Author: Mirthful

So. L came. We went to the Dubliner Wednesday evening, but went home quite early as a party of girls (very drunk, it must be said) decided to sing “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” out of tune (so out of tune, in fact, that it took quite a while to figure out what they thought they were singing) and compete with the live band playing “Irish” music.

Thursday we were awakened by a marching band marching (duh) past outside at around 8 am. They were very good, though it’s hard to appreciate that sort of thing in the morning when you’d planned on a lie-in. Anyway, we got up and made tea (PG! Yay!) and lounged in front of “lifestyle” programmes on BBC Prime until about noon, when we finally decided it was time to step outside. We walked down towards town. In Sofienbergparken we found a fairground and so were well and dizzy by the time we got to Grünerløkka proper. We had an absolutely fabulous lunch (tapas) at Delicatessen, and a bit more of a wander after that. The weather had been dodgy for a while, and it started raining, so we had coffee at Cafe de Stil (they have the best coffee!) and then tried to find a movie to watch. Unfortunately we had both set our hearts on “Two Weeks’ Notice” or something similar, and nothing even remotely promising in terms of feel-good and happily-ever-after was on the board, so we headed for home and rented Orange County on our way instead.

Orange County, by the way, was a very funny film, though not, in my opinion, wholly sucessful. It starts out very well, with a kind of absurd twist to the whole thing, but towards the end the surrealism peters out into a typical Hollywoody happy ending sort of thing. Now I’m all for happy endings, but the ending of Orange County felt to me a bit as if they’d run out of ideas and money and needed just a few quick takes to wrap the story up. It’s still recommended, though.

Voices in my head: Murmurs – You Suck

I’m all in favour. I think all Thursdays should be days off and then Fridays would all be one-day-weeks. Today’s Friday Five is rather related to that other list:

1. Name one song you hate to admit you like.
Oops, I Did it Again w/Britney Spears, apart from that freaky bit with the guy at the end.

Uhm. Did I say that out loud?

2. Name two songs that always make you cry.
One Moment in Time – Whitney Houston
Teddybjørnens vise – Prøysen
(OK, “always” is overstating it a bit, “frequently” might be a better word)

3. Name three songs that turn you on.
Tricky. Not sure I’d say I ever get “turned on” by songs. The bit of “Red & Black” from Les Mis when Marious sings: “Red – I feel my soul on fire. Black – My world if she’s not there. Red – The colour of desire. Black – The colour of despair” send shivers down my spine. In fact, I get a tingly feeling just thinking about it, so I suppose that’s a good one. Will try to think of two more.

4. Name four songs that always make you feel good.
Juba Juba – Knutsen & Ludvigsen
Fin frokost – Lillebjørn Nilsen
Mary’s Wedding – Van Morrison & The Chieftains
Supercalifragilisticexpialidoscious – Julie Andrews & Dick van Dyke

5. Name five songs you couldn’t ever do without.
You Win Again – The Bee Gees
Only Lonely – Melissa Etheridge (in fact, that whole album. In certain moods nothing else will do.)
The Moon is Mine – Fairground Attraction
Öppna landskap – Ulf Lundell
Pretty much all of Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette.

L just phoned to say that if she can get a train tonight she’ll come for a quick visit (1st May being a bank holiday both in Norway and Sweden) – oh, please let there be a train!

Voice in my head: Alanis Morissette – That I Would be Good

I’ve just spilled coffee over the keyboard of the laptop and it seems to have short-circuited. Oops.

I am in doubt as to how big a catastrophe this is. I have it, after all, on a home-pc-lease-thingy, in the contract I’ve signed it says clearly that the machine is my employer’s property until I have paid for it, in 36 months – or more, as they haven’t started deducting the part-payments from my salary yet. There is also insurance on it for those three years, but that obviously has the usual “except in case of negligence” clause. Does spilling coffee on your laptop count as negligence? It’s not as if I meant to.

A business by the bus stop where I wait for the bus home after karate practice is called “Anti Stress and Velvære” (“Anti Stress and Wellbeing”). Now, had it been “Anti-stress” all would have been well, but without the hyphen, the name is ambigious at best. “When you leave us you will no longer be stressed, because you will be in so much pain you won’t be able to think about anything that might stress you out.” See what I mean?

I think I’ll stay away.

Voice in my head: Shakira – Underneath Your Clothes

You’re the Hipster Intellecticus. Call yourself
what you will (beatnik, philosophy major,
liberal arts student), you’re still hip and you
still dig Kerouac.

What Kind of Hipster Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Oddly enough, this on a day when I’m not wearing a single item of black clothing. Oh, well.

Went to see the new Norwegian movie Svidd Neger (“Scorched Nigger”, and yes, that title has caused a few reactions – just to reassure you: the “scorched” refers to sunburn rather than any other sort of burn) with M Sunday night, and it has to be the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. I think it’s quite possibly the weirdest thing I will ever see, too. The state of genuine – though somewhat baffled and incredulous – helpless laughter lasted me well into Monday morning, and was briefly revived at lunch when I tried to convince people it has to be seen.

Because it does. Really. I could try to describe it to you, but I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. I could tell you to try to imagine chucking Bunuel and Dali’s “Andalucian Dog”, Monty Python, some dreadfully depressing “rural realism” Norwegian movie from the seventies (with the mandatory alchoholic father) and a dash of “What lies beneath” into a pot and stirring and see what you get, but you would have no idea. Really.

I wish they could get it nominated for the Oscar, though maybe not – I’m sure the rest of the world have some pretty interesting ideas of Norwegian country life anyway.

It still makes me giggle. Incredulously.

This or that?

1. Lying down on the couch, or stretching out on a recliner?
I haven’t got a recliner, and I don’t particularly want one. Not because they are not comfy but because they are mostly huge and ugly. Does that answer your question? No. I didn’t think so.

2. Going barefoot or wearing soft slippers?
Barefoot. The floor needs to be reasonably warm, though, naturally.

3. Eating ice cream, or pizza?
Pizza. Not too fond of ice cream, somehow.

4. Watching on TV…a classic movie or a reality show?
D’oh. I hate reality tv! Ok, with the exception of Fame Factory, so maybe I shouldn’t be so admant? Anyhoo: a classic movie.

5. Wearing: blue jeans or sweat pants?
Comforting? Sweat pants.

6. A long, soothing bubble bath or a quick, invigorating shower?
For comfort, a bath.

7. Furniture: leather, or something more on the fuzzy side?
Leather’s good.

8. Soft, classical music, or upbeat rock & roll?
Uh. For comfort? Neither.

9. Darkness or light?
Dimness.

10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You get married, or otherwise begin cohabitating with a significant other. S/he moves into your place, but brings with them the UGLIEST chair you have ever seen! You really don’t want this thing in your home, but SO says it is the most comfy chair s/he has ever sat in, and no way will they part with it. Do you: grin and bear it, or scheme to get rid of the montrosity somehow?
Grin and bear it. Wouldn’t be much of a sacrifice, I’m not that bothered about interior decoration. Comfort will win over style any day, and if SO likes it, why shouldn’t he have it? Come to think of it, if it’s really that comfy he might not get to sit in it much, as I might just appropriate it…

Always interested in the meaning of names.

Ragnhild (Old Norse)

meaning: God’s battle or Battle advice
motivation: Is purpose driven
character: Someone with a sense of justice
feelings: Does not like to feel restricted
intelligence: Has the ability to achieve academically
spiritual: Has a pure heart
nature: Is a disciplined person
inherent: A love of freedom

Which, apart from the “disciplined” part, is a pretty good match. I can even be said to have a pure heart, as long as a little leeway for just a pinch of devilishness is allowed…

Do people grow up to suit their names, I wonder? Is there a sort of collective subconsciousness that tells parents the right name to pick for their new-born child? If it’s neither, how come so many people seem to have a name that is exactly right for them? It’s easier when you get to pick the name yourself, maybe, but I had no idea what the meaning of Robin was when I settled on it, or rather, it settled on me.

Robin (female – from Roberta)
(Old English)

meaning: One who shines with fame
motivation: Tries to correct injustices
character: Is able to forgive readily
feelings: An emotionally strong person
intelligence: Has a keen and understanding mind
spiritual: Full of hope
nature: A person who loves life
inherent: Demonstrates refinement

Uhm. Well. I do not forgive easily, nor readily. Actually, that’s not stricktly true, I forgive, I just don’t forget. The fact that there was something to forgive makes me lose just that little bit of respect for the person in question and that is never good. Very imperfect forgiveness, isn’t it?

Voice in my head: Shania Twain – No One Needs to Know

And so, a new mission:

1. Postmodernism (a popular philosophy of the current day) indicates that there are as many “truths” as there are people; nothing is absolute (however, by its very nature, even the word ‘Postmodernism” resists definition). For yourself, what truths are absolute? Are there any absolute truths in the Universe?

Reading is good. That’s one.

2. Do you believe that you are still “teachable?”

Yes. Shouldn’t I be?

3. To do something well, in most situations, requires study and practice. What’s the most recent thing that you have done well as a result of study and practice.

Ahem. There you have me. Php?

4. If you had the time/money, what do you want to lean how to do more than anything?

I’d like to learn Spanish fluently – and the best way of doing that would be to live in a Spanish-speaking country for a while, a year maybe.

5. Those around us may often try to intervene, but ultimately each individual is responsible for the choices they make in life. Tell me about a recent situation where you had a decision to make, and those around you tried to influence or direct you. Were they successful? Was that “help” welcomed?

I’m not sure I can consciously remember anyone trying to influence me in specific decisions (other than the: “Oh, stay for another drink, it’s still early” variety, and that hardly counts). I tend to absorbe the opinions of the people whose opinion I value, and base decisions on a combination of that and my own instincts, favouring my own instincts (which seem, on the whole, to be pretty good). In cases where someone presumes, unasked, to “order” me to make a certain decision, my instinct is always to do the exact opposite – and I have to take care not to go with that gut reaction, just because they are presumptious doesn’t mean they are necessarily wrong.

6. Things are much easier to accept when they are given by invitation rather than being forced upon us. When was the last time you rejected something because it was forced on you? How did it happen? Did you hold a grudge about it? Was it ever resolved?

Ah, I see I’ve jumped ahead on the questions here… Well, lets see. Anyone insisting that I come along to a nightclub because “It will be such fun! You’ll have a good time!” normally makes me determined to hate the place if they manage to cajole me into going against my better judgement. Normally I’ll just wish them a good night and go home.

7. Are you the sort of person who questions everything, or are you able to accept things without someone providing you tangible proof?

“Tangible proof”? Like what? I do question most things, though.

BONUS: Ooo baby, do you know what that’s worth?

Give me a minute and I’ll get it…