Holidays!

Yes you heard me right! I came back home to Oslo today by nighttrain from Bergen. Nothing to do with travelling in style but it has advantages: No limit on luggage/weight. So the semester in Bergen is finished and now I have some time to relax at home before the 26th of December. That´s when I am going to Paris and later from there, to Belgium. I´ll keep the worries for later and just try to enjoy the holiday season now. Hopefully I will have some more time/energy to update my blog...

Cold lovebirds

On my last day in Paris I was walking down the Champs-Élysées. Just a stonethrow away from de Arc de Triomphe there was this Asian couple standing in wedding-costumes. Looked like the guy had just popped the question (who would get married on the street? ). That day was cold and the poor to-be-wed´s were probably freezing. Anyway, I guess this happens quite often in Paris,the capital of LOVE. Not the most original stuff I´ve seen ;-)

Goldfrapp+Coldplay in Paris

The concert was in Bercy, Paris on the 29th of November. Goldfrapp warmed up for the British supergroup. The overall performance of both was great. With so many hits hidden up their sleeves, I don´t think a Coldplay-show can ever go wrong. Chris Martin was in his usual "jumpy" mood and seemed to be "humping" the piano on several occasions. Sweet! Coldplay has so far released three full albums and the lastest came this year, so the playlist was a seamless flow of hits from "Parachutes" to "X&Y". This concert was nothing but impressive and I understand why this group of four modest British lads probably make up the greatest pop/rock-band at the moment.

All is swell in Paris

Paris in November: Cold,foggy and less tourists! Seriously, this time of the year is a delight because the weather adds a certain aura to the city of ligths. Yesterday we went to out to eat brunch at "Le comptoir Paris-Marrakesh". Great vibe, impeccable decor, eclectic menu and not too chic guests. If you have time to kill on a Sunday in Paris, why not go for a mixture of French and North-African cuisine? And the prices are not too steep either. "Le Comptoir Paris-Marrakesh" is situated just close to Les Halles, in walking distance from major attractions such as the Louvre. After the brunch, we went across to the Left bank and walked all over Saint-Germain and the Latin Quarter. The fresh air sure did us good. Don´t be surprised if you´re strolling alongside the Seine on a Sunday afternoon and encounter a hoard of rollerblading Parisians. Apparently every Friday and Sunday the natives take to their blades ,form a large mass and head off on to the boulevards. The whole event is carefully watched by police and medical personel and normal traffic halts while the swarm of blading people pass by. Quite an impressive sight!

Bienvenue en Belgique/ Welkom in België

So it is official then; I am going to Belgium. Yes, the treasured land of Tintin,Magritte,Poirot,French fries (!) and a whole lot of beer is going to be my homeplace for the coming semester. Sounds like a piece of Walloon cake you say? Well don´t be fooled, this will be my exchange-semester at Université catholique de Louvain (UCL). It is just a short ride from Brussels, capital and political heart of Europe. I am very excited to study abroad and from the look of it, I think it will be a great experience. I´ve heard that the studentlife is great and the proximity to cities such as London,Paris and Amsterdam means a lot of travelling! The main task now is to set up a course-plan and then to find some OK accomodation. The practical formalities can be a real pain in the you-know-what,but to quote a certain Wisenheimer: No pain,no gain!

If you are interested in finding out more about Belgium, visit the official tourism page

If you want to learn more about my adopted school (some French knowledge required),visit the webpages of UCL

If you are fed up with this article and just feeling thirsty,visit The Belgian Beer Escort

Finally a new mobilephone!

Yesterday my new mobilephone arrived in the mail. It is a Sony Ericsson K750i and quite sleek imho. The camera has got a 2.0 megapixel camera and a whole array of functions. I just have to take some time to get to know all the possibilities. At least this phone is a quantum-leap from my former one, a Nokia 2600,the most basic phone out there *blush*. Above you can see a picture taken with the phone this morning. Now I can take adequate pictures without dragging around my digital camera. Sweet!

The greatest couch-scene in The Simpsons

We all love the funny twists on the scenes when the Simpsons-family run to their couch in front of the tv. These are known for their great parodies on everything and everyone, but there is one which is outstanding. It takes the simple couch scene to a whole new level and gives us a glimpse into creation and meaning of life itself! I saw this one yesterday and I was left speechless!

Trick or treat!!

So this year´s Halloween is over. Although I live a country which does not have any grand Halloween traditions (it´s even hard to find a decent pumpkin),we celebrated the creepy night as any good spookophile would do. I have to admit that I care less about the story behind Halloween, I rather just want to dress up and act whacky. The party was great and people displayed all kind of costumes. I myself went for the Mummy (no I didn´t use toiletpaper this time). This one of those celebrations you just can´t resist because it´s so much fun to see friends turn up in the weirdest outfits!

Click here to find out more about Halloween!

Cool LOST ad!

Check out this funky tv-commercial for LOST. It was made by David Lachapelle,the über-famous photographer, for British Channel 4.

Enter Boards of Canada

Feeling sleepy or just floating in a dreamy existence? Let Boards of Canada help you! I started to notice this Scottish duo when I found them on various ambient/downtempo compilations . Starting to get intrigued by their beautiful melodic soundscapes and chillout ambiance, I wanted to dig deeper into this group. It is extremely difficult to find info on them,they are highly reclusive,don´t go on tours or give interviews. BOC is just a weird tone from being as mythical as the music. But the music is delicious so who cares? Sombre tunes,lo-fi beats and a "bitcrusher" atmosphere makes everything a highly enjoyable ride into the outer realm of chillout electronica. Their new album "The Campfire Headphase" is a slow walk in a deep fog and arrivial at a mist-filled cold Scottish coastal town. It´s melancolic and haunting,almost spooky!

The Simpsons goes Al Shamsoon

After so many years,some network in Middle East have decided to show the Simpsons to an arabic audience. There is a catch however: The show has gone through several changes before it has been broadcasted...one might call it yellow censorship!

Some of the changes are:

-The title of the series is now Al Shamsoon.
-Homer Simpson is called Omar Shamshoon(!)
-Bart is now Badr.
-Homer/Omar´s favorite beer,Duff,is replaced by soda.
-Homer/Omar no longer craves for porkchops but for Egyptian beefsausage!
-Homer/Omar has no longer a fatal appetite for donuts but for traditional a Arabic cake mysteriously called "kakh".
-Homer/Omar no longer spends time in filthy bars (eg. Moe´s Tavern)

Many fans have (hold tight! ) reacted with anger at these changes,saying the show has been altered to something else. I think I will go on that notion. Moving away from its original concept makes it less funny!

Will somebody help me?

In a couple of months time I will have to write a thesis and I am seriously lacking good ideas. Ok, let me break it down to a more comprensible problem: I am doing a "middle thing" between a bachelor and a master-degree (it is a unique Norwegian management degree). My major is Finance and some of the courses I am attending this semester are: Investments,Financial Markets,Corporate Finance and Crash and Crises. So I´m in a pickle because I have to set a title for my thesis now and apply for supervisor. This must be done as soon as possible. I am hoping to be writing about some international topic related to either finance or macroeconomic policy (interest rates,stock markets, fluctuations in commodity prices,emerging new markets etc).

Now,if you have any kind of experience with this or just want do a bit brainstorming, I would be very thankful.
Any suggestions/tips/advices/do´s/dont`s will be remembered till eternity:-)

Vice men don´t shave.

Only read this if you have an IQ of 150+

Got this one in the mail today! So it is true then, Mac is more complicated than PC ? I know that Apple sets a high standard for their customers, but this time they just went too far!

Jamiroquai Live

Crowd getting their groove on´

Some photos I took (click the pic) at the Jamiroquai concert in Bercy,Paris,23/9 . The show was great, Jay Kay was on fire and the sound was pumping. The supersonic group played a nice mix of old classics and tunes from the new album "Dynamite". Since I have been a long time fan it was about "high time" too experience them live.

Signs of life...

So I haven´t been posting for many days and I can´t blaim it on lack of time. The thing is that I have been trying to explore other forms of blogging. Spent a lot of time figuring out Wordpress to get more possibilities to personalize my blog. But not everything can run smoothly all the time so I decide to stay on my blogspot.place for just a little bit longer:-)

HowStuffWorks.com

I stumbled upon this great site. Do you know how the Tornade Intercept Vehicle works? Trust me ,there are a lot of things that I have no clue about or not even heard about. At HowStuffWorks.com they try to explain the basic concepts behind everyhting from cosmetics to currency. An excellent place to kill time and feed the little grey ones:-)

P.S: Also check out About.com. Talk about reference!

Noon in Bergen...

This pic was taken just ten minutes ago and as you can see: It is not always raining in Bergen! Wow,this photo is actually my first "panoramaview" ever. Pretty easy in fact,just need the software to merge photos. The photo was taken from my window with a Canon Powershot A95.

Are you LOST?

The second season of ABC´s Lost has begun in the US and what a flying start! Tomorrow they are airing the fourth episode over there and I can´t wait to see it. I can´t even remember last time I was so impatient about watching a tv-show. Well,I have seen the three first episodes and the questions just keep coming. Ok ,we get one explanation (ahmm no spoilers) as well but it´s not likely that this season will reveal all the mysteries either. So for the moment, being a LOST-fan is really frustrating because I don´t know how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

Hip-Hop at its best ?

The Oakland-duo Blackalicious has released their fifth album named "The Craft". The choice of title is justified because the two men,The Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel, are truly audiovisual craftsmen. The last years I have been enjoying their two last albums, "NIA" and "Blazing Arrow",which IMHO still are among the best hip-hop albums of the last decade. Today the rap and hip-hop scene has almost become a "Bling-Thing" and its hard to find talented,innovative acts. Blackalicious is truly amazing when they showcase such a deeper understanding of different styles and grooves. For sure,this a fusion album extraordinaire .Their great blend of jazz,soul,rap,funk,rap and hip-hop is truly amazing and its hard not to smile when listening to "The Craft". I am not a big lyric-guy (yeah I know they´re rapping) but the word-wizardry of Gift of Gab is breathtaking. Production is airtight and the songs are flavored with electronic instruments and processed effects (check out the phaser/flanger vocal on "Ego Sonic Wardrum). And for old funk lovers,George Clinton is starring on "Lotus Flower"! This must be one of the best releases this year and its eclectic style should have appeal all across the board. A true gem!

Apple to reveal goodies

Apple is going to stage an invitation-only event the 12 th October at the California Theater in San Jose. The phrase "One more thing" has previously been used by Steve Jobs when revealing updates or new products. As always there´s a whole lot of speculation going on! What kind of magic can we expect this time? A bird whispered in my ear that there will not be any video-iPod (as many are hoping for) but rather updates or new models in the Powerbook/Powermac range. Apple knows the art of surprising so I guess we´ll just have to wait and see:-)

Literally "Haute cuisine"

No, this is not a pic of last nights dinner. As we all know, airline food can be great or just great dogfood. At Airlinemeals they´ve got a huge picture archive of basically everything that has been served to gullible passengers worldwide the last decades. Get an idea of what you might be served next time you are up there,high above the sky...

New Herbaliser album!

Oh yes, the lads have done it again! The new Herbaliser album " Take London" is a hotpot of groovy jazz licks, sampledelia and pure hip-hop frenzy. I think the album is all about substance without falling into instrumental self-indulgence. As always, the London-group manages to convey a cinematic,retro,jazzydelic ambiance and for all of us who liked "Snatch" : This would have been the perfect soundtrack! Check out Roots Manuva on "Lord, Lord" ,the feisty "Generals",the over the top P-Funk´ed "Gadget Funk" and the bizzare Gainsbourgesque "Serge". Yummy! For more info go to the official webpage

Welcome to my blog

So finally I am on the Blog-wave.....here I will try to post things which are important to me and everything else in between!

Enjoy!