Omelet

_MAL8508.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

This afternoon I made a yummy omelet for lunch, with sausage, potatoes, bell peppers, jalepeños and cheese. I seasoned it with salt, black pepper, paprika, and cumin. Quick, simple, and delicious.

I made twice as much of the meat & veggie mix as I needed, and I'll use the remainder to make another omelet for tomorrow's breakfast.

My first lead-climb

Thursday night I joined Daniela for a bit of climbing at Salveo Gym in Sunbyberg. . At Daniela's urging, I tried lead climbing for the first time, on two different routes up the twenty-six meter high climbing wall. This was indoor sport climbing, because I clipped the rope into quickdraws attached to permanent anchors in the wall. So it's still not traditional climbing; that would involve putting protection devices into natural rock on the way up. But it still was a good way to get accustomed to some aspects of leading a route.

When leading a route, one pulls the rope up from below instead of simply following the rope up to an anchor point high above. This means that the lead climber must clip the rope into higher and higher anchor points as he ascends. To do this, the lead climber must have one hand free to grab slack in the rope and clip it into the next anchor point (usually a bolt hanger or a quickdraw). To clip the rope into a quickdraw, one must have a hand free; this usually entails hanging from the other hand, something that can be quite tiring.

Also, because the lead climber usually climbs a bit above the last bit of protection before clipping into t the next one, the distance he can fall if he looses his grip is somewhat farther than when climbing with a top-rope. For example, if one climbs a meter above the last place once clipped in, a potential fall of a bit more than two meters awaits if one looses one's grip.

The prospect of falling several meters is something that can be a bit scary at first, especially if one is accustomed to climbing with a top-rope. A couple of times during my two ascents, I was just about at the end of my endurance when I managed to clip the rope into the next quickdraw and put both hands back on the rock or lean back and put my weight on the rope. Exciting!

_MAL8494.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I caught this great photo of Daniela as she put on her climbing shoes.

A quick dance or two at La Isla

_MAL8478.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

At 23.00, Chicago shut its doors, so I went to La Isla for a bit more dancing — this time salsa instead of swing. I met a nice girl named Helena who lives on the Spanish island of Tenerife. We danced and talked about photography. I also danced with Sara, and Johan captured a few good shots of us.

I was only at La Isla for an hour; I had to leave in time to catch the last subway home. Allsix photos from the evening are online for your viewing pleasure.

Lindy hop social Wednesday night

_MAL8394.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Wednesday night I swung by Chicago on Södermalm for a bit of Lindy hop dancing. I saw lots of friend there, including Mette, pictured here dancing with Mark, a D.J. & dancer visiting from Seattle.

There's no air conditioning at Chicago, and the meager ventilation system is inadequate to the task. Everyone was drenched in sweat. Many dancers changed shirts twice or more, and at times I had sweat dripping from my forehead into my eyes! Next time I'll have to wear a hat or a headband. Even with the the heat, the place was packed. I took breaks from dancing only so I could capture a few photos!

To see more from the evening, check out all 21 photos in my Lindy hop photo set.

My climbing bag

_MAL8101.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Here's my climbing bag, including some new goodies I picked up in Massachusetts. I plan to take a course in traditional climbing soon so that climb a wider range of routes, including those that lack bolts or other permanent anchors in the rock.

Life's a beach

_MAL7876, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

This afternoon I stocked up on climbing gear and camping equipment at the local Eastern Mountain Sports store. I got some Black Diamond cams and nuts at 15% off, two Nokian studded tires at 25% off, and a North Face sleeping bag at 50% off! Not bad, eh?

I also swung by the Bike Zone shop in Hyannis to see if they'd been able to obtain a replacement for the defective Specialized “Deviant” full-face helmet I had left with them. To my disappointment, they hadn't succeeded in getting a new helmet. I might try to see if I can find a replacement helmet at a big bike shop in Boston before I catch my flight on Thursday.

In the late afternoon I took the kayak downriver to the sea. I had fun negotiating the swells and waves and made my way around the jetty, and up to the beach. After taking a quick swim in the surf, I sat in the sun for a couple of hours reading the copy of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six that I picked up for 50 cents at the flea market a few days ago.

I've found the people here on Cape Cod very friendly. I chatted with several people on the beach, including a couple of cute girls visiting from elsewhere in Massachusetts. One of them took this nice photo of me. Thanks girls!

Tomorrow will be my last full day here on the cape. I'll probably spend at least some of the day out kayaking and enjoying the sunshine. Of course I'll also need to start packing for my return to Stockholm. With all the gifts and goodies I've picked up, getting everything into one bag might be a challenge.

Thursday sometime during the day we'll pack up and drive into Boston. We might do a little sight-seeing and shopping, and have dinner in the city. My flight leaves late in the evening, and I'll arrive back in Stockholm late Friday morning.

I've enjoyed my first visit to Massachusetts and lookforward to visiting the Commonwealth again soon.

Now that's a mojito

_MAL5674, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

A while ago I shared my mojito recipie, but neglected to include a photo. I shall now remedy that oversight. Here's a shot of a delicious mojito I made the day before I flew Massachusetts.

Upon arriving on the Cape, one of the first orders of business was to obtain limes, fresh mint, and a bottle of fum. I have also begun to experiment with using brown sugar instead of white when making the sugar syrup. The molassas in the brown sugar adds a nice bit of warmth to the drink.

Unfortunately for me, brown sugar is very expensive in Sweden. I suppose this is because most refined sugar on the European continent is produced from sugar beets and not from sugar cane. I'll be packing some brown sugar in my bag when I come back.

Kayaking on the Swan River

_MAL7507, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

On Friday the sun came out, so we went kayaking on the Swan River. We rented our kayaks at the shop where route 28 crosses the river. It was my first time kayaking, and I had a great time. Check out my flickr photo stream for more photos.

Irises on Cape Cod

_MAL6768, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I'm not dead — just very busy! I'm vacationing with family on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and have been here in the U.S. for about a week. A few days ago I attended my friend Hugh's wedding (my brother Ethan was one of the groomsmen). Now I'm just relaxing and taking it easy.

The house where we're staying is right on the Swan River, and the view from the back porch is really quite nice. It's relaxing and calming to sit outside and watch the river flow by. The river actually flows upstream when the tide comes in because we're just a few hundred meters from where the river empties into the Atlantic ocean.

I took this photo of the purple irises growing behind the house three days ago when we had good weather. Right now the sky is cloudy and the temperature is cool. I hope the sun comes out again tomorrow so we can go kayaking in the river.

Swedish National Day 2007

The Sixth of June is the National Day of Sweden, so like a good patriot of my adopted home, I hung my Swedish flag from the railing of my balcony this morning. I'm the only one in the neighborhood to have done this.

Swedes aren't terribly patriotic, and unfortunately patriotism here is sometimes associated with nationalism, racism or worse. Leave to to moderate, introspective Sweden to question the value of loving one’s own country!

I believe one should be proud of one’s land and be embrace what's good about it. No country on Earth is perfect, just as no person is perfect. We do what we can with what we're given, each to this best of his abilities.

I love my adopted home Sweden in a different way from the way I love my fatherland The United States, and part of the distinction has to do with the way I obtained citizenship in each country.

I was born in the U.S., so I didn't have to work for U.S. citizenship; it was just given to me. But I chose Sweden, and to become I Swede, I had to put in a lot of work and invest more than five years of my life. In a way, it feels like my Swedish citizenship is the one I earned.

This afternoon, I will attend a special citizen ceremony for naturalized Swedes who were granted citizenship during 2006. Because I live in the small municipality of Solna, I will attend the ceremony for Solna residents, which will be held at Confidencen, a small theater on the grounds of Ulriksdal Palace, just fifteen minute’s walk from my home. Were I to live in Stockholm proper, I would attend the ceremony at Stockholm's landmark city hall, where the Nobel Prize ceremony is held each December 10^th.



The ceremony will consist of musical entertainment, a speech, the handing-out of welcome notices to new citizens, and then the singing of the Swedish National Song, Du gamla, Du fria. I spent a while last night making sure I knew the words by heart. Now my only problem will be making it through both verses without choking up. I'm a sentimental guy, and the song is quite moving.

Åsa and Patric will accompany me and take photos. After the ceremony, a snack of some kind will be served (perhaps with a drink — the invitation doesn't say). Just in case, I have a bottle of chilled champagne and a set of hand-blown Orrefors flutes I've never used; so a celebratory drink will be in order.

In a bit less than month, it will be time to celebrate my other national day, the Fourth of July. I'm planning to have a cookout with friends on that day, and to serve my world-famous hamburgers.

For the curious, here's a bit more information about the national emblems of Sweden, including a link to a good recording of the national anthem. And for a bit of history, here's a link to blog entry I made on this day last year.

Another good night of bouldering

Tuesday night I did some bouldering at Klättercentret. Sometimes I actually see progress in my climbing ability, and this was one of those times. I managed to repeat the cripmy, pumpy white-graded problem that I first tackled a few weeks ago. Then a few minutes later I did my second white-graded problem and followed that with a couple of tricky black-graded ones. It's nice to see progress! I'm going to Massachusetts for two weeks of vacation now, and I hope to find some places to climb while I'm there.

Just in time for summer: mojitos

Before Die Another Day, I had never heard of a mojito. Mint and lime? Two of my favorite flavors. At the very first sip, I was a mojito fan. In fact, I think it's probably my favorite cocktail. Unfortunately, most bars in Stockholm charge around 100 SEK ($15) for a mojito, so I don't order one very often.

Consqeuently, a constellation of collaborating conditions has coalesced concurrently in my consciousness:

• mojitos are delicious
• the mojito is a summer drink
• it's summer in Stockholm
• I live in Stockholm
• mojitos are expensive in Stockholm
• I have an unopened bottle of rum in my bar
  

Coincident cognition of these conspiring contentions completely compelled concordant comprehension of the correct connotation, convincing me to concoct this lovely summer beverage.

So yesterday I made my first mojito.

Ingredients:
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water
5-10 large mint leaves or medium-sized sprigs
1 lime
1 cup crushed ice
½ cup rum
club soda or sparkling water

Mix the sugar and water in a small pot or sauce pan, and bring almost to a boil, ensuring that the sugar dissolves completely in the water. Add a bit more sugar if you want a thicker, sweeter syrup. Place the syrup in the fridge to cool.

Put the mint into a tall glass and crush it against the inside of the glass using a fork. Once the syrup is cool, pour it into the glass with the crushed mint and stir it around a bit. Cut the lime in two, squeeze the juice into the glass and drop the lime halves in too. Add the crushed ice and rum, and top off with club soda or sparkling water. If you like, garnish with a sprig of mint.

Enjoy!

The summer’s first dance at Vanadisbadet

_MAL5453.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

The Club Salsa guys who arrange the Sunday evening salsa dances at Container during the rest of the year hold the same event at Vanadisbadet during the summer. Sunday night was the first such dance of this season, and I was there.

It was cool and a bit windy after the sun set, but a few dances solved that problem. It's actually nice to dance when the air is cool and breezy, because one stays cool, and doesn't get drenched in sweat.

I met this guy last night. His name is Mwisa and he comes from Zambia. He is studying in Uppsala, and teaches salsa lessons in his spare time. He said that the salsa dancing is better in Stockholm, so he often comes down from Uppsala to spend the weekend here. Above, Mwisa dances with Linda.

Here are all the photos from the evening's dancing.

Biking & BBQ with Åsa B.

PICT0107.JPG, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Sunday I joined Åsa B. for a nice bike ride in Hellas. We started behind Hammarbybacken and took the blue trail as far as Hellasgården. Then we went part of the way around Källtorpssjön, where we stopped so I could take a quick dip in the cool water by PG’s Udde.

PICT0112.JPG, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

After the ride, we retired to Åsa's lovely balcony for a little barbecue. We fixed a couple of kinds of sausage and ate them on a fresh baguette with potato salad and fresh green salad. Yummy, except for the very bland so-called Chorizo sausage.

PICT0004.JPG, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

With the great view from her balcony, Åsa and I sat out there sunning ourselves and drinking beer. Here are all the photos from the bike ride and barbecue. This is the life!

Cliff-climbing at Vårdberget with Åsa R. & Sylvia

_MAL5325.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

On Saturday I joined Åsa R. and Sylvia for some excellent climbing at Vårdberget, a 30-meter-tall cliff near Fituna, out near Nynäshamn.

_MAL5250.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

We started out around 13.00, and climbed until after 21.00. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect! The cliff has a good selection of routes, all with a sturdy ringbolt at the top for a top-rope. There's a path up around to the left of the cliff, so we walked up to the top and belayed from there. The view from the top was lovely. The cliff faces to the West, so the sun shone on us all afternoon.

_MAL5030.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

It worked well having three people. We took turns climbing and belaying; and the third person could either rest or take photos. For some of the best climbing shots, Åsa and Sylvia rigged up a sling so they could hang out over the edge of the cliff and shoot downward.

_MAL5319.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

The climbing is quite varried. There are lots of cracks going up the cliff, from big ones you can put your whole body in, to small ones that you can barely fit your fingers in. The last routes I climbed were of the latter variety, and quite challenging. At several points, it was necessary to put both of one's hands in the crack and lean one's body way out to the side just to get a good angle to make the grips work.

_MAL5332.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

After we had exhausted ourselves climbing, we rappelled down with our equipment and then went down to the shore, where Sylvia and I mustered the courage to take a quick swim in the 8° C water. The sun was still up, so once we were out of the water, we warmed up quickly on the rocky beach.

There were so many good photos that I posted a total of 175 photos from the day!

Sacuye salsa socal

_MAL4842.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I had so much fun dancing salsa at Chicago tonight that I barely took any photos. Two of the six photos were on the way out the door after the last dance! Here's Catharina, just back from her long trip to South American and Asia. She still remembers how to dance, apparently!

Some more sweating swingin’

_MAL4677.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Tonight I spent a few hours dancing Lindy hop at Chicago. Here I am dancing with Lee.

The place was packed and there wasn't any air conditioning, so everyone was drenched with sweat. My shirt and pants were soaked when I got home. But sweat or no sweat, it was a blast! I also danced with Stina, Catrin, Mette, Ullis, Fia, Cecilia, and a few folks I had never met before. It was a fun and exhausting. I'm sure I'll sleep like a log tonight!

In all, I posted 26 photos so go take a look!

Lilac at Ulriksdals slott

_MAL4407.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Yesterday evening I took a walk down to Ulriksdall slott with my friend Eva. The sky was overcast, but the cloud cover was thin, so I was able to capture some nice photos of the flowers around the palace.

The lilac is in bloom here in Stockholm. When I catch a whiff of this flower's lovely fragrance, I know that summer has truly arrived. By the way, I learned from the aforelinked* article that the Swedish name for lilac shared a common root with the Latin name and the word syringe, because the shoots of some species take the form of hollow tubes. One can find some iteresting stuff on Wikipedia.

Here are all 7 photos from the walk.

* I just made that word up**.

** Apparently I wasn't the first.

Fun climbing at KC Tuesday

_MAL4479.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Last night's climbing at Klättercentret was fun. Not much to say about it. Just take a look at the photos.

Third Pirates of the Caribbean film falls flat

Sunday night I saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean film. I had read a fair number of reviews of the film prior to seeing it, so I went in with low expectations. I was surprised to discover that the film sucked less than I was expecting.

But it still sucked.

There was no discernible plot, no character development, and a nonsensical story based in a world operating according to ever-changing laws. Death is treated in typical Hollywood fashion: as a joke, as serious, as reversible, as permanent. Which treatment it received depended only on the emotional impacted needed for the particular scene. Geoffrey Rush's character dies and is resurrected because he's needed again. The same goes for Depp. But Jonathan Pryce's character must stay dead. Why? There's no logic behind it; this death seems intended only to lend some forced emotion to a particular scene, and to give Knightley a chance to put on her angry/sad face. When the hundreds of extras die, no one sheds a tear.

Laws are to be broken on a whim, or followed religiously on pain of death; again, depending on needs of the scene. A case in point: When the pirates convene a war council and one dares to say “to hell with the pirate code,” he is summarily executed for his blasphemy; and again, nary a tear is shed. Honor among thieves? Hardly. The very idea of conformity to regulations is anathema to pirating, and whether one follows the rules — or which set of rules one follows — seems to matter little. Worse still, this murder of a bit-player is played as a punchline, serving only to punctuate the scene and move the ridiculous story forward.

Loyalty and betrayal, trust and mistrust; like the leading players, these concepts are abbruptly brought to life in order to lend emotion to a scene, and then burried again when they get in the way of the runaway action. The leading characters bicker for a bit, breaking up with pointless melodrama what would otherwise have been 2 ¾ hours of pointless action. There's no coherence or reason behind the disputes. Loyalties shift as quickly as do the laws of physics. Flung into a cartoon reality, the viewer quickly abandons hope of finding sense or meaning in the characters' protestations, or of making sense of their world.

The visual effects are top-notch, as one would expect from such a big production film. The animation of Davy Jones's face is particularly good, conveying pitch-perfect the subtle emotions Nighy brings to the character. The technicians and artists are less convincing when it comes to animating other sequences. In particular, a swashbuckling match in the riggings shows its artificial roots. And unfortunately for the film, the impressive effects do not make up for what the film lacks.

Johnny Depp's performance is just about the only saving grace of the film. His antics as protagonist Captain Jack Sparrow are worthy of a better venue. Maybe he should do a one-man show — in character. I'd much rather see that than another installment in this film franchise. Geoffrey Rush and Bill Nighy gave very good prformances too, making the best of the parts they were given. I'd just prefer to see their talents put to better use.

Each PotC film has represented a further departure from reality. Neither the physical world nor the emotional motivations of the characters makes any sense at all. Perhaps this sort of departure from reality is what the world needs right now. This might explain the movie's blockbuster box-office performance over the weekend.

PotC3:aWE is an entertaining film, but don't expect more from it than you would from a Saturday morning cartoon.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.

Look who's dancing!

_MAL4339.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

My climbing buddy Anna is no stranger to dancing. She lived in Brazil for a while and picked up the samba while she was there. She hasn't danced in a while though, so Monday night she joined me for the drop-in salsa course at La Isla.

It was the first time I had been there on a Mondy. Unlike on Wednesdays and on the weekend, the club wasn't open to the public (just to folks taking the lesson). The place did remain open after the lesson, but only for an hour. Still, it's kinda nice because it's not too loud or crowded, and there aren't any drunk people.

Anna was quite impressive. After a few dances, she was really doing great, and I had a lot of fun dancing with her. She has agreed to tag along to this Saturday's installment of Djungelsalsa, so she apparently enjoyed it too! Here are the ten best photos from the lesson.

The lesson was fun, and I'm going to try to remember some of the moves when I go to the Sacuye salsa social at Chicago on Thursday!

Lindy-hopping by the lake

_MAL4261.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

On the way back from rock-climbing, I ran into fellow Lindy-hopper Lee on the subway. She said she was going dancing at the outdoor dance pavilion in Storra Skuggan. I had noticed the dance floor last weekened while walking around Norra Djurgården with Jenni.

Well I wasn't really dressed for dancing, but I decided to tag along anyway. I'm glad I did because it was a lot of fun. I saw several friends there, including Catrin, pictured with me above.

Click to see all 44 photos.

Climbing at Danviksklippan

_MAL4090.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Sunday I had planned to go bouldering with Isabelle and friends at Kolartorp in Haninge. However, I slept in a bit, so I missed Isabelle's SMS and had to make other plans. Luckily, Daniela was also going climbing, so I went down to Danvikstull to join her. She was there with her mom Birgitta and her brother Erik. There's a drawbridge there connecting Södermalm (across the water) with the Nacka to the South. Lots of boats passed under the bridge, and it had to be raised for a couple of particularly tall sailboats.

The rock there is quite different from that at Häggsta. Perhaps this is because the cliffs at Danvikstull were formed by blasting and not through natural processes. The climbing was short but sweet. I'll have to return there someday soon.

Click to see all 25 photos from the afternoon.

First Djungelsalsa of 2007!

_MAL3968.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Saturday evening around 17.00 I took the subway down to Gullmarsplan and caught the bus out to Årsta. It was time for the first Djungelsalsa of the summer!

Djungelsalsa (literally, “Jungle Salsa”) is so-called because it's held at an outdoor pavilion, surrounded by forest. It's put together by the same friendly folks who arranged the Happy Feet get-togethers in Sundbyberg during the winter. They set up a couple of charcoal grills, so you can bring your own food to cook on the grill. I brought a few Nürnberger bratwurst and a Bordeaux baguette, along with a few beers to wash down the food.

The dancing was a lot of fun, and I probably knew about half of the people there. I can hardly wait for the next Djungelsalsa this coming Saturday! Click to see all 72 photos.

Boulder Open #55 at Karbin

_MAL3713.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I went to Karbin tonight for the boulder open. It was a lot of fun and very challenging. I completed 25 out of 40 problems this time — one more than than last time, but still one off my record of 26. When the rankings have been tabulated, they'll be posted on Karbin's competitions page.

Update: I placed 6th — not bad!

The problem of orange grips pictured above was a tricky one. It was necessary to pull oneself up on top of the orange grip I'm holding with my hands, and then reach up to another grip just off the top of this image. That was the hard part, and it took me a few tries before I did it successfully.

Tonight when I had climbed ten or so problems, I thought to myself, “this boulder open is harder than the last one!” It's funny, because I remembered thinking the exact same thing last time. For some reason I always get the idea that each boulder open is more difficult than the one preceeding it. But in fact, each time, I complete about the same number of problems. So either I'm getting better at a rate equivalent to the increase in difficulty, or I'm not really improving very quickly!

As in past competitions, tonight there were a couple of black-graded problems that I could almost complete, but not quite. I didn't even try any of the white-graded ones.

I met some new folks tonight, including sisters Elin and Emma, who did a great job considering that they've only been climbing for a couple of months. Hung and Daniel were there, and they made the rest of us look like we were working too hard. Christian K. was there too, and he gave me some good tips on a couple of problems. Isabelle, Patrick, Zindy and John were there as well, and some of us might go bouldering together in Kolartorp on Sunday if the weather cooperates. Follow that link and click on the "stor bild" links to enlarge the photos. I especially like this one.

I have posted 34 photos from the evening, including some of Åsa and Colleen, who were there climbing the top-rope routes.

Easy & fun climbing @ KC

_MAL3536.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I met Daniela around 17.15 for a bit of climbing at Klättercentret tonight. We climbed four or five routes before Daniela left to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean film. I had a chocolate muffin and a cup of coffe and then resumed climbing when Matt & Lisa showed up.

Paula and I climbed a few more routes and I managed to do a bit of bouldering, but mostly I tried to take it easy. My plan was to save my strength for tomorrow's boulder open competition at Karbin. I don't know if I stuck to the plan. I climbed a few routes that were pretty demanding on the ole' forearms. I guess we'll see tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the competition.

Tonight I actually brought my big f/2.8 70-200 mm lens with me, and was able to get some photos that woud be hard to capture with another lens. It's nice to have this lens every once in a while, but damn it's heavy. In this photo, a new climbing friend named Emma climbs a fun route up the tall wall. She also conquered the route of black-colored grips in the corner there — that one is so much fun!

Enjoy the best 35 photos from tonights climbing!

What — dancing without photos?

I went to La Isla Wednesday night and had a good time dancing with lots of great dancers, including Emma, Lina, Alexandra, Åsa, Susanne, and Mia. But unfortunately for you, my dear readers, I neglected to put a battery in my camera when I packed my camera bag for the evening. So you'll have to wait until Saturday for the next dance photos.

That's when I'm planning to go to the first Djungelsalsa of the summer. Djungelsalsa, litterally “Jungle Salsa,” is just outdoor salsa dancing here in Stockholm, arranged by some friends of mine. The last time I went was back in 2004 — for some reason I didn't go last year. These gatherings are nice because one can bring one's own food and drink, and mix dinner and dancing in a fun, laid-back atmosphere. I plan to bring some bratwurst to cook on the grill, a baguette in which to eat it, some salad, and a few beers or a bottle of wine.

I've invited a few folks (some via my Facebook wall) and I'm sure it'll be lots of fun!

A bit of bouldering @ KC

_MAL3388.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Tonight‘s climbing was short but sweet. I got in about an hour and a half of bouldering, mostly sticking to problems I knew I could do without too much trouble. I did one cool traverse along an overhang on the downstairs bouldering wall. That was fun.

Zindy, Anna and Lisa were there, along with lots of other friendly folks. I got some decent photos of Zindy climbing the tall wall. She did great even though she hasn't been climbing toprope routes in a while. Here are the 14 photos from tonight.

I plan to climb a bit on Thursday, but not much. I want to save my strength for the Boulder Open competition at Karbin on Friday.

Jeanette Lindström sings at Glenn Miller Café

_MAL3384.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Monday night Rebecca from Uppsala came down to Stockholm to join me for a bit of jazz at Glenn Miller Café. The band was the Jennings/Lindström Projekt. Jeanette Lindström had a bit of trouble with her voice due to laryngitis, but oddly enough, it seemed to get better with each song.

In other jazz news, I learned from Lotta that Steely Dan will be performing at the Stockholm Jazz Fest this summer. They'll perform on 17 July on the big stage on Skeppsholmen. I went to the jazz fest back in 2004 with Lotta and Lisa and we had a great time. The last (and only) time I heard Steely Dan in concert was way back in 2001 when they performed at the Globe here in Stockholm. I'm looking forward to hearing them live again!

Another walk, this time on Drottningholm

_MAL3341.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Sunday afternoon I joined Karin and her friend Glenn for a cup of coffee and a long walk on Drottningholm. Glenn is from Connecticut, and teaches history here in Stockholm. It was nice to chat with a fellow American.

Here's a nice photo of Karin in front of Drottningholm Palace. There are some other nice photos from the afternoon too.

A walk on Norra Djurgården

_MAL3275.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Sunday morning I met up with my friend Jenni for a walk on Norra Djurgården. We met some equestrians, some sheep, a few geese, and a couple of cows along the way. It was a part of the city I had never visited, and it's quite lovely.

By the way, the story of how Jenni and I met is interesting and it involves my brother Ethan. Three years ago, when Ethan visited me here in Stockholm, we took a walk on Södermalm to see the lovely views of Kungsholmen and Gamla Stan from the cliffs overlooking Södermalarstrand. At one of the scenic overlooks, I asked a couple of girls there to take a picture of us. We chatted a bit with the girls and I exchanged contact info with them. I have kept in touch with both of them, and one of them is Jenni.

Jenni is busy writing her senior thesis for college, so she doesn't often have much time for socializing. So I was glad to get a chance to visit with her. Here are all the photos from our walk.

Party girls at Gamla Stan

_MAL3258.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

On the way back home Saturday night, I snapped this shot of a bunch of cute girls on their way to a party. By coincidence the party was in my very own neighborhood, so we chatted a bit on the subway. Well girls, how was the party?

Dinner with Lotta

_MAL3240.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Saturday evening I took the cats to Lotta's place and joined her for a bit of dinner. Alex and Sahsa will stay with “mommie” for a while, because I'll be going to the U.S. for a friend's wedding next month.

Friday night at Gröna Lund

_MAL3158.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Friday night I went to Gröna Lund with friends. Daniel, Jenny, Maria and Johan joined me for a few beers, a few roller coaster rides, and some midway games. Here are all of my photos from the evening.

And for a trip down memory lane, take a look at this photo of my brother Ethan on the freefall tower at Gröna Lund three years ago.

Dancing is fun

_MAL2932.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Thursday evening after the climb I went to the salsa social at Chicago on Södermalm. My old rueda friend Linda was there, and we danced a lot. She's such a good dancer, and always has a smile on her face. Hi, Linda!

Obviously I was having fun too. I don't remember what I was laughing about, but dancing sometimes does that to ya. Here are the rest of the photos from Thursday night!

A quick climb or two at Häggsta

_MAL2825.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Thursday was a holiday here in Sweden (Ascension Day), so I went to the cliffs and Häggsta and did some ascending of my own. Lisa, Matt, Christer and Marie joined me. It was cool and windy, but we made the best of it. I climbed a 50-m cliff, probably the tallest cliff I've ever climbed. It wasn't such a lovely day, so I took only this one photo.

Dancing with Mia at La Isla

_MAL2800.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

On Wednesday I went to La Isla for a bit of salsa dancing. I danced with lots of great dancers, including Mia, a girl I've known through the Stockholm salsa community for a few years, and whom I've recently got to know a bit better. Sacuye dancer Rafael took this fun photo of the two of us dancing. Wednesday also marked the return to Stockholm of Alexandra, a good friend who has been away for several months traveling in Central America. Welcome back, Alexandra!

Here are all 28 photos from the night.

Another first

_MAL2478.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Last night I finally conquered this fun bouldering problem on the downstairs wall at Klättercenret. I had tried to do it on my past three visits to KC, but had not succeeded until last night. The problem consists of just crimpy grips so it requires a lot of hand strength. It's the first white-graded bouldering problem I've done. There are four basic grades of bouldering problem at most of the climbing gyms in Stockholm:
blue — easy
red — intemediate
black — difficult
white — very difficult

Of course there are still some red- and black-graded problems that I have trouble with. It just depends on the problem.

I saw several friendly faces at KC, including Anna, Zindy, Marie, and Lisa. An English fellow named Ian was also there. I had him met there before once or twice, and we climbed together for a while — he's really good.

Here are the 54 photos from the evening.

Sofia Ullman at Mosebacke

_MAL2338.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Sunday night I went down to Södermalm to listen to Sofia Ullman and her band, who played a concert at Mosebacke.

I met Sofia while salsa dancing at Container back in January. Actually, I think I had danced with her even years ago, but sometimes I dance with someone five or six times and on several different occasions before I learn her name. Now that I think about it, I believe that's what happened with Sofia too. She and I had danced together many times but had not really talked until that evening in January.

Sometimes that's how it goes. If the music is loud and the place is crowded, one may dance with lots of people, but it may not be easy to have a conversation with any of them. Also, I usually have to choose between doing fancy dance moves and having a conversation. Or sometimes, I'll alternate between the two, doing a few complicated (and exhausting) moves, and then catching my breath and chatting a bit, while doing a few simpler moves.

Sofia's concert was a lot of fun, with a good mix of different musical styles. I especially liked her ballad It Matters Now, on which Sofia sang and played piano — creative and musical. You can listen to some of Sofia's music at her web site. I have posted eight photos from the concert.

Cherry blossoms at sunset

_MAL2229.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

On the way (coming or going — I don't remember), I snapped this photo of the cherry blossoms on the tree outside the front door of my apartment building. The sun was just about to set in the West, and the blossoms were illuminated from behind. Lovely!

Back from Uppsala

_MAL2284.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Sunday afternoon I caught the train back from Uppsala. It's a quick 40-minute trip, but I was so tired from the hike (and the champagne!) that I actually slept a bit on the train.

I met a nice girl on the subway. I asked her about her earphones (they looked like the Shure earphones I've read about and my iPod's earphones are in need of replacements). Then we started talking about photography, and I showed her some of the pictures I had taken in Uppsala.

I believe her name was Lovisa. Hej, Lovisa!

Hiking in the woods near Uppsala

_MAL2240.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

This morning, I caught the 9:10 train to Uppsala and met up with my friend Rebecca. We bought a picnic lunch and then joined two of ther friends, Markus and Lina, at the square in the middle of the town.

We caught a bus from there to the outskirts of the city, and began a 13 kilometer hike through the woods. We stopped at a log cabin for lunch, and then stopped again to enjoy the bottle of champagne that I'd concealed in my backpack. Actually, we had champagne and mimosas, ’cause I had some fresh-squeezed orange juice in my backpack too. I didn't endure years of boy-scouting for nothing: I come prepared, baby!

I took a bunch of photos on the hike, and naturally posted the one here that shows me with two cute girls. All 23 photos from today's hike are online for your viewing pleasure.

Dowhill biking at Ekerö Bike Park

_MAL2204.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Today I joined Patric for a bit of downhill biking on the lovely island of Ekerö, just West of Drottningholm. We had a blast and I posted 64 great photos from the day.

We biked at Ekerö Bike Park, using the ski lift to ride to the top, and then riding down on a narrow trail that snaked through the woods. I was really impressed by the number of talented riders on the trail. A girl named Lina was there too, and she was faster than many of the guys! You go, girl!

The trail was a bit steep in a few places, and I noticed that I had a tendency to tilt forward over the handlebars. I lowered my bike seat as far as it would go, but it was still to high and I wasn't able to get my body low enough to ride the steep sections safely. The design of my bike makes it impossible to lower the seat beyond a certain point, because the rear shock absorber is in the way.

After a few frustrating runs, I ended up sawing off a few inches from my seat post. There was a little workshop at the bottom of the slope, and I was able to use their hacksaw and metal file to shorten the seat post. After lowering the saddle a bit, I had a lot more control on the hill.

Next time I'll take a few more inches off the seat post. I think I'll also try with regular flat pedals instead of SPD pedals. SPD pedals are great for uphill and cross-country riding, but they're a bit too confining for fast downhill runs. It's nice to be able to put one's foot down when sliding around a steep turn, and clip-in pedals make that difficult. Finally, I need to get some pads! I dared not go fast, because I wasn't wearing any protection aside from my helmet.

Oh, that reminds me — I need to chat with the folks at Specialized and see what can be done about my “Deviant” full-face helmet. After just a few rides with the new helmet, the inside part came unglued from the shell. Very odd.

Today's ride was a lot of fun, and I look forward to going back to Ekerö soon! For discussion about today's ride (in Swedish), visit happymtb.org.

Flower photos from last summer

DSCN0421 Hosted on Zooomr

I'm trying out Zooomr again. Here are some photos I took of flowers last summer using my old Nikon CoolPix 4500.

Fun bouldering Thursday night

_MAL1814.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I did my usual Thursday climbing at Klättercentret last night and took 27 photos. Here, Jessica attempts a fun & tricky problem on the downstairs bouldering wall. This is the first white-graded bouldering problem I've attempted. It's crimpy (it consists mostly small grips that are held with just the fingertips) and pumpy (it requires lots of arm strength, in part because it's an overhang). I think I just might be able to tackle this one when I return to KC tonight.

Matt & Lisa back from Pembroke

My friends Matt & Lisa have been vacationing in Wales. They have now returned to Sweden, so I'm looking forward to having my climbing buddies around again. Here's a photo of Lisa climbing at Pembroke. It looks like fun!

Solid! @ GMC

_MAL1571.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Monday night, climbing buddy Daniela joined me for a couple of beers at Glenn Miller Café downtown. There, the Norwegian jazz band Solid! played their own brand of improvisational jazz. They played riffs that weren't quite in sync, but came back together after a few bars. Interesting stuff, but it takes concentration to listen to. Here are the 8 photos from the evening.

Climbing with Åsa at Häggsta

_MAL1420.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

On Sunday I joined Åsa and friends at Häggsta for a bit of climbing. It was cool and windy, but the sun was shining. We had a great time, and climbed a new route that involves a little overhang. Fun!

Check out the 47 photos from the day!

A bit of climbing.

_MAL1099.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I have been doing a lot of climbing lately. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I climbed indoors at Klättercentret. Friday evening, Linda H. and I climbed some tricky routes at KC. We both managed to make our way up a very challenging 7a-graded route on the left side of the tall climbing wall. That was the first time I had attempted a 7a. A bit later, I struggled up a 7b too. Yay!

Anna F. took this great photo of me tackling a red-graded bouldering problem on Saturday afternoon. After Anna left for work, I tried the tricky 7a from the day before. With Kjell's help and encouragement, I did it again, even more smoothly and quickly than the first time.

We took 50 photos in all on Saturday. Take a look!

Salsa social at Chicago on Thursday

_MAL0922.jpg, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Thursday I went to Chicago for a bit of salsa dancing. I danced with lots of great dancers, incuding Mona Lisa, pictured above. She's returning to dancing after having her first child. Way to go, Mona Lisa!

Check out the 26 photos from the evening.