The Señor has decided to celebrate his 21st birthday with yours truly in beautifully cold Copenhagen. He flew in from Heathrow last night and was already fast on the case of a missing bicycle before I could say, “Bicycle theft is a steadily increasing problem in downtown Copenhagen and its surrounding neighborhoods.” This morning, I convinced The Señor to take a break from sleuthing to explore the sights and sounds of the Øersund region, and we boarded a train to Sweden, a country that when viewed in its cartographic context with Finland and Norway looks totally like a cock and balls.



Lund is a charming university town with a university and a town, and of course, a vibrant local music scene. But unlike Athens, GA or Austin, TX, Lund is internationally renowned as a hotbed for guitar comics and parody songsmiths. In fact, it is widely speculated that a study abroad semester in Lund inspired the young Alfred Yankovic to drop his death metal act and "Soul Rapist Al" moniker in favor of funny songs about bologna and hamsters. The talent centralized in this small town is readily apparent to any visitor, and as we walked the labyrinthine streets near campus we could make out several promising parodies through the open windows of student apartments. My favorite was a “fishy” rendition of Tears for Fears’ “Shout” (Trout, Trout, you’ve won this bout, one of these days I’ll get my hook in your mouth, swim on), and The Señor appreciated a clever take on a Phil Collins classic (Please give me one more bite, give me just one more bite, ohhhh one more bite of your smoked ham and cheddar).

The Señor and I spent much of the day sitting on benches and talking about how we miss New Orleans and how incomplete we feel without its full restoration, even though neither of us have ever been there nor have we any interest in going. We also agreed that it would be hilarious if we started a band that only played “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls.

On the way back to the train station, we bumped into American actor Tony Shalhoub who was chowing down on a breakfast burrito obtained from one of Lund’s 187 authentic Mexican taquerias. The Señor was particularly star struck by the chance encounter, considering Mr. Shalhoub’s fictional character Adrian Monk is The Señor’s personal hero and professional role model. After a brief inquiry as to what the former Wings star was doing in Sweden and why he was eating a breakfast burrito at supper time, we were surprised to both learn that Monk is filmed on location in Lund and that Tony Shalhoub “doesn’t play by the rules.”