Waiting for The Newsroom

As a West Wing-addict I´m eagerly waiting for Aaron Sorkins new drama The Newsroom.



Premieres this summer...

So Art is in Everyday Life

I've been fascinated by photographer Sally Mann for several years now. Her way of living, her work, her creativity is all very inspiring. Then I stumbled upon this documentary, through Fotografiska in Stockholm. Listen to how she explains how she sees art in her everyday environment and how she involves her family. That´s indeed an approach to life.

Grandkids - the Main Course in Life

Those of you who know me know that I have a strong relationship with my father Omar. He recently turned 77 and he just started writing for a new online-magazine called Nyfiken Grå (Curious Grey), aimed towards youngsters over 60 years. Lot´s of great writers here, many of them officially retired. Great project. And then dad wrote this sweet story called Grandkids, the main course in life. Check it out. Age is just a stage of mind.

Small things makes the difference when travelling

These past few month have taken me to New Hampshire and New York for work (the republican primaries), to Sälen in the Swedish north to ski with la famiglia and to Paris for pure pleasure (celebrating dear Kia). Wherever I go there are a few small things that keep me ticking: laughter, friends, some yoga postures, g o o d coffee and a croissant here and there.

Bon weekend!

Thanks to Coeur Chaud.

Compassion for Crumpled Paper

I´ve seen this story on various social media sites - and now I´m re-posting in here. Thoughtful.

"Paula - A teacher in New York was teaching her class about bullying and gave them the following exercise to perform. She had the children take a piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stamp on it and really mess it up but do not rip it. Then she had them unfold the paper, smooth it out and look at how scarred and dirty is was. She then told them to tell it they’re sorry. ...Now even though they said ......they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, she pointed out all the scars they left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they tried to fix it. That is what happens when a child bully’s another child, they may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever. The looks on the faces of the children in the classroom told her the message hit home."

On passion, Steve Jobs and Tomas Tranströmer

On this strange day Steve Jobs left earth and Tomas Tranströmer became the winner of this years Nobel Prize in literature. They are/were both amazing men and extraordinary raw models when it comes to following your heart and persuading your passion.
Having lived in Silicon Valley and being deeply in love with my Macbook/Iphone/Ipod/Apple-tv it was more than sad to wake up to the news of Jobs death. But during the day, what kept coming back to me was the blogpost My neighbor Steve that I read a few months ago, the one about the next door guy and the father who stood with tears streaming down his face at the graduation of his son. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
I payed my own tribute to Jobs through a long trip to the playground with Zoë in the unusually warm rain, thinking about the blessings of children and how we actually have more power than we think to form our own lives.
In the evening I showed Sun and Ida my old, worn book with Tranströms poems. Then we watched Steve Jobs Stanford-speech together and I felt embarrassed because I almost cried. Rest in peace, Steve - and Congratulations Tomas.

The world of Solvatten

Several times now I´ve come to meet Petra Wadström, the lovely entrepreneur and innovator behind Solvatten. While living in Australia Petra experienced massive solar energy at the same time as she saw the suffering caused by dirty drinking-water among aborigines.
Back in Sweden she invented Solvatten, a portable 10 liter container that uses UV light from the sun to kill micro-organisms and hence to purify water. Her green innovation now helps around 30 000 people in 16 countries. It´s a revolution, specially for women who now don´t need to spend their days boiling water or taking sick children to the doctor.
I wish there were more Petras in the world - people who are smart, dignified and unselfish and who dare to use both heart and brain when they innovate.





Recently my husband interviewed Petra Wadström, you can find their conversation at Axtalk.

On the joy of taxes

Taxes is a sensitive issue. In the US many people see taxes as something that belongs inside the axes of evil. And in Sweden few people seem to enjoy paying tax. But I´m an exeption. Having received excellent care all three times I´ve given birth, seeing my children get great daycare and having enjoyed free university education simply makes me l i k e to pay income tax. I know that business taxes can be very hard for an entrepreneur. I also know the Swedish model is far from perfect, but at least very few people live on the streets. Therefore I smiled when I read super-rich philanthropist Warren Buffets op-ed in New York Times the other day. In the article Buffet argues for higher taxes and asks Washington to stop coddling the super-rich as if "we were spotted owls or some other endangered species". Go Warren!

Wise words

While traveling in Sweden - on my way to Dalarna and and lovely, ancient Gotland - I see them everywhere. Wise words, like a whisper from old ancestors. And new notes, at home in the heart of the family.



It is human do do wrong but it is divine to forgive.



All is perishable, changes and gives life to something new.





Love note from little sister to big sister.

Page One - Soon on a Screen Near You

My dear collegue Amanda just pointed me to this - the trailer for Page One: Inside The New York Times. The filmmakers have followed reporters and editors at the Newspaper for a full year and the documentary is indeed very haussed, in Huffington Posts words hotly-anticipated-by-media-junkies-and-other-journalists... So when are the filmmakers coming to us at TT?

Dreaming

Enjoying spring, thinking of summer, sort of dreaming of Paris and New York.

Borrowed from beautiful All the mountains...


Near our house...

With a Sukha Mukha-smile

As I keep running through life - from schools and daycare to the news agency, where the turmoil in Libya and tragic events in Japan keep us more than buzy - I think of something my dear yoga teacher keeps preaching. It´s kalled sukha mukha and it could be translated into "happy face yoga". Sukha means joyous, happy or blissed and Mukha is face. My techer want´s me to put on a happy face even when the poses are more than challenging. As with everything on the yoga mat, this can be translated into everyday life. The attitude and level of stress we bring into an assignment has a big impact on what we make out of it. Worth thinking about while running to our loved ones.





Our house-Buddha never leaves his calm.

Inspiring words from JFK still live

This week I spent some exciting time writing a story on the 50th anniversary of US president John F Kennedy's inaugural address (and his life). It´s the one with the famous line "ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.". While studying the speech I found it full of beautiful and inspiring passages. How about "With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own"?
JFK had some very dark sides, but the ability to inspire people - to make somebody feel that he/or she can rise and become a better self - is actually divine. In a time of cold war, the difficult struggle for civil rights and a bad recession (not to different from today) he made America and large parts of the world believe again. Large parts of that speech is very relevant today. Plus he had a style icon family - some of the pictures of Jackie Kennedy makes me wanna awake her stylist from the dead...

Fabulous Good Running

I first heard about this idea from our dear friend and world citizen Min Li. It´s simple, smart and rather fabulous. It´s called The Good Gym and it goes like this: Everybody want´s to exercise - it makes us balanced, healthy, beautiful and full of harmony. When you´re at it why not do something good for a co-human? While jogging you could pick up a newspaper for someone less mobile in the neighborhood, run an errand for someone who needs the help or simply provide some kindness and contact for a person who lives alone.
Runners with The Good Gym in Great Britain commit to at least one run per week and according to all the stories on the gym's home page it really keeps them motivated.
The Good Gym has won some prizes and recently BBC did a story on them. Now one of my favorite publications Good Magazine wrote about the phenomenon.
I just think there should be a branch in every city...

Happy Magic New 2011

As always we get by with inspiration, warm embraces and a little help from our friends. Be safe, don´t forget to fuel your creativity and try things you´ve never done before.
Here´s New York Times tips for how to make your resolutions stick - a guide to sustainable life/marriage/money/food/tech.
Great music also helps, I still dance to this amazing song by french duo Les Rita Mitsouko.



One of my most inspirational moments in December was watching my dear friend Johannes Stjärne Nilsson and Ola Simonssons absurd, humoristic, unique and thoughtful feature film debut Sound of Noice. It´s aroused people at festivals all over the world, go see it.




Happy New 2011!

On life, politics and chicken pox

These past few months have been wonderful and hectic. I did a super interesting and intense journey in the US before the midterm elections - where I wrote about many things from the proposal to legalize marijuana in California to poverty, unemployment and president Obama. Back in Sweden I´ve juggled everyday life with our beloved girls (home work, fencing, gymnastics, choir performances, chicken pox and beautiful Lucias) with full time work, my equally beloved husband and trying to care for my dear friends as well as my body and soul (best done through yoga, sour dough bread and disco dancing). I turned 40 on a beautiful beach far, far away, under the stars and surrounded by family.
I have a feeling I smile more often, and that I´m slightly less stressed. Awake alone the night after Christmas Day I think about all the eyes I´ve looked into these past few months - about the hope and sparks I´ve seen in them. I also think about the strength of willpower, about giving and receiving blessings and about saying grace. And I remind myself to sometimes in the middle of the night whisper a word of tenderness to the sleeping body next to mine.

PS A few days ago I made a Christmas interview with Swedens prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. He told me that he spoils himself by listening to hockey on the radio. The knowledge that a good game will be on that night can keep him working for hours and hours. Joy can be found in small things :)

Hail to the Bishop

"Rasism saying that you are not worth as much as I am, that you shall not have the same rights as I have , are not worth a life in freedom, and this for one single reason - that we happen to be born in different parts of the world - is not worthy a democracy like ours".
The quote (freely translated) comes from Swedish bishop Eva Brunnes preaching today in Storkyrkan in Stockholm. The service marked the start of the new Swedish parlament after the elections _ elections in which Sverigedemokraterna, a party with a racist agenda, sadly enough took some seats.
Brunne showed moral courage, something we don't see to often these days (and Sverigedemokraterna walked out of the church).

The Love Life of Borg and Digital Diplomacy

On the very same day I made two interesting interviews - one with Anders Borg, Secretary of Finance in Sweden, and the other with Alec Ross, who advices Hillary Clinton on technology and innovation. Both are rather strong personalities.
One can have different opinions on Anders Borg and the policies of his liberal-conservative party Moderaterna, but one must give him the credit for keeping Sweden afloat during the global financial crisis. We talked about a variety of things, from the ongoing election campaign to his passion for walks in the forest, and then I asked him what he was most proud of. "Well, my wife and I have had a very long relationship, I was 16 when I moved in with her. We still have a vivid and loving relationship and I think we offer our children a great and safe environment".
It took me by surprise that he choose to talk about his love life, but it also made me happy. I believe politicians needs to be well grounded (and of course armed with a vision).
Visions is only the first name when you have a conversation with Alec Ross who is known for his "digital diplomacy". I quickly fell into his idea of spreading digital telecom to the developing world and thereby making people communicate, innovate, get access to banks and other services and - according to the World Bank - increasing their country's GDP. According to Ross its all about creating projects and learning by doing. You go.

A Repair Kit for the World

I love smart games. Especially this one that was given to us the other night by dear, cool Miriam and Björn. It´s a repair kit with several assignments in order to make the world a better place. It also contains a World Repair Passport and stamps, to keep track of the good work. Of course Björn bought it in "our" old city San Francisco. And of course all of the net proceeds go the Serena & Lily Foundation who funds youth initiatives around the world. Lovely.