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T H I S · Y E A R ’ S · M O S T · sky rocketing internet hypes were web 2.0 and facebook (fb). I have a fb-acount but I think fb is boring and suitable for office and IT-workers. The social networks where users are more active and creative are growing. Myspace’s founder Tom has over 200.000.000 added friends.

G O O G L E · is moving up and is now gigantic. Most people finding my blog has used Google search engines. Google has introduced the trend tool Google Trends on their web, a tool set making it easy to wiev and study the internet trends over the years. You can even carry out camparative studies. What will be the internet hype of 2008? Could it be Last.fm?

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E X C I T E R A · Enterprise Forum is a network that aim to support students and future entrepreneurs on a common platform with knowledge and competence exchange. 13 December an event evening will be conducted with lectures at Naringslivets hus, Storgatan 19 in Stockholm, starting at 5:45 PM. Moderator is Antia Jekander from Aktuellt the Nine o’clock news at the National Television in Sweden.

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A P P L E · I S · S K Y · rocketing with USD 191.95 right now with a 4 times increase since the split in february 2005. Watch Stock
A new Apple Store in West 14th Street in NYC has opened. Apple has also started business in Poland

T H E · I P O D · T O U C H · is out, and on this iPod you can use new applications and play games. You could download the iPunchOut! a remake of the Nintendo game.

A T · T H E · L U C I A · day 13 December the 99mac socitey in Stockholm will meet for a christmas beer at Gallaway Irish Pub at Kungsgatan 24 at 6:30 PM

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T I M E · F O R · F U N · at the main stage in the main hall of Dreamhack Winter 2008 computer convention and Lanparty. Four days filled with computer entertainment, with elite-gaming tournaments, IT-ministern Åsa Torstensson talking, music, etc. surrounded by +10.000 computers.

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X N A · L E C T U R E · with Dave Mitchell the director of Microsofts xna game developer tool department giving a lecture at Game Developers' Evening at Swedish Game Awards at Royal Institute of Technology. Talking about democratization of game development with easier, shorter, cheeper development projects making the game production available for more people.

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T H E · C O V E R · A R T · W O R K · of my new role playing video game christmas concept album called Black Santa.

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N E W S F L A S H · “At 08.00 the doors of Dreamhack Winter 2007 where opened. One hour later over 2.100 game hungry had checked in. The lines of people attending with computers and office chairs where long and it was not easy to reach the booked seats.” (29.11.07 Jonkoping/Sweden )

T H E · P A R T Y · I S · O N · with a terrafast internet connection pumping out 40 GB/s to the the end users. Cisco is representated with their fastest router the CRS-1, a device that is able to deliver 92 TB/s. The speed is 1.000 as fast as todays topspeed between two internetpoints between two ISP:s. This environment is working as a testbay, Mr D. Garpenstahl, chairman of Dreamhack board claims.

With the Cisco router frequently used on internet 1 Billion gamers could be able play at the same time online, says Mr S. Hannervall CEO Cisco Sweden.

40 GB/s out to the end users will make a user able to watch 10.000 videos at the same time, according to E. Hallberg at TeliaSonera.

To sum up: 1.000 times faster networking could give you at least 1.000 times more high quality fun and action.

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C H R I S T M A S · D E M O · A L B U M · R E L E A S E D · 23.11.07 on the Black Friday, first day of christmas shopping season worldwide. The album was produced in Vixton DeSin City aka Vallingby/Stockholm/Sweden and released on own label Black Mask Music. The style on the album is Tom Smokes own blend emotional instumental/orchestral/experimental/electro/game/metal full of strong affects.

T O M · S T A R T E D · H I S · M U S I C A L · career in 1984 working with musical technology and playing drums, piano and keyboards, playing in local configurations. Now working solo and alternating with his psycadelic/jazz/electro/rock band +II+

S O N G · L I S T · (15 songs, X=Xtreme tribute)
00 Intro Spectre (intro/hidden track) (0:32)
01 Black n Red Christmas (X White Christmas tribute) (2:49)
02 Searching Little Ice Lilly (1:49)
03 Black Home at Bell Rock (X j-bell rock tribute)(3:15)
04 Moon Dance (multi awarded orig 8-bit) (2:45)
05 Dark Forest Winter Hut Party (X clips from old swe trad accordions) (2:14)
06 Mountain Tribe (vox) (2:03)
07 Glocko Largo (the gold bell) (3:14)
08 Monster Demon Cratixx (evil demon's dinner, vox, restricted)(2:53)
09 Chaotic Knight (knight stumble in his crazy walse) (X Silent Night tribute) (2:18)
10 Flashing Stairs (The stairs up the stone wall)(3:31)
11 Midnight Gnomes (The Evil Gnomes working out a plan)(X Midnight trad. swe song) (1:22)
12 Walk with the Lard (little zombie walking alone with his big bag) (1:51)
13 Day Break (the sun is going up, the elfgirl is confused and has to surf to the astral dimension) (feat. Ania) (2:53)
14 By the Sea (the party and christmas is over, just a rabbit left down by the sea) (extro) (0:43)

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I N · V I N T A G E · R E C O R D I N G · S T U D I O S checking the guitar and bass rigs by Accoustic amplifiers.

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I · H A V E · B E E N · P L A Y I N G · the drums since I was 12 years old. I got a simple drum set. Later I bought a Tama set. An other drummer playing Tama is Tim Alexander from Primus. Learn more on his work on his website
The image above shows me playing the big studio set at the Vintage Recordings, a studio I use to coop with.

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T H E · V I D E O · G A M E ·F A I R · A N D · E X P O · D 3 · in Copehagen starts today with attendance for professionals and press plus a video games award cermony. The event is held in Øksnehallen in Vesterbro from friday to sunday 10.00–18.00 each day. D3 Expo

The organization Nordic Game Program aiming to support North European independent upstart game developers will be represented on the expo. Nordic Game Program

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D R E A M H A C K · world’s biggest lan and demoparty is soon to be arranged in Jonkoping Sweden. From 29 November to 2 December 5000 attenders are comming to the event. Several eSports competition are taking place this year. The winners of the Demo competitions are this year awarded with prize money SEK 65.000 (EUR 6.500) for their efforts.

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S W E D E N S · L E A D I N G · I T · and science cluster. The home arena for Ericsson and IT University of Stockholm. There are also a big shopping mall and food court there for the IT workers to enjoy. Click on the thumbnail to get the complete image

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I N · T H E · C I T Y · O F · M A L M O · this years edition (v.2) of Spelfest is hosted. The event is a collaboration betewen the game industry orgainsations Spelbranschen (CEO Per Strömbäck), Malmo City Council, Malmo University College, Swerok, Nordic Game Program and several video game companies. Three days of expo, lectures and gaming. The event is aiming at youth in highschools who are interested to entering the game industry in the near future.
The Malmo based company Massive Entertaiment (CEO Martin Walfisz) will present their BAFTA nominated and E3 2007 winner “World in Conflict”
A list over Swedens most influencal individuals in the video game business could be found at Ekonominyheterna (swe)
The image to the right showing the editior was taken during the clubnight at last year’s gamefest in Stockholm

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L O N D O N · G A M E · F E S T I V A L · 2007 · is taking place right now from late October to early November. BAFTA Video Games Award was conducted 23 October. Best original score for a game was composed for the game Okami (Capcom) by Atsushi Inaba.

Visit BAFTA Video Games Award list of winners

Visit London Game Festival

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(Wed 24 Rocktober)
Current mood: awake
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

L A N · P A R T I E S · and gaming cafes/centres are rock'n'roll culture in the 2000 I will claim. In Stockhom we have Norhen Europes biggest video gaming centre, called Inferno Online. And in Jonkoping we have the bi yearly Lanparty/gamefestival Dreamhack with 5.000 attenders.

I · C H A T T E D · with the founder of the Gaming companies RedPlanet and GameShout. He is developing the video game community business right now in the USA, with game radio station, podcasts, news center, forum, irc-chat etc. etc. The head quarters is located in Florida.

I · M A I L E D · a research friend in Umeå Sweden. He will soon publish a doctoral thesis on Video Games as Culture. He has worked on his research for several years and now he is soon finished with his thesis. Visit Stefan at Umea University culture and media department and humlab

T H E R E · W I L L · B E · a gaming conference in 23 november on "The Competente Gamer" in Stockholm City. You are all wellcome to attend www.nordicgameprogram.org is the host.

I · J U S T · W A N T · to shout out like an old bumbpersticker: “VARNING FÖR LANBARN!” (warning for lankids) Could be the title for a book on Lan-life and culture. Or this ”stay sane - play games”

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T H E · N O B E L · P R I Z E · in economy was presented in Stockholm today. It is three american professors: Hurwicz, Maskin and Myerson that have been honored by the prize this year.
Read more at the Royal Swedish Academy of Scienses

When the research behind the ecconomy prize last year was presented in a lecture at Stockholm University, an event I was attending and reported. Read my 2006 report here

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A N D · A · N O T I C E D · P A R T · O F · C U L T U R E · That’s my conclussion. I heard a mother in her fourties with her son today. They discussed graffiti. She claimed that this paintings is not just paint on the wall but art. In the broad masses in ages under, say fourty, this street art form is accepted as a part of society.

I friended the Berlin street artist xoooox who makes stencil portraits with speech bubles with couds of X and O:s. There have been at least two new books published on the Stockholm street art scene lately. The Street Art has become high culture and put inside the fancy shops with the large glas displays.

Some days ago I found a Pearl Plate sign placed at Grimsta. A small but classy design. I asked on one of my favorite IRC-channels if anybody knows if there is a pearl plate widget around. No, you have to do it yourselfe they claimed.

The relatively old painting portraying a rising red round rocket with yellow flames at Thorildsplan subway wall is in need of a restoration. Are there any street art conservators out there on the streets?

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T H E · C U L T · movie from 1982 is now restored, again. The picture, directed and writed by Ridley Scott, is a dystopia in dark blue with heavy shadows, smoke, dirt and rotating fans, a filhy blend of New York, Hong Kong and picture solutions and views from the comic Heavy Metal from the eighties. Read more on Blade Runner on New York times issue today where a multimedia presentation is offered.

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E I G H T · L E G G E D · F R E A K S · is a horror movie from USA/Australia 2002. Eight Legged Freaks is a movie that is genuinely overacted and full of big spiders and soft gore in almost every scene, aimed at a quite young audience +13 years old.

The picture is aired right now 11.25 PM in Swedish State TV channel 1. Some firm analysis: The sound design is made in a very much dynamic manner with almost silent parts mixed with loud classic intense symphonic action music passages, screams, shooting, shouting crowds etc. The picture to the left showing Bob getting attaced and turned to a cocoon. Excellent b-horror movie scene with an infantile, innocent, nice and friendly old man surprised by the big ugly monster from behind. The colors are saturated in blue and yellow and the faces of the actors look upset and scared like hell.

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T H E · R E C O N S T R U C T E D · skyskraper in 29 floors at Sodermalm, Stockholm was finished 20 September and is now housing students and a flashy shopping mall in the lower levels which focuses on lifestyle, sport, fashion and media with 30 stores (10 media/IT and 6 sport shops). 600 students will live there togheter with 7.000 sqm office space with top modern IT-solutions for businesses. The owner is Svebo, Swedens biggest housing company owned by Stockholm City and head quarters in Vixton / Vallingby. Per Ahrbom, A&P Arkitektkontor is the assigned architect.

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V I S I T E D · the ecconomy fair in Stockholm International Trade Fairs district in Alvsjo, Stockholm South. Presentations by Cisco, Bank 2, Roda Education, Norstedts, and serveral small business in the Victoria Hall.

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I · T O O K · A · W A L K · in my neighbourhood this night. I walked to the soccer park and later to a grocery shop where I bought some bread, fruits, vegetables and a can of humus (chick pea dip) for a late dinner.

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I’M BACK from a weekend stay in Copenhagen. I lived in Nørrebro aka Norrebronx and looked at the place where the battle for the Youth house 69 was. In Copenhagen there was also an environment festival. Copenhagen will become the most bike friendly city in the world. I visited the worlds longest breakfast table at a closed of street, where breakfast was served for all people that wanted to sit down, rest and chat. Walked in the new Nørrebro Park with the lemon yellow sculptures and roof over a skate park. The long flags in white and yellow blew in the strong late summer wind. I visited the artist T. H. Larsen. Walked around the cities great lakes and the planetarium. Watched art and great buildings. Click on the picture above to enlarge, ok.

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G O I N G · T O · C O P E N H A G E N · the capital of Scandinavia. visiting the New Nørrebro Activity Park, the Index Exhibition and the Ørestad Culture Festival
In Copenhagen we also have IO-Interactive and Deadline Games, two wellknown video game developers.

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T O D A Y · I · V I S I T E D · Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. And also went to TMH an institution giving courses in music and technology. Later attended the library and the “Kårhuset” where these new pinball machines with themes from Family Guy and the Simpsons Movie was ready for some fun.

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H E R E · I S · A · T I C K E R · T O O L · from Technorati the blog tracking service.
The ticker showing the most popular blog themes right now

View technorati.com

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M U S I C · I N D U S T Y · C O N V E N T I O N · Swedish Metal Expo 07 is held in Fryshuset, Stockholm. It’s two days with record companies, lectures, workshops, competitions, instrument resellers and a lot of metalheads all ages.

Above, art exhibition with master cover artist Kristian Wåhlin (King Diamond, Bathory et al)
kristianwahlin.se

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T H I S · I S · M Y · V I X I O N of the vixton skyline with an entertainment district from Main street Angermannagatan (Straits Street/6th Ave) in West End City Downtown with a new Bathory Plaza named after the passed away inventor of Viking Metal Thomas Quorthon Forsberg’s band. Viking Metal video chart

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I · D R E A M · about travelling allmost every night. In the dream I have several problems getting away and allways wake up when the dream is taking a bit chaotic direction. Maybe I feel that it’s time to make some planning for a major trip abroad.

The city Austin (named after Stephen F. Austin), the capital of Texas growing rapidly. Several new skyscrapers are approved in Downtown etc. I got an invitation to the Game Developers Conference at the Convention Centre, a show held in September. Also listended to Patty Griffin, the artist from Austin and added her as a myspace friend tonight. Heard that Steve Wozniak, one of the founders of Apple, is a good friend of hers. Joined the Mac music group also.

I try to make some comparisions beteween my ”new” reconstructed hometown Stockholm West (aka Vixton/Vallingby) and Austin. Austin much bigger but some likenesses may excist. The device "Keep Austin Weird" is mentioned on the net, meaning that the city is known for its blend of lifestyles with artists, musicians, accademics, workers etc. UofT is located on a campus outside the downtown. One former colegue at work visited a media education program at UT a couple of years ago. Would be interesting to visit Austin.

(a) Austinist
(a) Austin Game Development Confernece
(a) The University of Texas at Austin

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M U S I C · N E W S · daily music industry news with this newswidget.

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A NEW LAW saying that artist can have a right to be handled over the names of file shares for claiming their right in disputes on copyrighted material, is under way. The Moderate Party (m) member of parliament, Karl Sigfrid is going in the opposite way, and claims that the society shouldn’t criminalizise the young generation, that don’t can understand the relevance of the excisting copyright law. Sigfrid wants to make the law designed in an other way. According to EU leading lawer the internet service providers aren’t forced to handle over the names of file shares and it’s up to every member country to have their own method. Mr Sigfrid wants to abandon the old copyright law completely, to have the judges recourses focused on more important types of crimes than judgeing private file sharers that copying for private use. The technology has taken several laps ahead of the immaterial law now he says. The copyright law shouldn’t give the artist a situation of monopol that severely restricts the freedom of speach and the distribution of goods. Some Nobel Prize awarded scientists has also expressed theories and thoughts that point in the same direction.

Mr Sigfrid’s blog
Karl Sigfrid’s profile on the parliament web.
The complete article by Karl Sigfrid.

(Sources: DN.se and IDG.se)

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I · S U B S C R I B E · T O · 3 0 · podcasts.The podcast Rock N Roll Geek Show is definitely one of the absolute best if you count entertainment value. The host Michael Butler is shameless but never rude. He has a serious intention to look at all aspects of rock n roll.

Michael’s Myspace Profile

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W H O · W A N T S · T O · B E · A · S U P E R H E R O ? · is a new reality tv show on the Sci-Fi channel. The show starts at July 26 with future super heros with a lot of special super powers. The winner will be a star in a upcomming comic.

\S/ About the show
\S/ Audition video
\S/ More at Sci-fi.com
\S/ Parody video

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G E T T I N G · R E L E V A N T · blog exchange with a widget or bliglet is quite simple. Just go to a widget site and copy and paste code. You can also put a nice game on your blog for some nice summer fun a rainy day. But I wish you all a hot summer!

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R I G H T · N O W the new iPhone from Apple will be released. All over the world people have camped outside their local Apple Stores to be the first to get this nice device.
I have taken a photo of a clone ;P




Read More on the event and iPhone
Apple
Kommando-N [swe]



To the left is a Kom-N friend’s first picture of his new iPhone

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S P I R I T · O F · T H E · W I L D · is a touring outdoor photo exhibition visiting Stockholm this summer. Photographs of wild animals in action in their natural environments is taken by world famous English photographer Steve Bloom. The pictures have been published in several highly prestigious magazines and is also presented in a book.

Visit the photographer
Steve Bloom

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A P P L E · I N C ’ S · Macs will be a plattform for video gaming to seriously count on in the future. That is clear scince EA and Id declared that they will develop and publish titles for Mac. The game companies top management attended Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2007 held in San Francisco.

CEO Steve Jobs gave a speech on Apple’s strong efforts, as the strenghts of the upcomming operative system, OSX 10.5 Leopard that will be released in October. Also the web browser Safari will be released and now it is the fastest browser on the market. A public beta was persented on the Apple web, and then downloaded 1 miljon times in the first 48 hours.

Watch the WWDC keynote video

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M I L J O S M A R T is a new web site on environmental issues, like how greenhouse gases effects the environment. The interactive web site was released on World Environment Day, June 5. One objective is to influence nations like China and Indien in the environmental field. Pressrelease

Sofia Arkelsten (m) is Spokesperson for Miljosmart environmental issues.

Visit Miljosmart

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A S T R I D · L I N D G R E N the writer of world famous childrens books and the mother of Pippi Longstocking and Emil from Lonneberg has her 100th anniversery this year. At the City Square in Vimmerby, Astrid Lindgren’s hometown (in Smaland, Sweden), she has been revarded with a new statue in bronze. The statue shows the writer in older days in front of her working desk and typewriter. The viewer could have a seat in front of her and take a rest on a heated chair. (Picture showing the character Emil from Lonneberga, Smaland (Photo: Haidong from Japan)

The writers daughter Karin Nyman toghether with the Minister of culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, inagurated the statue last friday. Marie Loise Ekman is the main artist that has crafted the artwork, in cooperation with several other artists that has contributed with different parts of the statue.

Learn more
Big crowd
Astrid Sculptures
Astrid Lindgren Statue
Swedish Day St:Petersburg Times
Vimmerby Tourist Bureu

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T O D A Y · T H E · H O O D S F R E D · F E S T I V A L kicks off. Two days with artists, concerts, lectures, video game competitions and more on several stages at Kista Science City.

Learn more
Hoodsfred Official Web
Metro: Emma Varg on Hoodsfred

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A · N E W · V I D E O · G A M E concept, HeadBanger, is nominated for this year’s final of Swedish Game Awards, that will be conducted Saturday 2 June at the Stockholm Grand Culture House. The two competitors plays air guitar and working out some serious headbanging to extreme metal tunes by bands like Morgana Lefay. The Price Cermony Show will be presented by Orvar Säfström famous host from Swedish Television.

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A W A R D E D · R O C K
P H O T O G R A P H E R Lina Haskel and Gallery B2 presents an exhibition to 27 May at Mornington Hotelfrom a photosession at the famous rock venue CBGB's in New York City, at a night when Swedish music asts as The Arc and Moneybrother where performing.

Lina Haskel / B2
Mornington /cbgb’s

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P O W E R · U S E R S from Flashback, Swedens shocking and leading alternative community and xtreme news network was the founders and inventors of the independent Radio station network Flashbackradio that later became the famous Backflashradio (BFR). Now the joint forces of Under the surface community and BFR has united under the obvious name Radion (The Radio).

Today I host my show TomSmokeShow (TSS) on the topic Spring, alcohol and tech. I play a lot of funny independent music, especially game related stuff. For this I have been out and recorded some audio. The picture shows where I placed the mp3-player for sampling some bike sounds where I jump at the pedals, for a tune on anoying senior citizen bikers, I will play today.