Yesterday, we watched Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland as it was broadcast on television and it was just right for T. and myself since we were rather tired from the journey. Some Chinese take-away in addition to this made the evening into pure leisure.

This evening the last episode of Endeavour aired and it has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience to watch the first season's five episodes. A prequel to Inspector Morse, the series is well-written and well-acted with Shaun Evans as the young and intelligent Endeavour Morse. I'm very much looking forward to the second season.

We're watching the movie V for Vendetta right now and since we haven't seen it before, we're taking the opportunity to do so. In a society resembling George Orwell's classic 1984, the main characters V (Hugo Weaving) and Evie (Natalie Portman) question and oppose governmental control, and retort to violence in their quest for physical as well as psychological freedom. Loosely based on the tale of Guy Fawkes, but set in a near future, V for Vendetta highlights several important issues and is a very interesting and well-made movie.

We have just watched the second episode of Secret State with Gabriel Byrne as the main character, British prime minister Tom Dawkins. Good actors in general, an interesting and engaging story, power struggles and the battle between honesty and deception spiced up by various urgent political incidents. We'll no doubt watch the next two episodes as well.

UPDATE: And so we did. We watched all four episodes and at the end of it all we felt that we as viewers were left hanging. There is no real conclusion and most of the plot lines simply dissolve. The storyline feels hurried, but, on the plus side, acting is good throughout the whole series.

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.

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.

A few days ago, the oldest son decided to share what he and his younger brother had been busy doing: the Akinator. It is a very entertaining and potentially useful "character finder" as the AI asks questions until it "knows" enough to quess who the person using the Akinator is thinking of.

The Akinator was developed by three French programmers back in 2007, became popular in the next few years and today it is available both online (free) and as a smartphone app (which you'd have to pay a small sum for). Try it out if you haven't done so before!

This week has been hectic and I've managed to get a whole load of work done today alone, which feels great. It has also made me rather tired and right now we're relaxing in front of the television munching chocolate (Marabou Premium Dark Chocolate & Mousse for me).

If the boys can choose what to watch on television, we'd most likely watch either Family Guy, The Simpson's, or Mythbusters, but right now T. has "allowed" me to watch one of the property search/home decorating shows I like (which in this case happens to be Escape to the Country). I've realised that the rest of the evening is out of my hands, however, since T. has stated that he intends to watch Star Wars from 1977. Happy weekend, everyone!

Friday it is and this feels amazing. We happily handed in the keys to our old house today and were promised to get our deposit back as soon as possible. Let's hope the money will indeed materialise.

We have been extremely tired the last few weeks, partly because of moving, but also because of a very persistent flu, and more travelling than I would have wanted. We were extremely fortunate to have both T.'s sister and brother-in-law and his parents here to help us move. A huge thank you to all of you!

Our evenings, without the usual television channels and with all the above in mind, have been rather short, but last night we decided to start watching House of Cards on Netflix. We had heard a lot of good things about this 2013 series, and judging from the first four episodes we definitely agree. It's interesting, witty, fun in a rather weird way, and clearly worth watching. We just might watch a few more episodes this upcoming weekend.

We've been watching quite a few things on Netflix lately and last week we decided to check out Stranger Than Fiction with, among others, Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. I'm usually not a fan of Ferrell, but I really liked this movie. It has some really good acting, a surprising and intelligent script, and some very good storytelling. It's absolutely a movie I wouldn't mind watching again.

T. and I are hooked on The Sopranos at the moment. The box was one of his Christmas presents and now we're happily following la famiglia season by season. It's actually rather interesting how something so repulsive as the maffia can become so interesting and even entertaining in a dramatised form. The intelligent manner in which the series play with preconceived ideas and prejudices paired with very good acting makes it well worth watching again and again.

Yesterday, our youngest wanted to watch Inception again and we were more than happy to oblige. It might actually be the best movie I've ever seen and I think we've seen it four times by now. I love the way the different layers of dreams are woven together and the fast pace of it all. Christopher Nolan's script and direction is impeccable and the actors are all wonderful. Every time we watch it it feels as if the two and a half hour long movie only takes about 40 minutes and we're almost ready to watch it again right after it ends. We love the Lord of the Rings trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed The Hobbit, but Inception has nevertheless become a clear favourite.

And here I am, blogging about the British TV-series Downton Abbey again. The more immediate reason for this is that we received the Christmas special from 2011 and season three today, and I'm admittedly aching to watch it. T. had talked about making it my Christmas present this year, but he seems to have reconsidered and I'm sure we will begin to watch it soon.

The really good news is that there will be a Christmas special this year as well, and, even better, there will be a season four in 2013, which we're very much looking forward to. Let's hope the high quality will continue and that the characters will guide us into the Roaring Twenties.

This is definitely a tradition by now: T. and myself watching Love Actually at some point before Christmas every year. This time we were accompanied by the boys and they seemed to enjoy it almost as much as we did.

Advent Sunday has otherwise been quite uneventful, although we woke up to the first snow of the year. The first candle was lit and then I spent quite a lot of the day reading for work, but the novel was enjoyable and I didn't mind at all. This afternoon we also enjoyed some glögg, ginger biscuits, and some saffron buns. Leisurely, enjoyable activities... a wonderful day.

A while ago we watched the Danish classic Matador for the umpteenth time, then a Danish crime series set right after WWII, Edderkoppen, which was very interesting indeed, and now we're in the middle of the wonderful British television series Downton Abbey.

We're admittedly bad at following television series on a regular basis, which usually disqualifies us from watching them as they are "supposed" to be watched, and, as a result, dvd boxes have become our favourite way of watching. This also means that we might watch one episode per day (or more) if we want to and have the time, which, from our point of view, is great. The period we watch one particular television series is condensed. Subsequently, T. and I easily remember the entire plot, analyse the characters and what is happening and have long conversations about the actors' performances, the costumes, the environments, the political or social context, the believability of the plot and other important issues. It does indeed feel luxurious.

These past few weeks have been filled with extraordinary performances from the athletes, amazing efforts from everyone involved in the more mundane aspects of running an Olympic organisation such as the one in London, and pure celebration of the fact that the world comes together in this fashion.

The opening ceremony was extraordinary. It was well rehearsed, but still both intelligent, meaningful, rebellious, and free — and on top of it all it was fun! We thoroughly enjoyed it and it's actually the first opening ceremony I've watched from beginning to end. As the closing ceremony was approaching the question was whether they would be able to match the opening or not. Again they have focused on solidly British themes, British history, British key figures, and lots and lots of British music.

I was very moved as John Lennon's voice was heard in Imagine, and it has been great to hear/see a whole line of British artist perform songs everyone recognises. As Eric Idle encourages us to "always look at the bright side of life," huge smiles become visible on our faces. We've been missing Freddy Mercury, and suddenly he's there, dominating the arena. Goosebumps all over. And then Queen (with the help of Jessie J.) rock us! It's a feast for eyes and ears, and I'm positive I'll stay up until the closing ceremony is over.

Image borrowed from Eurosport.

Perhaps I shouldn't categorise this as "watching," since I admittedly haven't watched any of it, but it was the most suitable category and although I myself haven't, there are millions and millions of people who have. My reason for addressing the Eurovision Song Contest right now are perhaps not valid given my marginal position, but here it goes nevertheless.

As a child, I watched the Swedish version of it as well as the large European finale faithfully every year. It was a big family event as we gathered around the television set. In the 1990s and early 2000s I had realised that the music usually performed wasn't really my cup of tea and my interest faded. As the Swedish "Melodifestivalen" reinvented itself in 2002 adding a whole series of semi-finals, I stopped watching altogether. It simply became too much, but the media haussed it every year (much in the same fashion as the, in my view, horrible talent shows) and, whether I liked it or not, it was difficult not to become aware of who won and who lost as I tried to read the news. I still sometimes watched the Eurovision Song Contest, however, as I enjoyed the multicultural aspects of them, but as it, too, was extended with "before" shows and semi-finals, this competition also lost its appeal for me. As a result, I haven't watched any of it in the last six or seven years.

Reading the papers in ten different European countries (plus the US) I do feel happy for Loreen, who won the ESC last night. She seems to know what she's doing and I find her firm stance in favour of dissidents and against government control very encouraging. I'm also happy to see the media in entire Europe come together around one common, non-violent and non-economic topic. This happens far too seldom and it great to see at least one of these pieces of news every year, but at the same time there must be other pieces of positive news that are equally or perhaps even more newsworthy. My feelings are mixed, to say the least, on the topic of the Eurovision Song Contest.

In spite of all this, I would sincerely like to congratulate Loreen. I'm sure I will listen to the winning song at some point. Photo borrowed from Expressen.

We only saw a few episodes when the television series based on Hagai Levi's Israeli original Be'Tipul and starring Gabriel Byrne was broadcast on one of the national television channels, but my curiosity was definitely stirred and I decided to buy the first season on dvd.

The episodes are short (only 20-28 minutes in general) and we happened to watch one after the other. This might have been a good thing since the series is built up in five weekly sessions, four with patients of psychologist Dr. Paul Weston and one in which Dr. Weston becomes the patient in the hands of his previous mentor and psychologist colleague. The five episodes give a glimpse of all five cases each week as they develop over time. Impressive acting, a marvellous script, and an intelligent as well as realistic tone has made me order seasons two and three as well.

Almost all the prizes have been handed out to the Nobel prize laureates as I write this, and, as a Swede, it was an emotional moment when 80-year-old poet Tomas Tranströmer was awarded the prize for literature. All of the laureates are no doubt worthy of their prizes, however, and I look forward to continue to follow the upcoming dinner and other festivities.

Image borrowed from Aftonbladet.

We're watching the news and reading the online newspapers following the worrying developments in the Sendai region in general and the explosion at the nuclear plant Fukushima I in particular. The grainy images of earthquake rubble, the flood moving vehicles and buildings, and the smoking reactor hall paint a picture of terrible events. Aftershocks of various kinds are indeed happening and the continued loss of lives makes us very sad. Our thoughts go to the victims, their families and friends.