I'm on a near-impossible quest. I have been searching for a song for a couple of years now. I remember downloading it from mp3.com back in...1998-2000??? I can't remember the name of the song, but the group was called Lucid. The lead singer was female. I don't even remember the accurate music style they were playing, but I'm guessing some pop/rock or folk/rock style. The band disappeared from mp3.com after Bob knows how long and I have no idea where they went. The only other thing I remember is that I discovered the song by accident - I was bored and went browsing the site and their song was on the top 10 that day. I'm pretty sure no one loosely connected with Lucid would read this, but I just wanted to share. :-)

Current track: Jingles (commercial break)

Labels: music

This really annoys me. You can't just go ahead and remake Riget. I fart in their general direction.

Current track: Nothing.

Labels: TV

I eventually decided on liking Peter Pan. The bonus material on the DVD (one hour's worth) is very good; the special effects are quite stunning and then there are quite a few clips with Jason Isaacs that are fun to watch.

On that note, I'd like to express my thoughts on DVDs, of which I have quite a few: More interesting bonus material!!! Preferably outtakes/goofs, but also video diaries by the actors, any backstage stuff, really.

Coming to think of it, I still haven't watched the extra material on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and I got that DVD the day it was released. Ahem. *whistles innocently*

Seks som oss, episode eight, in a few minutes. Oh, bliss.

Current track: Katie Melua - Closest Thing to Crazy

Labels: film, jason isaacs, TV

Yay! I was actually going downtown to buy some shoes (or shoen - been reading Mother Tongue again) but then something happened with the Tube and I decided against going with the bus. Instead, I went back home after work and the weather was so nice (I know, just about 14 degrees centigrades, but that feels like a lot right now) that I bought some ice cream and some cloths and cleaned my balcony (using the cloths, not the ice cream.) After about half an hour it looked rather shiny and I could sit down and read while eating the ice cream. Beautiful weather; the birds were chirping, some dogs were barking, and I remembered how much I had enjoyed last summer - sitting on my balcony reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix all day long. Aww. I also remember how incredibly hot it was and especially the exceptional thunderstorms we had; I spent a few evenings in hiding, hoping for the best. The lightning never struck our house (even though it's the tallest building for miles around) but there were a couple of blackouts during those weeks. This year is going to be even hotter.

Oh, and we've booked tickets for another two performances of La Cage aux Folles. I bet I'll go at least once more on my own, just to make it an even...eight? Hmm. Anyway, there's something new about the show every time so I just can't afford to stay away. Sounds like a very bad reason, I know, but I don't care. It's bloody brilliant and it annoys me that they're not going to film it, so I have to remember it somehow.

I also booked tickets for a few shows in London in September; I'd love to see Les Misérables, at least as long as Michael McCarthy is with the show; but apart from that I have of course bought tickets for a couple of performances of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. There are a few other plays I'd like to see around that time, but I'm not sure about the dates just yet.

The point about going to London, though, is to buy lots of Polo mints. Naturally. :-)

Back to politics, of sorts: The Mullah Krekar, still living in Oslo even though he's suspected for all kinds of terrorism, has finally decided that he does not wish to speak to the media any longer. About time; the less media coverage he gets, the better. What made him tick? Why, the fact that the stand-up comedienne Shabana Rehman lifted him for about two seconds during a debate earlier this week. All he could say was "not good, not good."

On a happier note, owning a dog could save your life: This elk hound fended off a large bear in order to protect her owner. Well done!

Current track: Listening to the news.

Labels: animals, current affairs, literature, musicals, personal, theatre, tube

Peter Pan (the film, not the boy) waited for me at the post office today, along with My Mother Frank, Grim Fandango (yes, I know it's much too late to buy that game now) and Fire, Ice & Dynamite. Now, the latter is quite bad. I have actually watched it twice on telly, go figure, and now I've bought it on DVD. I promise you I probably won't watch it anytime soon. Then again, I may not keep my promise. I may just rush back from the office tomorrow in order to watch Simon Shepherd dressed in a pink skiing outfit. My, my. Anyway, I've watched about halfway through Peter Pan and I like the...uhmm...colours. A few funny lines in between all the rubbish ones, and it's nicely done but there's no way I would even consider watching this film if Jason Isaacs hadn't been in it. Enough said.

Current track: Starship - We Didn't Start the Fire (the worst song in history? Nah...)

Labels: film, jason isaacs, online shopping, simon shepherd

Speaking of money (see previous post) - I went shopping for...uhmm...stuff today. Clothes, mainly. I was going to buy some badly needed jeans and shoes and brought three jumpers back home instead. *rolls eyes* In other words I have to go back very soon. Anyway, my theory still stands its test; last time was just a glitch - Oslo is heaven for anyone looking for celebs. And I never go looking for them (unless I'm at some event, like a play or a concert, but that doesn't count towards my theory). Today I went into a sports equipment store, looking for shoes, minding my own business, basically, when Frode Grodås (anyone moderately interested in football (soccer) knows that he was a great goalie not long ago) popped up beside me and asked me if I wanted to check...something related to my running skills, I don't know, I was busy turning down his offer in a polite way. A bit later I spotted Thomas Giertsen (stand-up comedian, gets a bit annoying after about ten minutes, I think) interviewing someone - presumably for that weekly TV show he's in, and I thought "if he stops me, I shall be very angry," because he usually stops certain people for a reason, like their hair looks bad or they're wearing a silly-looking pair of shoes. Of course, being the camera-shy person that I am I managed to slip past him without him even glancing at me. Bastard. ;-)

It's been raining since yesterday, and apart from the fact that I'm living more than 200 metres above sea level this could very well have been England. I quite like the rain as long as I'm staying indoors and there's no thunder and lightning. However, it's turning me into a murderer. Because of all the rain there are lots of worms everywhere on the pavement - it actually smells of worms in the morning - and it's getting increasingly difficult to avoid stepping on them as I'm walking to the office. I bet you I could have told you a much more interesting story, but as it's eleven o'clock and I'm tired I just couldn't be arsed to come up with anything even remotely fascinating. Sleep tight!

Current track: Underworld - Two Months Off

Labels: humour, personal

Once again, some American company is suing lots of other American companies for something that would eventually lead to money changing owners. *sighs* This time it's Forgent Networks who claim they have the patent rights for parts of the JPEG format and are suing 31 major companies for not paying for a license to use the JPEG format in their hardware (digital cameras, especially). Read more about it here. I am thinking "you figured this out NOW? JPG-files have been in use since the mid-eighties and you've owned the patent for seven years and you just suddenly thought of this?"

Current track: Boublil & Schönberg - Justice Will be Done (from Martin Guerre)

Labels: current affairs, technology

I don't know why, but I have been playing a lot of football manager games through the years. I am currently playing Championship Manager 4, a game series I have been following since its very beginning. I usually pick obscure second or third division teams because they're more fun to build, manage and try getting promoted. CM4 lets you manage teams in lots of countries all over the world and is very detailed. I love this game, and I can't even stand watching a whole football match in real life.

I was thinking of making an "about me" page for you to read, but the best way of getting to know me is by reading everything I post here. For instance, picking one, ten or even twenty-five favourite films is impossible for me, thus filling out one of those online questionnaires would be pointless. However, I have been browsing through my old favourite links and updated the list on the right. Yay!

Current track: Radiohead - Karma Police

Labels: gaming, lists, personal, sport

I've been watching Carnivále for ten weeks now and I quite like it, even though I'm not sure what's going on just yet. The writers have done a great job at luring us into the series without actually telling us anything about anyone. I hear some people are comparing this series to Twin Peaks, and I think I'll have to agree. Even though I never watched Twin Peaks, but that's one of those series "everyone" had an opinion about no matter what.

I am also enjoying reading Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. It was recommended to me (thanks, Lindy) about a week ago and I went straight to some huge online bookstore which name I shall not reveal (Amazon, where else?) and ordered it. How they got the book to me in just two days, I don't know, but that's not the first time. I swear they've got a hidden warehouse somewhere in Norway. Anyway, although the book is slightly wrong, I like it a lot. I guess it's because I'm so fascinated by languages and because it's interesting to read a native English speaker's thoughts about his own language, the one I'm spending my life trying to learn (an ongoing project, in other words, and not an easy task.)

Since this is Norway, we're used to some white substance called snow to be covering most of us for at least six months a year. Some of this snow turns into ice, which is transparent and more slippery than snow, due to changes in the outdoor temperature. As this ice phenomenon is such a slippery one, people tend to fall when trying to walk (as opposed to skate) on this surface, leading some frustrated members of the community to come up with the idea of gravelling at one point in history (location undisclosed, but that doesn't matter as long as the idea was a good one.) The problem is of course that gravel doesn't melt like snow and ice do, so for the past couple of weeks we've been disturbed by big vehicles that have been cleaning our pavements. However, last Thursday I was minding my own business, sipping a cup of coffee and looking out of the window in my office when suddenly my eyes caught a glimpse of an elderly lady with a shopping bag and a broom scurrying about outside, a few yards away. I had to call on the others to try and figure out what she was doing. Apparently she had no plan whatsoever. She was sweeping the pavement for a couple of seconds, then stopping, turning around, looking at what she'd done, walking a few feet and starting over. She did this for a long time before suddenly leaving, not to be seen again. Later in the day we saw the result of what she'd been doing - all over the place there were small heaps of gravel with clear marks of her broom around them. She must have made at least fifty such heaps, and none of them of any use to anyone. Why did she bring the broom to the store, I wonder? She obviously lived a bit further down the road; why did she not sweep her own pavement? Is this a matter of great importance to human kind? Possibly! (Anything is possible, you know...)

Current track: The Pixies - Where is My Mind?

Labels: humour, linguistics, literature, online shopping, personal, TV

Why is this phrase such a reassuring one for any Brit, expat or otherwise? Discuss.

Current track: Still at work.

Labels: linguistics, personal

...to let you know about this very interesting article about the North Korean economical system, from The Economist. Ta-ta for now!

Current track: Nothing, I'm at work.

Labels: current affairs

Yes, it's official; I have turned into Dame Edna. Well, perhaps not, but it was a nice intro.

I was just watching Iris (the film) and I was so amazed at how they'd managed to find the right kind of actors for each part, both when it comes to acting and looks. I was especially amazed at how the Maurices resembled each other...until I read the credits and discovered they were father and son in real life (so sue me; I am devastated that I did not know their real names, because I know their work rather well.)

Now, where have I been? Well, there's Easter of course, spent mostly glued to the radio and/or the telly, and then I just had a lot to do at work and didn't feel like sitting down and telling you about my boring day. Still, I have done a few interesting things. Like finalising my dream cast list for my dream version of Noises Off. It's going to be absolutely wonderful and it'll be a huge hit and the designated theatre would be crazy not to sign me up for this ordeal production. Everyone will love working with me and we'll make heaps of cash, securing the future of the aforementioned theatre. (Humour me.)

I had a bit of a celebration last Friday as I went to see La Cage aux Folles for the fifth time. It was as stunning as ever. The next day they were auctioning off all the costumes and off we went. Didn't have much money, otherwise I would have loved to own one or more of the costumes. Not to wear, but for fun. Great memorabilia! Oh, well, some other time. The auction was great fun, though; despite the strong smell of old liquor and cod (???) from somewhere in the audience. I would have loved to have lots of money and buy a performance just for me and my friends, because its closing date is June 19 and I know I will be sulking for some time afterwards. Woe is me.

Yesterday I watched Timeline, which was slightly crappy, but half saved by the experienced actors. However, a friend of mine (soon to be a superstar, but that's another story) has read the book twice (nearly) and as I reviewed the film with her we discovered that the film follows the novel's storyline like a drunkard follows a straight, white line. Apparently it's like watching a whole new story altogether. I remember vividly how it annoyed me that they'd changed the brand of the car in The Firm and changed the whole scenario of The Runaway Jury and changed the ending of The Vanishing (the Hollywood version, naturally,) but this is ten times as bad. Still, I rediscovered Marton Csokas, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

The surprise this weekend, however, was that The Butterfly Effect, starring Ashton *gags* Kutcher, turned out to be brilliant! I know! Weird, isn't it? I'm flabbergasted. Mostly because it's my favourite word. So I would recommend that film to everyone. Especially those who thought Memento was a great film (i.e. right-thinking people *winks*.)

Current track: Nothing.

Labels: film, holiday, marton csokas, musicals, radio, theatre, TV

This can't possibly be right:


You are a GRAMMAR GOD!


If your mission in life is not already to
preserve the English tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!


How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

But as you can see, I will post it anyway. :-)

And then:


You are an Elementalist. Your magic stems from the
forces of nature. You might be a forest
nuturing Druid, a storm-creating Weather-Wizard
or any of the many Elementals, but one thing is
sure-- your bond with nature is strong. You can
rely heavily on nature to support yourself
aesthetically or physically for it lends you
both comfort and strength. Your instincts
rarely fail you. You are vibrantly passionate
but are sometimes carried away by your own
emotions.


Which Magical Order Are You In?
brought to you by Quizilla

Right.


Gay Bear


Which Dysfunctional Care Bear Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

That's what you get for answering "ABBA" instead of "Sex Pistols". ;-)


What Finding Nemo Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Of course I had to take the Finding Nemo test, being such an avid fan of the film.

Current track: P.Y.T. - Anywhere USA

Labels: film, linguistics, tests

So I watched The 13th Warrior and it turned out to be not as bad as I had expected. In fact, it was rather good. Well, apart from the first fifteen minutes or so, when I was cringing in the chair because of the incredibly low level of research that had been put into this project. My god, they've really messed up language history there. Phew! I know most Americans wouldn't notice (they'd just be annoyed because of the subtitles), but there are other nationalities out there that watch films, you know. Hmph.

I've also watched Chicken Run twice in one day - first the dubbed version (Norwegian), for the third time, and then the original version, for the first time. And earlier today they showed The Road to El Dorado, which reminds me of NYC. Basically because that's where I first saw it. Anyway, not bad, these three films. And there's a connection, but I won't bore you with that one.

Easter's underway, and there has been some serious eating of chocolate so far, I can tell you! I like this time of year, and I promise that if the weather's nice tomorrow I'll go for a long walk. I'm just hoping there won't be any deaths in the mountains this year; but there's always a couple of avalanches and blizzards that kill people, every Easter. Let's just hope the new system they've installed with the Red Cross works out well; apparently it shortens the emergency dispatch time considerably.

Current track: Drama on the radio

Labels: dennis storhøi, film, holiday, linguistics

No, I haven't won the lottery. Wouldn't that be nice, though? Sigh. What I'd do with all that money...well, probably not a whole lot since the max payouts here are nothing like the Canadian lottery's but nevertheless I would have managed to do quite a lot with a couple of hundred thousand pounds. *grins*

I keep telling people I don't care about my age, growing older and all that. Well, I'm lying through my teeth. I have once again realised I'm in the middle of a quarter-life crisis (this must be my second, or my first was in a hiatus there for a while). It is very annoying, but what to do? Sadly, my sole comfort - and, most definitely, refuge - is going to the theatre. Luckily enough it inspires me instead of destroying me.

However; I think it's a very bad sign to be starting to watch a soap opera just because a couple of actors that I like a teeny weeny bit are in it. :-) Its name? Hotel Cæsar. There, I said it. And it's a bloody awful show, too.

I'm off to watch the beginning of The 13th Warrior. Many people say that it's a total waste of film. They just haven't understood the qualities that lie hidden within, i.e. Dennis Storhøi. I'm sure I'll let you know what I think about it later. Ta-ta!

Current track: Belinda Carlisle - Leave a Light On

Labels: dennis storhøi, film, personal

Yep, that's the tune that's been swirling around inside my head ever since I woke up this morning (which was about an hour ago, but still...). Having listened to ABBA most of this week I have come to realise that they've really got crap accents, haven't they? OK, so perhaps knowing English wasn't such a widely spread phenomenon in Sweden back in the seventies, but whoa! Then again, I don't really care. Their music is great no matter what.

So I entered a lot of newcomers into the list of films that I have yesterday (hadn't been doing that for months; took me a few hours) and I am officially the owner of way too many films. 585, to be exact. Of which 237 are on DVD. Help! The worst part is, this does not include shows/series (of which I have plenty of copies). And I haven't even got around to watching them all yet. Instead I watch those films I've already seen a lot of times. Like Galaxy Quest, that I watched for the umpteenth time yesterday. I just love that film, and it always makes me want to see my other sci-fi films, of which Starship Troopers VERY SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH is a favourite. I mean, it's not a good film. Fighting big monsters is quite boring to watch, I think. But there's something about that film. So sue me. I've got perfect taste no matter what you think. Mwahahahahaaah!

Three more days till Easter, which means chocolate, listening to and watching lots of crime stories on radio and telly (it's a Norwegian thing; we've been obsessed with crime and mystery during the Easter holidays since the 1920s - call us mad (oh, you already are, are you?)), long breakfasts, taking walks (hopefully), reading some of the books I've bought recently, etc. Generally just relaxing and not thinking about work. It's going to be fab. And it'll be over in about two seconds, I just know it.

Current track: ABBA - Bang-a-boomerang

Labels: film, holiday, linguistics, lists, music, TV