Often when I listen to music during a walk or similar (or like today, during a work trip) I do a giant playlist that me and my partner have curated over the years with our favorite songs - in a violently scattered shower without any red threads whatsoever. But when I need a little extra energy (again like today, the above-mentioned journey started just after 04 for me), I get energy from the music.

Also here I have lots of playlists to access, but an extra secret weapon I have to use when I run out of energy, is Swedish/Norwegian Sha-Boom. They broke girls' hearts in the 80s, but since then have practically shone with their absence minus a few occasional comebacks. It's rare that I hear anyone mention them, and it's rare that I hear them played.

But... there are few bands that for me better embody the Swedish 80's with denim jacket, Hubba-Bubba, Vira-Blåtira, Snowjoggers, pepper chips and Okay posters on the walls than Sha-Boom. That's why this album (pictured below) serves as something of my secret weapon when Jonas Mäki needs to be refreshed and come to life. And yes, again it worked. Songs like "Don't Steal My Heart Away" and "R.O.C.K." send me mentally straight to a slightly simpler time with the efficiency of a time machine.

Remember Sha-Boom?

I don't remember which of you wrote it, but I've blogged about how I like sitcoms, especially those with a pretty biting sense of humor. One of our wonderful readers then tipped me off about the American version of Shameless, a series I have not seen an episode of so far.

... And that was stupid, because already from episode one it's off. I've now binged the first season and really enjoyed the real black humor combined with first-class acting and scenes that feel unexpectedly daring/dark for a TV series. If it continues like this - and it seems to do, and more so according to Rotten Tomatoes - I almost think I've found a new favorite.

As I said, I don't know who tipped me off, but thank you very much. 

If you also want to watch Shameless, it is available on both HBO Max and Amazon Prime. Enjoy.

My father's birthday was 70 years old so my brothers and I decided to surprise him with a trip. The choice fell on London, the capital of a country I have said several times before is not a favorite of mine - and which I have never traveled to myself for tourist purposes before.

I'm just not that impressed with anything they have to offer and think everything is usually a bit like in the US, but noticeably worse. And I haven't changed that opinion after this visit either. Let's start with the insanity that they drive on the wrong side, something that immediately makes it more difficult to rent a trailer and just get around and leads to it being in all major street intersections that it says which way to look before crossing. It feels a bit like you can drive a car in any direction you want and feels like pure high chaparall.

Then there is the food. You can absolutely eat well in London, but as soon as you leave reputable restaurants, you end up in the almost bestial lousy British cuisine. In the subway they advertise KFC which serves with white beans in tomato mix, in the local pub they serve burnt puff pastry with scabby sausages in it, the beer is almost always turned off and when I in an attempt to avoid British breakfast I chose American blueberry pancakes in a place with nice Google ratings... Then I got regular dry pancakes with five blueberries lying in a dollop of Greek yogurt. So I can go on, British food will disappoint you. That's just the way it is.

On top of that, there's that dirty feeling that Britain always suffers from. Brick houses that you never really know if they are uninhabited or not, the feeling that exactly the whole country should be completely renovated, sinks that have a separate tap for boiling hot/cold water (how do you even wash yourself, do you move your hands quickly between the water jets to get the right temperature?), tent camps in the parks, musty smell indoors (even in a nice hotel like ours), all the TV shows feel like they are reproductions of something from the 80s and so on.

Now, as I said, I went for my father's sake, but for my own part, it continues to be the United States of America that attracts when it's time for vacation, and my love-hate for England remains. I actually love that the country is the way it is (it's fun when we're different) and British humor I appreciate enormously - but I really don't want to go on vacation there.

Don't go to London. You will be disappointed.

I may be 47 years old, but to this day there are few things that put me in a better mood than ninjas. When I was growing up in the 80s, ninja reels were dripping and they were everywhere in popular culture.

We little boys could sit at breaks and fantasize about everything these mythical assassins could do, where the "knowledge" was mainly taken from the G.I. Joe ninjas Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow – and carving a nunchaku on the woodwork was almost mandatory. until the media panicked over these deadly "karate sticks" (they were actually called that, even though karate is literally about not having weapons). In addition, we had all different types of throwing stars, all of which were completely useless.

My parents knew of course that the ninja trend was deadly, so at home we had to sneak with everything ninja related. When my parents caught me and my brothers playing The Last Ninja for the Commodore 64, there were no happy faces, I promise.

But... these games have retained a special place in my heart and are still among my absolute favorites – even though they are definitely among the games that have aged a little worse (something I realized when they came to the Wii Virtual Console), Not least thanks to the music. When I now read that there is a really fat The Last Ninja package on its way to PC and Switch (also hoping for PS5/Xbox) via Kickstarter – I'm ready to spend a penny.

It's rare that I buy collector's editions anymore, but I really have to have The Last Ninja Collection, if only for the ninja hood.

What is your relationship to ninjas?

I've known for a long time that macha tea is good, but to do it in the right way unfortunately seems a bit cumbersome and I suspected that if I got to grips with it, I would soon lose the appetite. I have therefore settled for regular tea, usually purchased through the eminent Tea Center (if you drink tea you need to try their mighty St Olav).

But... Then I got a jar of macha. It lay in the drawer unopened for a long time, until I decided to invest in a bamboo whisk on Saturday. And that was wise, because since then I've been drinking one or two cups of macha every day and think it's absolutely phenomenally good and not at all overly complicated. Sure, it's marginally more fiddly to first put the whisk in a bowl of water (to make it soft and supple so it doesn't break), but other than that, it's quick to whip together a frothy lovely macha.

However, I also drink five or six cups of coffee every day, and I definitely don't intend to stop doing that, but it probably feels like the macha drinking will keep up in the future as well.

Do you prefer coffee or tea, and how careful are you with your choices?