Right-wing prime minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, has stressed that he does not intend to go to Husby (or any of the places where violence has erupted). He seems to view the youths involved in these riots as troublemakers and urges the police to come down on them heavily.

The opposition leader, social democrat Stefan Löfven, on the other hand, visited Husby without media knowing it very early on because he wanted to "find out directly from the people involved what was behind it all."

The difference on the political level is striking. On a "lower" and very hands-on level, fireman Mattias Lassén wrote an open letter on Facebook to the kid that had been throwing stones at the fire brigade saying that he simply couldn't grasp this behaviour. He wrote that he'd be more than willing to put his own life on the line to help the stone-thrower's sister if a fire started in her kitchen, if his father had a car accident, or if the stone-thrower himself went through the ice on some warm March day (he wrote several more examples to the same effect), and subsequently he didn't understand why he suddenly was to become the target of the big rock that was hauled through the windshield of the fire truck and hit his helmet.

In a subsequent interview, Mattias Lassén explained his view further and said that we all have to remember that each of the individuals involved in this, on either side, are just individuals with talents and links to each other in other capacities. We should never let othering happen, since this would make it even more difficult to find a functional solution.

The general public in Sweden seems torn. There are some voices calling for a strong police force to "take care of those vandals" and punish the parents of the rioters. Other people feel that it's the police that are the bad guys when using too much force and that society/those in power are to blame. Thirdly, there seems to be a view arguing that the riots are an overreaction and a heavy hand from the police would be as well. People with this view often see the origins of these clashes in the politics of the current right-wing government or in the outsider status of these youngsters (since they have had virtually zero chances of getting a job or becoming integrated in Swedish society), but they also stress that riots, setting fire to cars etc are unacceptable as tools to achieve integration. Professor Ulf Bjereld, for instance, argues that a historical overview, less moralisation, and a less romantic view on violence are needed, and, in addition, he urges the state to step up and take responsibility.

It has been discovered that many of the youngsters that have been arrested in the last few days already have a criminal record. This complicates the image further, but it also underlines the limited chances these kids have had and the need to politically deal with issues of integration in a manner that is inclusive rather than exclusive.

It would be possible to draw parallels between what is happening in Stockholm and in other places in Sweden today and what happened in France in 2005 and in Belfast earlier this year. It doesn't necessarily have anything at all to do with immigration, just about being vulnerable and feeling that nobody listens. It might become a huge problem when this vulnerability and despair is used by groups with other agendas, be it political or criminal. In my opinion, this is the major danger in situations such as these.

Image borrowed from Channel News Asia.

A few years ago, I came across a very talented photographer on Flickr, Tolga "Musato" Erbay, and I have followed his work since then. The majority of his beautiful photos have been taken in his native Istanbul and they are well worth a peek.

How about some white and beige accentuated by red nuances? The sun has been shining from a clear blue sky today and it has been lovely, even if I haven't had that many possibilities to enjoy the weather outside, but I've nevertheless gotten in the mood for summer clothes.

I felt a summer spread might be in order: How about the Bronze Filigree Arm sunglasses, which can be found at Debenhams, the light pink cashmere scarf at H&M, the Madame à Paris bag at La Redoute, the Gabriella hat at GinaTricot, or the flowery beach tunic, that was found at H&M? In addition, the bikini and the shoes, both of which can be found at Zara, the white pair of trousers at H&M, and, finally, the coral red Redoute Création dress (from La Redoute) might be of interest.

I underwent acute surgery on Monday evening as they suspected appendicitis, but they found out that it was a (benign) ovarian cyst instead, which they didn't remove. I'm primarily happy to know what was causing my stomach ache, but it is slightly annoying not to be able to do much right now.

I can listen to music, however, which I rarely have time to do otherwise, and I have just bought Sofia Jannok's newly released album Áhpi — wide as oceans on iTunes. I really like it, and my current favourite is Aktonas. Beautiful. Strong. Mighty. Resonating...

Jannok's album is inspired by, even immersed in, her Sami origin and the fight she, and other people, have had to put up to defend the validity of their traditions and customs. Her voice is filled with strength.

The Swedish ice hockey team just became the new world champions when they won 5-1 against Switzerland. The opponent played well, but so did Sweden (expecially towards the end of the game) and it all resulted in very happy scenes in Globen, Stockholm. Congratulations, guys!

Image borrowed from DN.

Yesterday was wonderful. Our former neighbours came for dinner, which we ate on the still warm terrace as the sun was setting. The children played handball and then invited T. and R. to "kubb," while C. and I had just another glass of white wine (Yellow Tail, which we bought in Copenhagen about a month ago). It worked very well with the barbequed pork. It was such an enjoyable evening and we hope to see them again soon.

Our guests left around midnight and we sat down by the TV just in time to see Emmelie de Forest win the Eurovision Song Contest. Congratulations, Denmark!

I read this novel for the first time as an undergraduate at university (which probably is rather common when living in Scandinavia) and I loved the manner in which F. Scott Fitzgerald paints a colourful canvas of the roaring twenties. The story of Jay Gatsby is both sad and intriguing and I have, since I first read it, also enjoyed seeing the reactions of several of my students as they encounter it for the first time.

This will probably not be the case in the future, however, as Baz Luhrmann's movie is shown all over the world and every student will see the faces of Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire before them as they read. Pros and cons. The movie has had mixed reviews, but I will definitely watch it. I might not do so while it's in the theatres, but I definitely will when it's released on DVD later on.

This is an example of a) the beautiful cherry trees in the garden of my sister-in-law and b) what my new camera can do. The weather is amazing at the moment, the trees are in bloom everywhere and it's a joy to be outside. T. has worked hard weeding the vegetable patch and we enjoy watching everything grow. Happy.

My new camera needs company. ;) It's not as if it's mandatory, but I've been thinking of finding a solution for macro photography, since I'd like to get a bit closer to my motive. Right now I haven't found out which solution will suit me the best, but I'm investingating the options.

An Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8, an Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ES-M 17mm 1.2.8 silver pancake lens, a proper Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL 35mm 1:3.5 macro lens or a slightly less expensive Olympus MCON-P01 macro converter suitable for M. 14-42 mm II, M. 14-150 mm, M. 40-150 mm lenses could be possibilities, and various filters and an extra battery probably wouldn't hurt.

I've really enjoyed these last few days trying out my new camera in every possible context on a variety of motifs. I love the new possibilities to work with the lenses, to create tension and balance in the photos, and the colours are rich. To work with the short focal span feels fresh and exciting and I'm looking forward to learning more and more as I continue to experiment with the camera.

The photo above was taken in the garden of my sister-in-law and it's really fortunate that everything looks so beautiful and inspiring right now.

Decision time with a little help, since T. decided to pitch in as a birthday present for me. Here and here I've outlined some of the stops in my search for a new camera. For a few weeks now, I've scanned various stores online, second hand venues both online and offline, compared different cameras, models and prices, read reviews, and thought about what is important to me as a photographer and what is less so. Throughout my search, I've looked for a small, light camera that is versatile enough to allow me to take extreme close-ups while offering a decent zoom — at a reasonable price. In addition, I reckoned it wouldn't hurt if the camera was available in white. ;)

This is what I eventually ended up buying: an Olympus PEN mini E-PM1 with interchangeable 14-42 mm and 40-150mm lenses. The camera is reasonably small (109,5 × 63,7 × 34 mm) and light (217 g), which is slightly less than half of the weight of my current Olympus SP 550-uz. Nevertheless, I've been very happy with that and with the performance of the Olympus cameras in general, and I've heard that the lenses are good as well. I was slightly apprehensive when thinking about carrying different lenses with me, but I finally decided on this option since the total weight of the E-PM1 package is not that bad. The newer version, E-PM2, has a few more features, but it is also slightly bigger and heavier and much more expensive, so I hope the E-PM1 will be a good match for me and I think the price was more than fair. I consider it to be the icing on the cake that it indeed is white.

T. and I have planted potatoes today and will be planting carrot, black salsify, parsnip, and turnip seeds and some leek plants tomorrow while we're waiting for the rest of the garden to get into gear. The apple trees seem to thrive and we're very much looking forward to the blossoms in a few weeks' time. The weather has been wonderful and it's supposed to stay that way for a while longer. Lovely.