prize?? Were there no other worthy candidates actually engaged in bringing resolution and peace into human conflict situations around the world? Yes, you can say that metaphorically she was pursuing peace with mother nature, but dear Alfred made it clear in his will that the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Just how the Norwegian committee found any parallel between that clear-cut brief and Ms. Maathai's work is beyond me.

Yet even more baffling was today's announcement that President Obama was the winner of the same prize for 2009. I am left scratching my head with both hands this time. For the record, I actually think highly of Obama and expect him to gradually make significant progress in various peace efforts around the world. He is an intelligent man with a much more open mind than his predecessor (though that is not saying much since almost anyone would have been an improvement on Bush!). Maybe in a couple of years' time, Obama would have been a worthy winner, but in his first 10 months in the White House he has not achieved any significant progress in any peace initiative anywhere in the world. So, why the rush to reward him so prematurely?

It is a slap in the face of many more worthy candidates who have taken personal risks and worked tirelessly this year for peace. Interesting to note that Alfred Nobel specifically dictated that the Peace Prize be awarded by Norway rather than Sweden. The latter was responsible for the foreign policies of the Scandinavian union in those days, so he felt that the prize might be less subject to political corruption if awarded by Norway. Suggesting that today's decision was politically motivated may be taking it a bit too far, but I can't help but feel that our Norwegian friends are still enchanted by their equally unexpected (though in this case, thoroughly deserved) winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest - Fairytale!

Bangladeshi Telegram

Heard in the news yesterday that Bangladesh still has over 400 telegram centers, and 800+ people are still employed by the government to run these centers. So who are the Bangladeshi people sending telegrams to? The answer is 'no one'. The centers have not been operating for many years, what with the advent of fax, e-mail, mobile phones, SMS....

Nevertheless, over 800 people have been happily receiving their monthly government salaries for doing absolutely nothing. And here I was, thinking that the Cypriot government and municipality staff had a good deal going with their half-day working hours, endless benefits and a life-time job guarantee regardless of their (un)productivity. Apologies to Bangladesh: they beat us fair and square, and with hardly any effort!