It’s basically this filmmaker guy, Todd Bieber, who finds a film canister while skiing in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. He decides to develop the film and what he finds is beautiful photographs of the December 30th blizzard in New York City… So he makes a video and  describes his search for the owner(s).

And of course there is part 2: a video about all of the overwhelming responses he got from people, trying to help him figure out who the mysterious owner of the film canister is. I just love the concept, the way he made the film, and the idea of recreating a story from photographs.

My opinion, I think they’re French because of the EastPak backpacks…but you never know!

While visiting the Musee Rodin in Paris I could not keep my eyes off of this couple. Originally I was taking a picture of Rodin’s “Le Penseur” (what actually the woman is sketching) but I got so distracted by this great looking pair that I had to snap my camera. They just look so great together, from both of them wearing hats (her, the typical berret, and him, the messenger cap), to both having their jeans rolled up with their exposed socks.
Purposeful? Or is is that couples start to dress alike?

So, what do we think?
This is definitely way overboard for me, but I kind of like it in a weird way. I like that she went out of her way to find this outfit and make herself look so exotic. Lets just say that she definitely stands out in Paris, a place where many people dress like this:

in black. Yup, black is the color you wear to look chic in France, and although I’ve learned to embrace it and find it elegant too, there are times where I just want to put some color on people!

But that doesn’t seem to bother the Danes…. you’ll still find them on their bikes

But when things get sad, the only thing you can do is try to find some humor in the situation, a request from my Virtual Worlds professor, and well…one thing is for sure, I’m not going to miss the Danish Language. Yep, that’s right. It’s really such a peculiar language… The first day I arrived I had never even heard Danish in my entire life, and well, when I heard my host parents babbling off to themselves, it literally sounded like nothing – just incoherent sounds that didn’t even form some sort of rhythm (at least that was my first impression). I couldn’t even pick out words that sounded familiar…but I mean, how could it? Especially when all I could hear was a bunch of mumbling.

And then came Danish class, where I was expected to read, write and speak Danish. But how can I read and speak it when the way it’s spelled doesn’t even correlate whatsoever with the way it’s pronounced?? For example, the word “med” is pronounced “mel” but I clearly see a “d” in that word. Or “stroget” the longest pedestrian street…definitely not pronounced the way you and I would think it’s supposed to be. It’s sort of of like –  Stro – al (with this weird throat thing). So many times I would ask my professor if she could really articulate for us so that I could hear what it was supposed to be like, but I soon realized that nope…no articulation needed, you almost sound more fluent if you just mush your words together.

And I have quite a few times managed to pass as a true Dane, without even having to use the Danish language! I was at a bar with a couple of friends one time, looking for an empty table, and all of the sudden this old couple got up and gave us their table. As we’re crossing paths, they start talking to us (in Danish of course), and then they start to laugh, we start to laugh and act as if we know what they’re saying and we’re laughing at their joke, mumble a little, then we all start to laugh together… we say a little “tak” (Danish for “thank you”), and passed it off as we totally understood everything that was happening. Score – we just passed for true Danes!

But over the course of these four months, I’ve managed to grow an appreciation for the language, and I can finally say that I know how to distinguish it from other languages. I can even read street signs, pick up a couple words, and attempt to have a small conversation that entails where I’m from, what I’m studying, and any other basic information you want to know about me.

Alas, if only the Danes could understand me when I say the most fundamental sentence : my name is… or Jeg hedder Sandrine. For some reason, that is still the one sentence that I have not mastered the pronunciation of. But I like to think that my name also throws them off a bit too…

A while back I blogged about a “Mysterious Artist“….and I am proud to say that 2 months later I figured out who the artist is of these two drawings I found in Copenhagen! I came across the artist actually by accident, on this blog called “Hello Copenhagen” that blogs about “cool, weird and wild stuff” to do in Copenhagen.

Anyways, last week I was browsing around on the blog and there was this post about this exhibition opening called “Nocturne on a Drainpipe Flute” – a solo exhibition from the Danish artist Armsrock. There was a picture alongside with his one of his works, and the post explained that he’s really into urban art,  and specifically examines the human condition in today’s society. As I looked closer at the drawing on the webpage, I realized that the style really resembled the style of the drawings I had found in Copenhagen. And that’s when I got a little curious, checked out the artist’s blog….and a few pages later, there I found it – the two drawings I had found in Copenhagen! Check out his blog here! He also does instillation work.

So, yes, I feel a little bit like Nancy Drew… I did a little investigative work minus the ghosts and what not. But now I know that Armsrock is the artist of those curious/interesting urban drawings. Now I can cross that off my list!

Some more of his art (from his blog):

Yup, it’s that time of the year for the Danes — Christmas! And that means lots of crrraaazzzyy Christmas parties with your co-workers (as in they come back at 5am and have a hangover for the whole next day, yup even the older generation knows how to party), lots of Xmas Beer, hot wine (Glogg), pretty lights, and of course Æbleskiver! My host mom made these little puffs of deliciousness for me about a week ago. I had eaten them before at a birthday party, but to see them being made from scratch is a whole experience in itself, explained my host mom, so naturally she had to make them for me!

They’re called “Æbleskiver”, which means ”apple slices” in Danish,  but the name is very deceiving because they actually have nothing to do with apples  (apparently back in the day people used to put apples in the inside). To put it in simple terms, this Danish Christmas tradition is basically like pancake, but the texture is different – it’s light and fluffy because it’s a little puff. It’s then served with confectionary sugar and different jams, making it a great afternoon snack. Yummmm

What’s really interesting about these little “pancakes” is how they’re made. They’re cooked on the stove in these special cast iron Æbleskiver pans (my host mom’s are from her grandparents!) that have these circular holes to put the batter in. So you pour the batter in these indentations, let it heat up, and then you take this  needle to turn the little puff over. As my host mom said, it’s a real Danish test to see if you can turn over the little puff with the needle. (I passed….sort of). Anyways because each pan can only make 7 at a time, making these takes lots of time and patience in the kitchen…..no wonder so many people just get the frozen kind at the supermarket.
Take a look:

The little needle in action:

And the final product, after lots and lots of patience:

This is all to say that Copenhagen is missing out in the b-boy scene (and b-girl scene for that matter). Where are all the hip hop dancers? Alright I will admit that I’ve only been living here since August, and basically have only been in CPH as it’s gotten progressively colder – so maybe all the dancers come out from hibernation during the summer months?? I hope so…but if not, that’s one thing that’s got to change. They do have street performers that dress up as statues…
I swear if I lived here year round I would create a b-boy “crew”. Ha, wouldn’t that be hilarious.

Anyways, here’s my homage to all those lovely breakdancers out there. These are all photographs that I’ve taken over the past three years. (The first picture is of breakdancers in Vienna)

Regardless, take a look:

What do you guys think?