| Attn! Dane Cook fans: |
[Aug. 11th, 2009|01:37 pm] |
Reactions of course abound here on LiveJournal and Youtube. I just wanted to hear what you guys think about it. Especially Dane Cook fans. |
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| Whoo |
[Jul. 27th, 2009|02:55 am] |
Training, another party, a six-hour long blueberry-picking trip and so on. This weekend has been absolutely brilliant. I've really enjoyed being home alone too. I've read quite a bit of Kafka's too now.
Tomorrow my parents are coming home. I've got to cut the grass again, paint the garage, wash some stuff and make dinner. And I can't wait to go training tomorrow morning.
IM SO PSYCHED ABOUT LIFE |
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| Midnight run |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|11:54 pm] |
Running is a unique experience in any weather or time of day. So running at night isn't that unique as running at any other time of the day, but the focus I experience is tremendous nonetheless. The feeling of a ground that is sunk beneath my feeth in darkness, thinking, not knowing, that you are the only thing alive for miles and miles ahead, and the feeling of the air being sliced around your body when you run. It is the most human experience I've ever had aside from having just woken up from a nice night's sleep. It's so purely and intimately personal and just so nice to feel this good, because it makes me feel special, and comfortable with myself. At this time I can think of anything, and I can recall any memory however distant in my past it is, and enjoy it to its fullest.
Heavens knows I need to be more comfortable. I've sat on the floor for too long now trying to find a suitable title for this entry. |
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| High pressure and a return to the den |
[Jul. 18th, 2009|09:43 pm] |
So, I am currently typing this entry up on the HDMI widescreen in the living-room. Haxing with my brother as a wee rascal pays off this way, as I have also seen a lot of music-videos and tv-series on it for the past week as the house is finally in my possession, and will hopefully stay so for another week pending a panic-phonecall from the south of Sweden.
I just came back from the failure that was my evening jog. I delayed training because the high pressure was a repeat of the previous jog I had where it felt like I was running through one of those carpet-bazaars you see in Indiana Jones movies, although there was no sabre man, only some very happy immigrants, including my favourite new neighbour, a Polak who smokes the heaviest tobacco on the planet and whose nose has a plump red button at the end, which he emphasises with a thin long smile on his face. He's got nice jackets and great leather shoes.
The jog failed because the high pressure sped up and hit the mountain earlier, so by the time I came back I was soaking wet, and I drew up a pot of tea in order to start this recollection of the past two days. And since I started in reverse, it will continue that way. This morning had started with an early request-wakeup call and attempting to tidy up the house on my own after the party which had left bottles and things everywhere, but that didn't work out so well when making breakfast too, so Ola, George and Jens helped out, and made the day a hell of a lot easier. For some reason having only four hours of sleep didn't affect any of us, least of all Jens who hadn't even had them. It was therefore very disappointinig that as our tidying was approaching its end, Knut left us and we had practically nobody but ourselves to eat breakfast with, which is why there's still a basketful of nice baguettes in the kitchen, and some muffins and brownies George spared. Thankfully this means fat is back on the diet.
Earlier as mentioned we'd had a brilliant party, where thanks to the brilliant planning of Jens and myself, we soaked ourselves through some good wines and beers for dinner, followed by wine and cheese, and then concluded with ice cream and brownies thanks to our dessert-chef. When the night was at its height, ie. as people finally withdrew from the terrace because it was too cold, we pulled out our champagne, relaxed, and then resumed idle conversation with a whiskey and some ice, which involved a long-expected voyage through the massive freezer in our cellar, which as I explained to Jens, belonged to as much of our other furniture, the original load we'd brought over from when we lived in Edinburgh. Which means it's an amazing freezer in terms of size and volume, but its magnetic circuit is incredibly tardy. Either way the finding of the ice was a great victory for me because I know those ice-cubes are very old, as my mother insisted for years that we didn't have any ever since I got back from Canada, and upon finding them I must have broken yet another record of housekeeping secrets that make me the unofficial master of the house.
Now it's time to resume watching Hajime no Ippo, and then I'm finishing off the evening training-session. I finished off the tidying much earlier today when I'd seen people off homewards and I am incredibly pleased with myself since the house is incredibly clean and nice right now, and only mine. Though there is a withdrawal effect from having nice people in the house to talk to. (Ola, you should move in to my brother's old room.)
Meditation hurts a lot now by the way for some reason. I've completely denied myself proper core-training over the year and it's beginning to show in a disastrous lack of balance.
tl;dr
It was a good day. |
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| No excuses |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|11:04 pm] |
Some things have happened. I finished a job at my old primary school, so I made some money. I visited the dentist, and need to get a filling. Fortunately it can be prevented in the future by using this new dental floss thing she recommended. My goodness she was so nice to me.
I'm currently listening to the Battlestar Galactica Soundtrack and I find that Passacaglia and Something Dark is Coming both make me cry with joy and the sheer totale of memories flooding my mind of watching the series for the first time. No series ever handled absolutely everything I love in this world and came out with a decent message at the end except for BSG. There is no reason why people shouldn't give this show a try. It held a UN conference on how successful it was after the finale, for God's sake. Can you all please tune in and at least watch the pilot before ignoring it? So many of you have a long list of stuff to watch, but this is really the best sci-fi series ever made, and this is coming from a solid 9.1 rating on IMDB, thousands of Firefly-, Star Trek, Star Wars, Farscape- and Stargate-fans. Please, if you do anything this weekend, get a look at the pilot for BSG. It is amazing. I mean come on, its soundtrack is fabulous too.
This is a show I saw some episodes of when I was a kid. BSG has two generations. The old series starring cast found also in Bonanza among others, just to indicate how old the concept is. The new "reimagined" series of BSG picks up where the last series left, with a peace between mankind and their artificially created artificial intelligence-race, the Cylons. A classic scenario of a god-project gone wrong, but which also delves into the question of what constitutes sentience, life, and what does it mean to be human? Can we see this in our blood, our actions, our beliefs, who we love or our heritage? And what is right and wrong? Is abortion ever right? Is there a time where genocide is right? You can sit there and skim it all, jump the gun and just ignore this one opportunity for a tv-series which is hailed all around the world to have addressed these issues, but you're missing out on the greatest sci-fi story ever told.
And you are damn right that is something you should be thinking twice about. When there are less than 50,000 humans left, can you turn away?
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| A very Tobias update |
[Mar. 29th, 2009|03:59 pm] |
I've been doing well, getting very good grades for my past assignments and because I know dad is coming over next week for my birthday. So I'm going to have a great week ahead of me. The bad thing is that the reason I'm getting work to do is due to working on a contribution to our international law review: On Friday, a group of Islamic countries passed a resolution effectively restricting criticism of Islam in the Human Rights Council. The body is dominated by Islamic countries by the way. It does not have the full scale of membership which the UN GA has.
( Read more... )
Life's been good otherwise. I saw Watchmen, I've caught up on Supernatural (which is just about the best thing ever), House, and I've abandoned Heroes (many tears for Hiro Nakamura).
Training is also going really well. I'm as healthy as a fish. A good Norwegian expression which just doesn't make sense to me. I'm looking forward to planning a birthday-party of some sort. A get-together of some sort. |
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| Update |
[Mar. 19th, 2009|10:11 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | atm, rl, update | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | The Submarines - You, Me and the Bourgeoisie | ] |
Currently reading:
- Full Metal Alchemist
- 20th Century Boys
Currently watching:
- Supernatural
- House
- Battlestar Galactica
Currently listening to:
- Daft Punk
- Portico Quartet
- Lähtö
- The Submarines
Currently should be reading:
- Kant, Prolegomena to any future metaphysics |
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| Jesus fucking Christ |
[Mar. 1st, 2009|04:25 pm] |
I haven't talked to my brother for months. He started to chat with me on skype half an hour ago, and my tears just came flowing.
Emo bro is emo
Missed the bastard for ages. Finally got a chance to talk to him in private, and he's on the other side of the planet. Fucking miss him so much.
BAWWWW THANK YOU SKYPE |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 15th, 2009|09:22 pm] |
Supernatural is a really difficult show to enjoy for me. I'm used to series with a consistent main plot with few deviations. But more concerning is the number of times I've jumped out of fear. Just now for instance, I think I cleared half a meter. Other than that, it's turning out to be really good, though the first season was extremely slow in building up a main story, and though it explodes into a great series in the last five episodes of that season, it took me a lot of patience to get into it. I'm really enjoying it now, albeit one does wonder if the repeated stories in which there's a damsel in distress alludes towards some sexist purpose. But that's Chomsky talk. The reason I'm posting about it is that my family is getting very split up. Much like the brothers in Supernatural.
My brother moved out a month a go from home, and even though I'm in Canada, I am not looking forward to coming home only to not find him in the basement any more. And soon my sister will go to a college in the south of Norway, which means she's moving out too. I'll be the only kid who "lives at home" now, and I am barely home for more than a few months. I can't imagine how hard this is for my parents. It will be strange coming home to Norway this spring, and I'm going to need to get out of the house. My father offered me a job to work on building an apartment downstairs in the old house before they sell it, and build a new one on the southern part of the lawn, which will be drawn up into two separate properties respectively. I'm sort of excited about the job, because I'm a lazy fart who doesn't find work usually. But this year I dunno if my mates will be home. Even my old school-friends from around seem to be moving.
It seems the only place that's somewhat stable is campus, and while I do love it, Charles and I were planning on moving out together. Problem is we haven't found an apartment yet, let alone do we know if we can get any financial support to secure the deal. Personally I want it only if it is close-by campus and cheaper than residence. That's a pretty high standard I guess but otherwise I'll just stay here. I should have enough points to earn a room here at residence now, I think, and hopefully get reimbursed by the college for my recent participation at the McGill conference.
Speaking of which, I didn't get into the mood for it. I played my role where it was necessary, but for the most part I was too disgusted by the behaviour of the other delegates in the Security Council to enjoy the simulation as a debate. MUN has turned into a "people-thing" for me now. Still, the society was eager to keep me around and I directed crises simulations for the crises committees and the general assemblies at our university's high school conference. The kids loved it, especially the videos we made, with the Al Jazeera and BBC logos. It was a brilliant party for certain. Lots of fun. Then we had our college formal, which was decent, I got to see a lot of people and talk to some new ones. My house-mates have been a lot of fun this year at the socials too. But otherwise things seem to be uncertain for me. I feel like I should be getting more involved with studies-related activities, maybe even student-council. Graeme was pushing me into this, and I did feel like it would be a good idea, but the problem of course is that I am not very good at dealing with some of hte people in the student-bodies. Let's just say that some people are there for the sake of fun, and some are there to force their views down your throat. I wouldn't mind those hyperactive MUN-delegates in comparison to these kiddos.
Otherwise schoolwork has been managable, though I'm way behind in philosophy. I'm about two books behind the syllabus, and I've not read the last two in political theory either. Considering I've got straight A's in pol theory I should clean my act up. I'm not too happy about being alone for reading week either, but that's the way it is. Maybe I'll get some work done, or maybe I'll catch up with Supernatural and True Blood. I hear good things about TB. |
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| Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice revamped as zombie slayer novel |
[Feb. 10th, 2009|04:39 pm] |
JANE Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice is being updated as a zombie horror book and film. A parody of the English novel is due to be published in April under the name Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, with Hollywood studios already bidding to turn the new book into a blockbuster movie. The new book has been penned by Los Angeles-based TV comedy writer Seth Grahame-Smith, who has been able to update Austen's original tale because it is out of copyright. Austen fans are in for a shock, with heroine Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters becoming zombie slayers and taught how to fight like Japanese ninjas by Mr Darcy. "It quickly became obvious that Jane (Austen) had laid down the blueprint for a zombie novel," The Sunday Times quoted Grahame-Smith as saying. "Why else in the original should a regiment arrive on Lizzie Bennet's doorstep when they should have been off fighting Napoleon? "It was to protect the family from an invasion of brain-eaters, obviously." Grahame-Smith said about 85 per cent of his novel is Austen's original text. "I hated her when I was forced to read Austen in school, but when I started re-reading I realised she was a brutal, but very funny, satirist," he said. "I can only aspire to be as mean-spirited as she could be."
link
I have no words. I just saw this and thought it was oddly appropriate after comparing P&P to Twilight. |
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| Twilight: Quite frankly |
[Feb. 9th, 2009|12:37 am] |
After reading the first book, I'm a bit sick. My impression of the damsel-in-distress Bella has not been put aside, and assurances that it was a good teenage girl's novel has left me wondering whether this begs the question of a larger series of literature. Suffice to say, I can't speak to that, but I got word of this blog-post which addresses the concerns of feminists, and by which I mean all branches of feminists, and for the lack of my own wording, I'm putting my trust in this very good article about the whole series:
The link
And really, if you do have issues with this article, I don't mind, I'd love to debate them with you, and I'm in the human emancipation-camp, which means that you can guage me as a modern feminist: I don't like literature like this and I am quite frankly disgusted that it has gotten so little of this criticism. One thing is the outright assault on the writing itself, I am no master on this, but the story is what gets me, and really, novels have nothing to them but their fiction, and it is never the case that we can ever put the didactic and esoteric representation of romance in these novels as "just fantasy". It won't suffice to use the word literature alone because it seems to disarm critics from drawing upon the very obvious psychological impact books have, and since we have a desire to read fiction, we cannot just say that morality is out of the window either. In fact, I feel the same way about Pride and Prejudice on some of the events in the book, but at the very least there seems to be a strong female character opposing the sexist environment around her, and that is what made it interesting in my opinion. In Twilight on the other hand, which is set in our century, we should see Federal agents getting involved with the Heraclean monster who is Edward. And Jacob's lycanthropy being brushed off as disease? I'll just leave you with the article. I don't want to read any more of this. |
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| An interesting state of events |
[Feb. 5th, 2009|08:35 pm] |
I'm in a very strange mood right now.
Usually I would be furious if someone dumped a lot of work on me, especially if it was stuff that people who I don't like drop on me. But not this time. This time I want to take it all.
We're having a conference this weekend, inviting lots of highschoolers from around Toronto to the university. It's going to be interesting since I've written the rules, arranged the procedures for opening and closing the conference, written crises topics and arranged for setting up live crisis committees.
It's going to be one hell of a blast, if not a people-experience, like all other MUN-conferences. Speaking of which, last weekend didn't result in any awards, but I've got a lot of new friends, and that's what I'd rather have. McGill and Montreal were stunning as always, as were the rooms for our session, the Security Council, and we had some lovely chairs. The party was great this time too considering I actually had a few friends to go there with and plenty of nice people to meet at the party. Nothing romantic, nothing serious, just good fun with friends. I really needed that, and hopefully this weekend will also be a bonding experience. Then I have to start writing my IR paper on political economy, which is going to be a blast. I'm way ahead of my classmates in this field, so I'm very comfortable with that. On another note, I feel like I'm improving in economics as well. The surprising thing is that my grades are supposedly up as well.
And yet I'm very contemplative about how the end of this year will turn out. I've learned so much about my subjects, and so little about myself. Perhaps I've seen my limitations and learned to balance stuff out better. THat would be nice, what with life being rather didactic and all. It's a great people-experience. And mediocre, but I like that. Next weekend I'm going to a House / funk joint for some proper partying, and I'm thrilled to say that hats are forbidden there. Goodness gracious I despise that fashion. |
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| BEST SANDWICH EVER |
[Feb. 2nd, 2009|01:35 pm] |
Ok, so it's not a sandwich, but a wrap, but anything goes right?
Dijon mustard - I like spicy stuff, so I got a lot to form the base
Salami - spiced or not, depending on your preference. This was a plain salami with pepper-crust.
Lettuce - A large and thick crunchy leaf, from the base of the lettuce-head
Tomatoes - Duh
Pickles / cucumbers - I love savory and sour things
Guacamole - *secret addition* -> I've never tried this before, but the mishmash of the spicy dijon with the guacamole was a brilliant idea. It balanced it out perfectly and brought out the taste of the vegetables in the wrap. So damn good. Just add a small dash and spread it on the top before putting the top on, or wrapping the sandwich together.
I just had one, and my tastebuds were euphoric about it. |
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| An entry about TV-things that I like, in which Doctor Who needs rehab because he ain't PC fo sho' |
[Jan. 26th, 2009|12:37 am] |
I've started watching Supernatural, Hajime no Ippo and I finished all the seasons of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Fantastic so far, though it took Supernatural half-way through its first season to actually develop the main plot.
Hajime no Ippo is, without a doubt, the best anime I have ever seen, and I was so delighted to read that it started in 1989, and is still running. In fact, they made a new season for it now, and I can't wait to catch up to it. We actually see the clothing-style of the characters change over time. It's amazing how time is spanned through this series. But the real kicker is of course the maturity of the subject, with the humoristic moments of all sorts of real intimacy when it is necessary. Another reason for why it is quality television: There isn't drama all the time.
Of course, it is a boxing-series, and that alone scares people away from it. Because it is about boxers, there sure is a lot of fighting in it, right? Wrong. Oh so wrong. And I am embarassed to admit that I was only lured into the series because a good friend drew me in, kicking and screaming. Afterwards it feels like every other tv-series I have ever watched, real, cartoon or any other sort, fails to compare. The male bonding in the gym, the sheer humanity of the friendship between the characters in the series, and the awkwardly shy main protagonist, are all so damn realistic. You can actually pick one character and if you give it a good thought, you've met a person just like them sometime in your life. For me, I can recognise the whole gym so far. It's hilarious. Sadly however, my main post about Hajime no Ippo will have to wait because there is some serioz biz to deal with first:
The main thing that made me sit down and actually write an LJ-post about television is the topic that I never thought I'd be riling about: Race and gender.
The truth is I never have the energy to rile about these things long enough, so it's good that I took a break after reading this very provocative blog-post about how picking the new Doctor was a racist move. That's right, when you tell me that picking an actor who is white is a letdown and your intentions were the opposite, you're making arguments from necessity: The fact is that Doctor Who isn't racist (not any more anyway, the escapade with the Chinese sorceror during the Fourth Doctor's era is long gone (cue Mickey Smith)) and it isn't sexist (not anymore anyway, because the difference between a Time Lord Lady such as Romana and a human being like Donna who didn't seem to qualify for more than deskwork at Barns & Nobles, lies in their intelligence). In other words, progress has already been achieved.
So, we've put the "old Doctor" behind us. The question was whether the BBC would pick a black or female doctor this time. My question was "why", and the answers were quite honestly, pathetic.
( Read more... ) |
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treskonebb's journal
