felix's daily starfish and waffles

domo arigato, mr. roboto

2009-11-16T00:02:00.001+01:00

November is bad poetry month here at felix's daily starfish and waffles - yay! Lucky you. On tap for today: the haiku, a poetic form universally appreciated much like other popular Japanese exports such as sushi, superior electronics, and Hello Kitty. Hai, sugoi!Torii in the mud flats at Itsukushima-jinja (Itsukushima Shrine) in Miyajima, Japan. (2002).***Retro Music80's. So bad, it'sGood.

six ways from sunday: another time, another place

2009-11-01T04:56:00.001+01:00

Anna's globe. Lund, Sweden. (2008).***"Baaaa-aaa!" I called out, down in the direction of the sure-footed mountain goats on the cliffs below.Ironically, I felt sheepish when Myra, my Californian travel buddy, pointed out that goats didn't make that sound.We were in Byron Bay, hiking the winding path up to the Cape Byron Lighthouse, the most-easterly point in Australia. I remember the blue of

follow your star

2009-10-24T12:10:00.001+02:00

Follow your star. Hjärup, Sweden. (2009).Rare October fog drifts in from the river valley at first light, obscuring the normally bland skyline from view. From within the mist, faint outlines of shady elms and still-lit streetlamps diffuse a certain understated charm, detached from the regular, smog-filled bustle of the morning traffic rush.I dawdle slowly, by foot, to work.On a day like today, I

the ugly city

2009-10-05T00:11:00.000+02:00

The ugly city. Edmonton, Canada. (2009).***Six weeks in, there's plenty to say. But to just downright pan the place to oblivion isn't what starfish and waffles is about and, besides, it wouldn't be productive anyway.So, all I'll say is this.This, is pretty much playing out as I envisioned it. This, is proving to be a creative sinkhole. This, isn't the answer.More stories to come.The skating

the couch that could

2009-09-20T19:12:00.002+02:00

You might remember the picture below of our Swedish apartment and its centerpiece IKEA Klippan sofa. We had initially published it here on starfish and waffles when we did our story on Klippan (both the couch and its namesake Swedish town) a couple of months ago.The former European headquarters of felix's daily starfish and waffles - complete with an IKEA Klippan couch - at Vildanden W in Lund,

outer space

2009-09-13T05:56:00.000+02:00

The far side of the moon. Otherwise known as Edmonton, Canada. (2009).***It's the Year 2000, straight out of a 1968 Kodachrome film reel. In the movie, I'm floating in the eerie silence of outer space, holding a wrench.What am I trying to fix?Good question, I don't know. But I guess it's nice to have an apparent purpose, even in these strange, 5am nightmares.

wiki starfish and waffles

2009-09-07T23:35:00.001+02:00

True story: had you Googled "starfish and waffles" just last week, one of the search results that would've returned was a Wikipedia article on, you guessed it, felix's daily starfish and waffles. Cool, huh?Sadly, for reasons unfathomable to us, the Wikipedia police very recently took down the page. What an outrage! Fortunately, our lawyers had warned us of this possible consequence, so we took

destination

2009-09-04T00:58:00.001+02:00

On the move at Franz Josef Strauss Airport in Munich, Germany. (2008).***Back in the office and back, to life, for the cubically inclined. The last time this happened, I planned on staying six months. Somehow, it became six years. So what will become of this trip around horn?Well, at least the vitals aren't terrible. Fitter? Yes, certainly in mind if not necessarily in body. Happier? Yes,

the launching pad

2009-08-27T09:00:00.002+02:00

Please pause for a word from starfish and waffles corporate headquarters.This is long overdue, but today me and the editor are happy to announce that we've officially launched a dedicated website for our own distinctive brand of dingobear photography! Click here, to visit ... please, bookmark, browse around, and tell us what you think.Finally (!) you can now seamlessly order prints of your

forever summer

2009-08-24T00:55:00.006+02:00

Morning sun. Lund, Sweden. (2007).***So, I guess this is it.Thirteen posts after exiting stage left across the Atlantic, it's time to sign off on a Swedish summer that will always be my own.I look back on what I wrote two years ago, when moving was done in the opposite direction. See the difference? Then, it was about things to forget. Now, it's about all there is to remember. I think we're

absolut åhus

2009-08-16T20:18:00.005+02:00

For a country of nine million supposed socialists, Sweden sure punches above its weight when it comes to famous, homegrown companies and brands. IKEA furniture. H&M clothing. Volvo cars. Sony Ericsson cellphones. And, of course, there's Absolut vodka.Absolut Sara, in front of the corporate offices of Absolut Vodka. Åhus, Sweden. (2009).The Absolut Company hails from the town of Åhus in

metropolitan

2009-08-09T18:15:00.002+02:00

Movin' on "upp" at Liseberg in Göteborg, Sweden. (2009).***The train from Varberg is packed to the brim and it's sardines-in-a-can all the way to Göteborg - or Gothenburg, as it's otherwise known in English.Göteborg (population: 622,827) is Sweden's second city, and projects a more down-to-Earth energy than, say, Stockholm, its glitz-and-glam rival to the east. Göteborg just feels real, and

broken records

2009-08-07T11:15:00.001+02:00

Frida, Markus, and the captivating Hallands coast. Varberg, Sweden. (2009). ***Distance makes daytripping it to Göteborg from Lund a bit of a rush job under the best of circumstances, and relying on Skånetrafiken's reduced summer schedule introduces further complications. Still, the logistics of it don't matter; spending what time's left with important people do. Easy decision. Sunday

the one and only

2009-08-05T22:56:00.002+02:00

Welcome to Förslöv, Sweden. (2009).***It's not so much that she openly dared me to go. But the funny way Jonna said "Förslöv"... with thick Skånska accent and all ... well, I just felt I kind of had to go. And I did."You want to go where?" asks the driver of the empty yellow bus in Ängelholm."Förslöv," I repeat. I add that I'm a travel photographer who needs shots of Förslöv.He laughs at me,

the far side

2009-08-02T11:30:00.002+02:00

Sandals Simrishamn. (2009).***Pinkish in hue and coarse to the touch, the sand at Simrishamn somehow differs than anywhere else I'll find along the three coasts of peninsular Skåne ... and dare I say that I like it best.Off come the sandals.The pink sand scorches the soles of my feet in a dear-God-I'm-walking-on-fire! kind of way ... or at least until I can't take it any longer. For relief, I

mr. brightside

2009-07-27T22:43:00.003+02:00

A high ceiling. Helsingborg, Sweden. (2009).***Tuesday morning, Helsingborg sparkles like a pearl in the sun. We whisk through the waterfront Espresso House to grab a couple of syrup-infused Frapinos to go."There's still lots of time," Sarah sympathetically offers in half-smile, between sugary sips of caffeine down by the boardwalk."Yup," I agree, even though a part of me somehow can't, given

high notes

2009-07-25T17:23:00.000+02:00

Mats Nilsson of the band Andra Generationen (Second Generation, in English) plays to the summertime crowd on the steps of the splendid Dunkers Kulturhus. Helsingborg, Sweden. (2009).***Initial plans fall through, opening up my Thursday night. I look up. The light seems promising, which is sign enough for me to head north to Helsingborg, perhaps the most photogenic of Skåne's cities.Ahh, the

dreamlives and legends

2009-07-23T09:52:00.007+02:00

Little church in Arild, Sweden. (2009).***I'm on the bouncing yellow bus between Mölle and Höganäs when an SMS from Jonna chimes my mobile awake."You should try to visit Arild as well," the text says, "... Arild was the brother of Thora, you know, the girl on the moose."I shake my head and smile. To me, the message is remarkable for two reasons. First, Jonna's been great about coming up with

free float

2009-07-21T09:30:00.001+02:00

Customary postcard shot of the Grand Hotel overlooking the striking little town of Mölle, Sweden. (2009).***Wake up, point to a spot on the map, and just go ... this is travel the starfish and waffles way in Summer 2009. On tap for today: Kullahalvön, or the Kulla Peninsula, in English."Why?" you ask.Because I pointed to it on the map. See? I wasn't making it up. This is really how I'm doing

sparklight

2009-07-19T05:48:00.000+02:00

Quirks and quarks at the Botanical Gardens. Lund, Sweden. (2009).***Consciously or not, the switch flips and the lights go on. And poof! so many hours vanish into thin air just like that, lost to vivid daydreams of another time, another place.I've never been sure whether possessing a good memory is a blessing or a curse. After all, there's an inherent loneliness in always being the last to

red short summer

2009-07-17T09:22:00.001+02:00

Summertime bears love summertime watermelon in summertime Sweden. Lund, Sweden. (2009).***For whatever reason, seeking the sights in one's own backyard always seems to take a backseat to (what's perceived to be) more exotic travel locations further away from home. Well, me and the editor have been living in Sweden for almost two years now and we're determined not to let this happen to us as

ísland divides

2009-07-13T17:35:00.004+02:00

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Talk about an out-of-sequence mess. While posts of starfish and waffles' last weeks of Swedish summer are still in the pipeline, today, the present takes precedence. Chalk it up to a continuation of a recurrent theme. Chalk it up to the editor's executive decision.felix's daily starfish and waffles on location at the Icelandair Saga Lounge in Keflavík, Iceland. (2009). ***I leave

the better half

2009-07-01T03:55:00.001+02:00

By the light of the half-moon. Bjärred, Sweden. (2009).Right BrainA deafening thunderstorm crashes through complete with pouring rain, flashes of lightning, and ground-shaking thunder. I lay on my couch half listening to nature's display, half thinking of people that have come and gone. Where are they now? What are they doing? Will I ever see them again? Before long, I fall two-halves

six ways from sunday: boomerang

2009-06-28T07:30:00.003+02:00

Swirls and spirals. Lund, Sweden. (2009).***Outback or otherwise, these swirling songlines seldom unfurl exactly as expected. It's just life, I guess. Yet, as the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step ... so get up, walkabout, and walk on.Let (it) go and who knows? Maybe somehow, someway, it comes spiraling back and things will be even better than they were

here and now

2009-06-25T12:34:00.010+02:00

On the phone. Båstad, Sweden. (2009).OneAccording to physics, the arrow of time consists of just two components: the past and the future. The present doesn't exist. By the time we even think of the present, it's already in the past ... or so goes the theory.This line of thinking is actually consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that in a closed system, energy will