Jacob Christensen

And the Winner Is…

Jacob Christensen — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:11:22 +0000

I’m not sure if these decisions are announced by way of an envelope, but I will just note that all of Europe stopped for a minute when it was revealed that Umeå will be the European Capital of Culture in 2014. Well, one of the European Capitals of Culture.

DN and SvD also covers the event while Sydsvenskan’s server seems to have been hit by a severe depression and refuses to show me the linked article. (Lund was the other contender for the Swedish title)

Offical Umeå 2014 site.

(The photo was taken on 29 August 2008 and it was the last but three that I took in Umeå)

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The Street at Night

Jacob Christensen — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:15:29 +0000

Last year in Ume� (June 6 at 1am)

This year in Odense (June 24 shortly after midnight)

As it is, my new phone does quite a nice job, but the camera is a bit slow. No real point-and-shoot.

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The Cruellest Month

Jacob Christensen — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:07:04 +0000

Believe me: Odense did not look like this last Friday. (We had 15 degrees C)

But I’m not the least surprised that Ume� did.

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From My Former Employer

Jacob Christensen — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:42:08 +0000

Ume� University will be looking for a new rector. Or president, if you prefer that title.

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Jacob Christensen — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:46:47 +0000

I never thought it would happen, but here is one final posting about Ume�: Peter Santesson-Wilson remembers his happy childhood in the north.

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Jacob Christensen — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:17:15 +0000

Oh dear – I read about the fire on Geografigr�nd in Ume� earlier today (it was mentioned on national Swedish TV), but as it turns out, the fire was in the complex right next to where I used to live (Matematikgr�nd 1).

I should perhaps point out that some of the Swedish papers and TV stations make two mistakes in their reporting: Geografigr�nd and Matematikgr�nd are on �lidhem but these are ordinary apartments and not student housing and the houses are not high-rise buildings – they are “ordinary” 3- and 4-storey buildings.

One thing that I find rather unsettling is that the ventilation systems aren’t isolated so that the fire apparently could spread from one shaft to the others. The good thing is that nobody appear to have been physically hurt but it is still a terrible chock to those families who have to leave their homes for a shorter or longer period.

And one more note: I remember that the housing company repeatedly had to ask people to remove objects (prams, bikes) from the stairways and entrances so that there was access in the case of an emergency.

Update 2008-12-29: V�sterbottenskuriren has an informative graphic showing the spread of the fire. I must admit that it raises some questions about the structure of the houses on �lidhem which seems to give several opportunities for fires to spread and be difficult to control. Given that the buildings were erected around 1970, they don’t look state-of-the-art which surprises me.

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Jacob Christensen — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:49:35 +0000

Generally, the end of the year is considered the time to look back. In my case I will offer you a look at Ume� on the last day I spent in the town. And in case you are really curious, all of my photos from Ume� are here.

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City?

Jacob Christensen — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:35:27 +0000

Who, for the love of god, dreamt up this one: Ume� City Airport? Ume� City Airport?!?

There is nothing quite like provincial pretentiousness. I’m sure some consultant is trying to convince the town council that the railway station should be renamed Grand Central Station Ume�.

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A New Tagline

Jacob Christensen — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:40:33 +0000

The blog’s previous tagline – “Notes from the periphery” – was inspired by two facts: a) I’m not a political insider and b) I used to live in Ume�, which is not exactly the centre of the known universe. Considering that Odense is not Ume�, the tagline had become a bit misleading – Odense may not be a major political or economic centre but the city is pretty centrally placed in Denmark. And Odense’s city centre doesn’t have that suburban feel which haunted central Ume�.

Fortunately, the recent move of the Department of Political Science in Odense to a trailer park located between two parking lots provided me with the inspiration necessary to come up with a new tagline. So what you have now are the notes of a trailer park political scientist!

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The Hungry Blogger

Jacob Christensen — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:22:49 +0000

At one point in time, I have the ambition the write the ultimate “Ume� vs. Odense” post but I want to get Odense a bit more under the skin before I say anything definitive. Still, at double the size, Odense has much more of an urban feel to it compared to Ume�-the-oversized-suburb.

But in some aspects Ume� beats Odense hands down. Or rather Ume� University beats the Odense campus of the University of Southern Denmark.

First, SDU is placed on a field in the middle of nowhere. Our nearest neighbours are Bilka followed by Roseng�rdcentret. Throw in Jysk and IKEA and you get the picture.

Second, the University library in Ume� was open all days, often with long evening hours. SDU’s library … not so.

Third, UmU had caf�s and restaurants all over the place so you could get a meal or a sandwich, in case you had forgotten to bring your own food. SDU … well, today I realised that I had forgot to buy rye bread, so I hoped for the best.

Come by the restaurant at 2:30 and … nope. Not a chance. Not a sandwich in sight. Which meant that I had to head for the nearest megamarket to get a hot-dog. But at least Bilka is open until 9 pm. on week-days. And I have a grand selection of restaurants and caf�s just across the street from my apartment.

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