Is Mamdani not news?

I might have not searched hard enough but I have not been able to find any coverage of Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration as the mayor of New York City on the Swedish television news website or in our local Malmö newspaper Sydsvenska Dagbladet online or off. Curious.

So for those of you who rely on these sources of information for your news – and for all you others who might or might not have heard about it – I post a video of his inauguration speech on New Year’s Day. I have a feeling it may turn out to be historic. Happy new year!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DV52L7u5j9yY&ved=2ahUKEwiUroLP_u6RAxXKEBAIHdYtICk4ChCjtAF6BAgJEAU&usg=AOvVaw2sQy831cpjALkeWjxkoWMr

On to 2026

As the sun sets on the year that was let us keep on looking for the light. Despite the real life horror show that dominated our lives in 2025 there is at least some reason to hope that the new year will bring a new spirit into the world, such as the one that carried a charming young immigrant to power in New York City. Just listen to mayor Mamdani after his election in November….

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/05/zohran-mamdani-victory-speech-transcript&ved=2ahUKEwiP7ZyLuueRAxXyJxAIHTFyBi0QFnoECCIQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2YKcF38Cy47ddPqpNiBjKL

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A warm thanks to all who enjoyed our shop in 2025. We’ll be open again at the regular hours on January 2.

Carol of the Bells

On Monday my granddaughter’s school choir gave their annual Lucia concert at our nearby church and, as an extra added attraction my talented granddaughter played a piece on the piano with one of her classmates that sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it. Then this morning while reading a post on Timothy Snyder’s blog I heard it sung on a video clip that was included in the post which, as is always the case with Timothy Snyder’s blog posts, was a most enlightening history lesson. So as a small contribution to encouraging the Christmas spirit, let me repost it here and offer warm holiday greetings to you all.

A gift suggestion

Some weeks back I wrote a post about Resurgence, a magazine that continues to provide a voice of hope and sanity in a world that seems to have fallen ever deeper into despair and insanity. I subscribe to the weekly email newsletter and today there were articles about generosity and appreciating the gifts that nature gives, which was highly appropriate since I am out in the country partaking of my passion for picking trattkantareller, or winter mushrooms, a wonderful gift to be sure. Also included in the newsletter was a suggestion for a Christmas gift, which I pass on for those of you who can’t make it to the shop to buy your presents there: a gift of Resurgence. Just click on the link below to find out more.

Christmas is a’coming

Next Saturday, December 6 is our neighborhood’s annual ushering in of the Christmas season with many of the nearby shops and galleries doing something a little extra in keeping with the yuletide spirit. As our contribution to the festivities Andy’s Corner will be hosting a concert with Malin Carlberg and Dick Heijkenskjöld starting at 4.30 (16.30) so do come by. Here are Malin and Dick in action.

On the lighter side

With all the AI-generated nonsense to be found on antisocial media these days that people spend so much of their time reading – and believing – it seems ever more important for people to spend their time reading real human-generated things like books and magazines such as are to be found at Andy’s Corner. Apropos this little piece in today’s Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/19/buckingham-palace-christmas-market-why-tourists-flocked-there-and-found-just-locked-gates-and-big-puddles

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As a small contribution to encouraging the demise of nonsense we will offer a free copy of the New Yorker or the New York Review of Books to all customers who buy at least one real book at Andy’s Corner. We’ve got piles of old copies on our front table so do come by and take your pick.

A simple pleasure

When November rolls around, the funnel chantarelles (trattkantareller in Swedish) pop up all over the woods around our country house, providing some consolation for the darkness and dampness and dreariness of late autumn. They wait until almost all the leaves have fallen from the trees and the forest is covered by a carpet of multi-colored foliage before they come out in full force, which makes them quite difficult to find, and the discovery and picking of them such a satisfying experience. A simple pleasure to be sure. It’s like a game they play with you, and the more you play it the more you can appreciate the mysterious ways in which the non-human world functions: no matter how hard we try we can never understand it completely. And boy are they tasty! I made a soup last night with them that, as the expression goes, was out of this world, but was really very much a part of it – the world, that is.

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Lots of new posters in the shop this week and don’t forget Boris Zetterlund on Saturday for those of you who can understand Swedish. Today we’ll be playing a record we just got with Glenn Gould for much of the afternoon so do come by. Here’s a sample:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DEftKHj_sHNY&ved=2ahUKEwjyyfCo4O6QAxXTOhAIHZPYFLA4ChCjtAF6BAgMEAY&usg=AOvVaw39hocgE6CHV7yN10XEXLMP

Abstract beauty

It is always a delight to visit the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, and it was especially so this week when the current exhibition explores the myriad connections between Miro and the United States, where he made a number of murals and public sculptures and his paintings can be seen at museums throughout the country. Miro had a life-long friendship with Alexander Calder, among other American artists, and he was a major source of inspiration for the American abstract expressionists of the postwar era. The exhibition is a marvelous display of abstract art, a remembrance of more hopeful times.

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We’ll be back in Malmö on Tuesday and open for business on Thursday, among other things, with some Miro calendars for 2026.