Let's see how filthy your mind is.

Labels: humour, time wasting

Perhaps we should have brought back lobotomy - these people (including the onlookers) clearly need to be removed from any kind of social setting.

I really wish this "karma" thing exists. At least it would give us some sort of hope for the future of humanity.

Labels: current affairs

OK, so I keep complaining about the selfishness of my fellow Norwegians, but comparing this year's televised charity event in Norway to the two biggest charity events in the UK this year (Children in Need and Comic Relief (please note that the latter takes place only once every two years, but this is a comparison of what the two countries' citizens have given during the course of a year*)), Norwegians give 247%** of what the Brits do. Of course, this does only take into account how much we donate willingly and must not be confused with foreign aid (let's just say the percentage would increase quite a lot, but at the other end Norway contributes very little to the Western military aid, in which we all know Britain takes a big part...let's not enter that discussion).

*) Actually, the British figures take into account a whole year, the Norwegian just four days, but it's unlikely that people keep on giving for longer than a week, really.

**) Actual percentage, not percentage points, which usage seems to be the norm in the media nowadays so that things sound more sensational than they really are...or because in general people don't know that "100%" means "a 1:1 ratio".

Labels: Norway

I always thought the main singer of this song was a woman. Well, I guess I was wrong. Still a really cool song, though (yes, I know it's very melodramatic, but nevertheless cool).

Labels: music

The postal strike is finally over, after three weeks of no deliveries (ok, there was one rogue delivery), so I have finally got my long-awaited (we're talking four years here) Hamlet (Branagh) DVD and the brand new Football Manager 2008 by post. Of course, I am at work, so will have to wait till I get back home, but still good news.

And then, to top it off, my favourite headmaster, Albus Dumbledore of Harry Potter fame, turns out to be gay. Didn't we all (especially the guys over at FanFic.net who will now probably die and go to slash heaven) just know it?

Speaking of gay, I met one of my (competent) co-workers (more on that later) in the shop today and he seemed a bit flustered when he saw me. I had the distinct feeling I wasn't meant to see him with the guy he was there shopping with. Come on, puh-leeze. My gaydar was bleeping frantically the first time I saw him.

Any-hoo, since I'm in such a good mood, I am going to cheer for England in the rugby World Cup finals today. I won't be wasting my time actually watching the match, but I hope they beat the Springboks. You didn't know there was something called the rugby World Cup? Well, you're probably not the only one. In fact, most people don't know and don't care. A bit like the Commonwealth Games. Or the curling championships. Or the skiing World Cup. Ring a bell? Thought it would.

Labels: film, gaming, literature, personal, sport

Thought I'd share a couple of plays I would LOVE to see in the near future:

The new comedy by Yasmina "Art" Reza, starring none other than long-time favourite Ralph Fiennes, and then the new play by Sir Antony Sher, with new favourite Roger Allam. I have a strong feeling I will visit at least one of these.

Labels: ralph fiennes, roger allam, theatre

Not sure if this is normal, but for as long as I can remember I've had flashbacks, seemingly totally unrelated to what I am doing or thinking at the time, of events in my life or dreams I have had, years and even decades previously, a bit like electric impulses which lead me to the weirdest situations (suddenly giggling while being crushed on the tube, for instance). Then again, I also experience deja vus on a weekly basis, so clearly my brain isn't functioning normally. Earlier today I had this flashback of a play I saw last year, and suddenly remembered that I'd seen Paul Hilton before seeing him in the quite extraordinary drama series True Dare Kiss. We saw him on stage in On the Third Day.

We went to the theatre last week, our first WOS outing, to see a preview of Glengarry Glen Ross. It was well-acted thanks to a strong cast and director, even though there were some hiccoughs along the way. But hey, that's what previews are for! (Or, in Anders Hatlo's case, that's what most performances are for (and I say that in the most affectionate fashion).) The evening ended with a Q&A with the cast and director, and I was rather giddy because I had completely missed the fact that Paul Freeman, of whom I have been a semi-fan for more than a decade, was going to appear in the play and also took the time to join the Q&A afterwards. In fact, the whole cast but one (Jonathan Pryce, but giving most people the benefit of the doubt (yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking, doesn't sound like I care about other people in my posts), I would guess he would have wanted to join us if he could) took the time to stay behind for about 20 minutes to discuss aspects of the play with us. I absolutely loved the fact that I had apparently backed the right horse all the way, even though I boycott horseracing because of animal cruelty (funny I should work in the betting industry, then, ahem...), because Freeman, who frequently plays the villain, turns out to be a very likeable person and stood out as being very open towards the audience (the only one, apart from the director, actually looking at the audience when answering questions) and also intelligent and with a sense of humour. I knew it!

My next venture into Theatreland will be Hairspray in late November. I am looking forward to that to such a degree that I am almost about to burst, and to top it off I am going to something which will give me even more euphoria the very next day--details to be revealed only AFTER I've been there, as otherwise I will probably jinx it. Grrr.

And more theatre, my flatmate seems to be settling in ok at the new school--she had a lot of things to read last week (which eventually turned out to be not as much as she had first thought, but still...) and lots of new stuff to get used to, so this will keep her (and me as well, to a certain extent) occupied for a long time.

Me? Reading lots of textbooks at the moment. Got a new highlighter today, thanks to the previously mentioned flatmate, and I have started using my PDA again (superb dictionary installed on the memory card) so I am raring to go! Ah, the little pleasures in life.

Labels: anders hatlo, musicals, personal, theatre

I can't even begin to explain to you how relieved I am right now when I didn't spend all of my money on a ticket on this (the last sentence of the first paragraph should pretty much sum up why).

Also sorry about the irregular updates, it seems I keep forgetting I actually have a blog these days.

In the news for today; my flatmate has finally started drama school (yesterday), and I was just about as excited as she was about her first day there. Apparently they were all very nice and she had a lovely time. Hopefully this will be a good experience for her. My own pursuit for eternal glory and happiness by writing myself into the minds of theatre audiences around the world is slowly moving in the right direction, but I really wish my job was closer to my flat so that I wouldn't waste three hours every day just commuting. It would help enormously. I remember a time when I would work full-time and be home at 4:30. I wrote quite a lot back then AND I had time for watching a film, going out, going to the theatre etc. Nowadays, by the time I have had my dinner and done the chores (because I still have chores...which is probably the result of living under a roof. Most people have to clean from time to time), there's usually the news and some drama or comedy to watch and then perhaps 30 mins by the computer before I am heading for Bedfordshire again at around 11. Which I still consider to be very early. Where did my carefree days go? Oh, right, they ended the day I had my first summer job and realised that from there on out, at least until my late sixties, I would never have a two-month summer holiday again and with it came the feeling that I was supposed to be a responsible adult.

I really must stop thinking about these things. All in all I'm currently in a happy place but am determined to make things even better.

Joined a discussion earlier today (an online discussion, that is) about people not having enough time because they're keeping themselves very busy after work--hobbies etc. This was a discussion which started due to an article in a Norwegian paper and boy, do those people know how to moan! I am increasingly embarrassed about where I come from. I'm still more proud than embarrassed, but the pride dwindles every day, thanks to my realising that Norwegians, with the highest living standard in the world (just ask the UN), are extremely self-orientated and so full of themselves they don't seem to understand that they really should stop their moaning and bitching. It's due to decades of social-democratic governments creating the welfare state and the general public being so hung up on being comfortable all the time that they would now rather blame the government for every little shitty thing that happens in their life instead of realising they could just do something about it themselves. "There was no butter in my fridge this morning, because the government hadn't bought any after I used the rest yesterday" is the general line of thought, it seems. And the biggest reason for my embarrassment is of course that I probably used to be like that, and am struggling with changing my view on things (although it helps a lot just living outside of Norway, seeing the reality elsewhere). A lot of people in this country think the same way, but here you could actually find proper poor people, and that puts things in a different light altogether.

I have no idea where that rant came from. My apologies to those who are still with me. On a lighter note, uhmm...errr...let's find something...oh yes, these days most of the shows I watch return for a new series, and this will keep me busy for a very long time! Now, THAT was interesting, wasn't it? /logoff

Labels: musicals, Norway, personal, philip quast, TV