March 19, 2010

Moose Cap Friday links

Happy Moose Cap Friday! (What's that? The answer is right here.) I have blog post drafts on "How to live in a basement closet", "Reasons to visit my blog" and "Blogging naked". We'll see if I ever have time to finish any of them.

In the meantime, here is a completely random list of links:

Mandatory Moose Cap photo:

MooseNovember09_109

I was here the other day, and seriously people screamed when it started and continued to scream and sing along:

It sounds horrible in the video, but it didn't from where I was standing, because Mka has a nice voice, and he speaks the best kind of English. Mmmm... I loved every minute of this concert, except for the screaming teenagers that sounded like they were actually inside my ear. Yes, I am very old. When you can't bear the screaming anymore, just watch the video instead. The song fits the Oslo weather today, but I don't hate days like this. Days like this are Fridays, with too many fun things to do to have time for blogging. Moose Baby and I are off to celebrate!

(photo by Craig Woods, t-shirt design by Eivind B. Hackett, and yes, it's me)

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November 23, 2009

This week: Fashion, Moose and Moose fashion

This week "unfriend" was named word of the year. Meanwhile...

I listened to Tomi Paldanius. Craig Woods, the guy who runs THE DA (which is probably a great website, but I can't really tell, since it's all about soccer) was my apartment's DJ this weekend, and for Saturday breakfast brunch, he played guitar covers of songs I don't really like. But they work as guitar covers, especially with bacon. Because bacon is the best thing ever.

I watched the first season of Mad Men, and I actually enjoyed it. I once wrote (in Norwegian) that Mad Men is "good clothes, bad people. I'm often in the mood for the former, not often for the latter. And especially not these days." Apparently these days are over.

Chanel is also good clothes, and so I watched this video. French pop music, Chanel, Natalie Portman - what's not to love?

I read about (but didn't watch) reality TV. The New York Times interviewed former reality TV contestants about the conditions behind the scenes, and my suspicions were confirmed: take a person who just wants to become a designer/model/millionaire/complete stranger's fiancée, subtract sleep, food and any contact with the outside world, and then add alcohol. That recipe will give you drama every time. On the Norwegian version of Top Model, a contestant with chronic fatigue quit the show when she was one of the top three, saying that working as a model was a lot less stressful than being on the show. After all, in the real, real world, you are allowed to talk to your family, sleep more than five hours a night and use the internet.

In other television news, Sesame Street in South Africa has an HIV-positive muppet.

The New York Times also taught me that fashion - especially for men - is getting really retro. Not 1980s, but 1890s.

If that's not your style, you could hope for an invisibility cloak instead. Yes, soon (er... maybe someday) we can be like Harry Potter. For real; scientists are working on an invisibility cloak. I first read about this in Norwegian forskning.no last spring, but there have been news articles in a lot of places this week, like The Telegraph. Meanwhile The Frisky suggests we use these cloaks to go to Paris for free, sneak backstage at concerts and dance like no ones watching - because no one can.

I could have read a personalized newspaper, if I lived in Germany. I still don't see the point of aged news, but I would try this if it were available in my language.

I added a new blog to my Bloglines: 1000 Awesome Things, because, well, it's awesome.

I wore my Official Moose Shirt on Friday, and realized that the design strongly encouraged photographs like these:

MooseNovember09_109

My Moose Shirt

I learned how to prepare Moose steak in the oven, and was rewarded for my efforts when Aina finally responded to my "I can't cook," with "Yes, you obviously can, you just look impractical when you do it." And then my mom wanted food advice from me, and I realized that I must really be growing up.

P.S. For fans of MGMT

Photo credits: Craig Woods and Aina Skjønnsfjell

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November 14, 2009

This week: Not quite magazines

Reza_004

I have discovered - and begun obsessively reading - a new blog this week: Yes and Yes by Sarah Von.

In one post she laments the stupidity of women's magazines: ("I could really do without another quiz to determine if he's into me (note to self: if you have to take a quiz to find out, the answer is no) or instructions on how to look thin while having sex.").

Sure, I've read that particular complaint before, and the obvious solution is to not read Cosmopolitan. But clearly, there is some part of me that wants to flip through glossy magazines that are not about international politics or the future of the media. I crave a break from all my different brands of geekiness. I always reach for Cosmo, Elle etc. if someone places one in front of me for free - and then I am always, always very disappointed. At best bored, at worst angry.

Luckily, the internet exists. This week I have read, noticed and remembered a lot of things that could very well have been in Cosmo. But if each of them were, they would have been the smartest, funniest thing in there.

Via Maggwire, you can browse articles from over 10 000 different magazines (in English), instead of committing to one or two from the newsstand. You may ask whether this site really gives us anything we didn't already have - the articles were already out there on the net before Maggwire, after all. But this site supposedly remembers your reading habits and makes recommendations accordingly. I say supposedly, because I only just found Maggwire on Thursday. There is an immediate benefit though, much like the one you can get from reading an actual magazine: you might learn things you didn't know you didn't know. I doubt that I would ever have Googled the words that got me to this podcast about newborns' accents. I found that because it was on Maggwire's front page of "popular articles".

While current magazine are turning into websites, photos from past magazines show up in books. For example, you could buy Dogs in Vogue, if you want a collection of fashion photos from Vogue magazine, with dogs. Like the ones in this post.

In general, blogs like Yes and Yes are my slightly funnier, weirder, smarter alternative to paper-based make-up/travel/parties/friends/shoes chit-chat. This week Yes and Yes taught me Five productivity tricks. I especially need to apply trick number one to my life:

"The First 10 Minutes" Trick
When I get home from work, the temptation to kick off my boots, eat a bowl of cereal and sit down in front a Hulu is nearly insurmountable. However! I (try) to force myself to spend the first ten minutes of my time at home doing something productive. Maybe that's paying bills, putting a load of laundry in, catching up on emails or changing the litter box. Regardless of what I do, those first ten minutes of my time away from work set the tone for the rest of my evening, and I find it a lot easier to keep doing stuff if I start off in that mind set.

Another alternative to a "Women's Magazine" is The Frisky. Unlike personal blogs that I read regularly, I probably skip about 5/6 of the posts on this online mag/group blog. But when I need a fifteen minute break from whatever geekiness I'm working on that day, there's always something kinda-interesting-without-being-too-serious on their front page. For example, a list of things that should be illegal. Here's a shorter list with the proposed laws I particularly agree with:

It should be illegal ...

  1. ... to wear tights as pants.
  2. ... to take longer than five minutes to prepare a drink at Starbucks. 
  3. ... to touch a pregnant woman's belly without her permission.
  4. ... for men to assume that by virtue of being female you a) want a relationship and b) want it with them.
  5. ... for men to wear spandex to yoga class and then proudly show off their boners.
  6. ... to call a size 8 (American sizes, so roughly 38 in Norway) woman "plus-size."
  7. ... to speak only as a "we" once you're a part of a couple.

I disagree with The Frisky on some legal issues. It should be legal ...

  1. ... to talk on your cell phone on public transportation. 
  2. ... to wear full makeup and heels to go to brunch on Sunday morning.

The Frisky also alerted me to something someone at at least one of my Halloween parties should have worn: the knife ring. Scary jewellery by Renee Andriole.

I firmly believe that paper is a horrible way to deliver current hard news. And potentially anything paper can do, the internet can do better. But I still think people will be reading magazines for entertainment, photos and timeless articles for a long time. I still buy magazines and subscribe to weeklies. I mean, this post starts with a photo from the July 2009 issue of French Vogue, which I'm glad I bought. I liked it enough to photograph some of the photos, so I would have them when I lost the paper magazine.

Thing is, though, if I'm going to spend money on a stack of pages, they better not be filled with articles I've already read. And seriously, I had read every "Women's Magazine" article by the time I started high school. It's like they're on a loop, and they just add new illustrations. Blogs win.

There are more links and tips in the "This Week" section of According To Julie

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May 30, 2009

This week

Links for the weekend - Things I've been thinking about while writing for work.

This week I recommend Think again: Child soldiers from Foreign Policy, a very thought-provoking article.

Also thought-provoking is The New Socialism from Wired, where Kevin Kelly writes that social media is the new socialism. I'm not entirely sure what to make of this. While both my inner politics geek and my inner web-media geek are very pleased, I'm not sure the arguments in this article are all that original or even true. At any rate, thoughts on the behavioral economics of blogging, twittering and youtubing are interesting. Specifically, it's hard to think that I'm blogging with a strictly rational-choice what's-in-it-for-me attitude. The idea of blogging to contribute to a community makes more sense. With me, I tend to blog what's in my head anyway; it's really not work that I selflessly do for your benefit. In Norway, there's a twist to this web socialism, as our Labor Party prime minister twitters. When he announced this on radio, he claimed he would follow everyone who followed him, because that's the Labor Party way ("Alle skal med!"). I don't know if he kept his promise though - is he following me?

Speaking of social media, AudioBoo is the new thing, according to various sources, but I'm linking to The Guardian.

Going back to paper media, Dan Sabbagh at Times Online explains why the very snobby Monocle magazine is making money.

So it's not all doom and gloom: Global newspaper sales went UP in 2008.

But I still think paper is for art, not news. Examples to the left and above.

 

 

 

For Norwegian-speakers: B-mennesker er de nye A-mennesker fordi vi holder ut lenger.

This week I looked forward to Stuart Murdoch from Belle & Sebastian starting a girl group, God Help the Girl:

Although the dark-haired singer is clearly wearing my coat in this picture, I'm optimistic about this. I didn't love the first single (video), but I might in the near future. Individual Belle & Sebastian songs usually start out feeling anonymous, but then they grow on me.

This week I read The Enchantment of Lily Dahl by Siri Hustvedt.

b1d5af9c-89b4-4e7e-aaea-687aeeb88d01-1I recently renewed my subscription to Morgenbladet, but they keep calling me and sending me multiple postcards urging me to renew my subscription. They need to get their act together. Despite subscribing, I can't link to them, which is beyond annoying.

I added a new personal blog to my Bloglines: Thoughts and All

Also: I HAVE TICKETS TO SEE TORI!

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October 27, 2008

This week

I read...

Drunk, and Dangerous, at the Keyboard by Alex Williams
"The experimental program requires any user who enables the function to perform five simple math problems in 60 seconds before sending e-mails between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. on weekends."

Sorry, Dad, I'm voting for Obama by Christopher Buckley
"Necessity is the mother of bipartisanship. And so, for the first time in my life, I’ll be pulling the Democratic lever in November. As the saying goes, God save the United States of America."

The Global Cities Index from Foreign Policy
"The world’s biggest, most interconnected cities help set global agendas, weather transnational dangers, and serve as the hubs of global integration. They are the engines of growth for their countries and the gateways to the resources of their regions. In many ways, the story of globalization is the story of urbanization."

A Six-Pack of Joes from BBC News
"The next president of the United States will not be called Joe, but Joes of various kinds have been all over the news from the campaign trail."

The Comprehensive Argument Against Barack Obama by Guy Benson and Mary Catherine Ham
"As the saying goes, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Questions abound: Is this man prepared to be president? Does he hold mainstream values and policy preferences? Who has influenced his thinking, and where does he want to take the country? Has he been honest with the people from whom he seeks votes?"

It's hard out here for a Mom... by Susie from the blog What Was I Thinking?
"So, yea, ever since her third grade teacher had her reading about how messy ejaculating boys are, I’ve tried to screen teacher-recommended books. (...) I guess my somewhat pessimistic view that there is no one who is going to look out for my kid’s well-being the way I do, was reinforced (...) there is nothing in the world more precious to me than her brain (...)"

And in Norwegian...
Om å gjøre det slutt med andre enn kjæresten by VirrVarr
"Når du begynner å date noen, kan du backe ut. Når du begynner å henge ut med noen, har du ingen høflig retrettmulighet."

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October 19, 2008

This week

I read...

The Things He Carried by Jeffrey Goldberg
“The whole system is designed to catch stupid terrorists,” Schnei­er told me. (...) “We defend against what the terrorists did last week,” Schnei­er said. He believes that the country would be just as safe as it is today if airport security were rolled back to pre-9/11 levels.

Canadian Immigration Problems
The possibility of a McCain/Palin election is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they’ll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O’Reilly. Canadian border farmers say it’s not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.

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October 7, 2008

This week

This Weeks are normally a Sunday thing, but let's just say I was busy/tired on Sunday. This is technically a combined This Week for this week and the last one.

I read
Fear of fairy tales "There's a very important reason why these tales stick," says Jack Zipes, a German professor and folklorist at the University of Minnesota, who has written such books as "Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion" and "Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children, and the Culture Industry." "It's because they raise questions that we have not resolved." What happens if we clean away unresolved conflicts in fairy tales? Joanna Weiss writes: It's a great way to sell just about anything, but it's also precisely the opposite of what makes fairy tales compelling in the first place.

Spare me the sermon on Muslim women
It's easy to forget that Muslims are not inherently more sexist than folks in other religions. Muslim societies may lag behind on some issues that women in certain economically advanced, non-Muslim societies have resolved after much effort, but on other issues, Muslim women's options run about the same as those of women all over the world. And in some areas of life, Muslim women are better equipped by their faith tradition for autonomy and dignity. writes author Mohja Kahf. I don't even know if this is true, but it's certainly very interesting. The main point is that faith in itself is not to blame - culture and interpretation of religion are the causes of the problem. (via Foreign Policy Passport)

Is the Vice Presidency Necessary?
The Vice President has only one serious thing to do: that is, to wait around for the President to die. This is hardly the basis for cordial and enduring friendships. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote this in 1974, and today, it made me feel a little bit better. By the way, I like that I can read articles from the seventies online. (Via Foreign Policy Passport)

Will somebody please leave this woman alone? (Via Foreign Policy Passport again.)

Ooh... a soft computer screen! (blog by Eirik in Norwegian, video and NYT article not in Norwegian) Could this be a way for newspapers to handle the layout problem?

And in Norwegian...

God gammel hårgang
Nesten alle eldre norske kvinner velger samme frisyre, skriver Benedicte Ramm i Dagens Næringsliv fredagsmagasin D2. Hvorfor det? Å gjøre en reportasje ut av det temaet er egentlig genialt. For en stund siden blogget jeg om en annen god reportasje i D2. Jeg er offisielt glad for at jobben min abonnerer.

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September 7, 2008

This week

Sunday morning. I have a wheaten terrier sleeping with her feet in my lap, and luxury pesto for breakfast. (Both a direct result of a visit to my parents yesterday). My plans for the day: a walk in the woods with my dog and my best friend, and hopefully skyping with another close friend this evening. Life can be so quietly fantastic sometimes.

 

This week...

I watched
Jonas Gahr Støre speaking to students about the UN. Støre is the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs. For International Studies students at the University of Oslo, having a thing for this guy is as required as passing exams and handing in papers on time.
Steven Fry talking about the internet
A video on how men should hug - Glad I'm not a guy.

I read
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (started between Thailand and Cambodia, almost finished now)
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (read the first hundred pages while waiting in line with other Jonas fans - ahead of almost all of them actually)
Hjorthen's example of how statistics can be misinterpreted (in Norwegian)
Futurese - how will we speak English in 1000 years?
Linda Grant on the two populations of the United States
The Clothes Horse on missing friends

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March 10, 2008

These past couple weeks (an update halfway through spring break)

For spring break, my friends in Paris all wanted to travel the world, but I could only think of one place I wanted to go: home. And home is definitely Oslo. I wasn't sure it was - until I left it. Don't get me wrong: I love Paris, I'm very glad I decided to stay here, and I'm happy. But I think I really needed a week in my own city. And it was a great week. Halfway through, I was annoyed at myself for not staying for longer than a week, but on the other hand, the fact that my time was limited made me very efficient. There are a few people I unfortunately didn't get to see, but for the most part, I think my time was spent in the best way possible. I was never alone, and never bored. I visited most of my favorite places, including Café Sara, Bare Jazz, Åpent Bakeri, Underwater Pub, the university, and many of my friends' apartments. I hosted a party, made a mess in my kitchen, studied in the social studies building, stayed up all night when I shouldn't have (over and over again) - all the things I usually do. The week was like a condensed version of what my life in Oslo is like. And leaving was easier this time - not just because I knew what to expect when I landed in Paris, but because I knew that Oslo and my life there was doing ok without me, and that it will all be there when I get back.

For the next week, I will be more or less alone in Paris, with a lot of deadlines. So there will probably be some blogging. In the meantime, some recommendations:

These past two weeks... 

I listened to

I read

I watched

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February 24, 2008

This week

What? "This week" posts again? Does this mean that I will be posting nothing but lists of what I'm doing and reading, instead of actually writing anything? I hope not. But there is so much out there I want to recommend to you or warn you about. For example, this week...

I read 

I listened to

... because Julie Balise decided that having the same first name, writing World News articles on elections for The Planet, drinking Guinness, studying the American presidential elections and having grown up in Massachusetts didn't make us similar enough; we should also be compatible on Last.fm.

I ate

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November 11, 2007

This week

Fattiglus i sus og dus Slik vi definerer fattigdom i Norge, kommer vi alltid til å ha fattige. Kaia Storvik i Dagsavisen skriver: "Jeg har levd med veldig lite penger selv (...) Men det er få jeg kjenner som føler seg fattige. Selv gjorde jeg aldri det. Og er du fattig da? (...) Fattigdom er å ikke ha råd til å leve et anstendig liv. Du er ikke fattig fordi du ikke har råd til å dra på ferie til utlandet. Det er å ha dårlig råd. Selvsagt finnes det fattige i Norge. Noen lever under forhold vi overhodet ikke skal akseptere. Men det gjelder ikke over 6 prosent av befolkningen."

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September 30, 2007

This week

I read...
  • Fra jakt til flukt En artig liten historie, men samtidig en advarsel. Jeg kjenner ingen som har opplevd dette, men at det skjer med noen som jeg leser bloggen til, er en påminnelse om at det kan skje meg.
  • "Lord Reith, founder of the BBC, legendarily fired off an angry memo to his staff after a broadcast in which someone or other was described as “the famous lawyer”. The memo went like this: ‘The word FAMOUS. If a person is famous it is superfluous to point out the fact, if they are not then it is a lie. The word is not to be used within the BBC.’ Way to tell them, Scottish guy." Stephen Fry's second blog post or "blessay" as he calls it, is all about everything he associates with the word "fame". And I love the way he writes about "Leonard's Code by Dan Whatsit".
  • "Lunefull Legende" av Fredrik Drevon, om bokhandleren George Whitman som driver fantastiske Shakespeare&Co. Et absolutt pluss med å flytte til Paris er at jeg kan tilbringe tid her. 
  • Rare norske navn fra 1801
  • En avhengighetsskapende stat? og kronikken den linker til Vil dere den totale stat?

These past few weeks, I have watched

  • Stardust, an absolutely GREAT movie. After seeing this, I was so happy I wanted to skip down the streets. This is not really something I do that much. However, I was with a friend who can't walk at the moment, so I was skipping for the both of us. I loved every single moment of this movie, really.
  • Veronica Mars
  • Ally McBeal
  • Skins

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September 23, 2007

This week

Tom Friedman quoted my father in the new and updated version of The World is Flat. Congratulations, Dad.

I listened to...

I read what I've been reading for a while (The Polysyllabic Spree) and I added the following to my Bloglines:

I revisited an old favorite, Sahara Beduin,and I mourned the fact that LaSosta will soon be coffee place history. 

Posted by Julie at 4:39 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 26, 2007

This week

I read
  • Cooking by numbers which gives you possible recipes after you've given them a list of what's in your kitchen. I could at least make "an apple on its own" using the following recipe: 1. Take apple and examine for signs of wear and tear. 2. Put your coat on and go down the local shop or supermarket. 3. Whilst walking chew on your apple. Stop eating when you get to the pips and stalk. Throw the stalk in the bin and get some food.
  • "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." and other Einstein quotes
  • Why Can't I Own Canadians?
  • Info bare for de sterke "Paradoksalt nok finner Google frem til relevant informasjon på norge.no mye raskere og enklere enn dersom brukeren selv skal navigere seg frem på norge.no," skriver informasjonsrådgiver Knut Natvig. Statens nettsider er for dårlige.
  • Hasj er farlig Så det så. Men det forbindes fortsatt med "politisk motkultur og høy utdanning" og nesten halve Oslo prøver det innen de fyller 30.
  • The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby. It makes me very happy. So much so that I don't want to pick just a few things to say about it. I'll either have to give it its own blog post, or just tell you to read it for yourself. You can read the introduction here.

I watched

  • Middle East History I can't help but think while watching this: The area we call the Middle East (and maybe especially Isreal) has been controlled by so many different empires that if having once controlled a territory sometime in history gives you rights to controlling it now, then ANYONE can claim these areas. Shouldn't this be obvious to anyone using that kind of argumentation? It can apparantly be explained in 90 seconds.
  • Olsenbanden Fordi jeg ikke fikk lov til å gå glipp av denne viktige siden av norsk kultur (etter et dansk konsept riktig nok).
  • Pan's Labyrinth According to Kermode: "If you're only going to see one movie this year, first of all what's wrong with you? And secondly, it should be Pan's Labyrinth." And I loved it. After all, it's Narnia for grown-ups, with history, fantasy, seriously scary monsters, and a lead actress who does a great job.

I listened to

  • Kermode. Well, actually I always do, but I haven't written about him yet. He is fantastic, especially when he really dislikes a movie and rants. I wish he would do that for more than just movies. I wish there were Kermode podcasts for books, politicians, newspaper articles, buses, exam grades, friends, family members, random acquantances and shoe prices. 

Posted by Julie at 10:38 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

August 19, 2007

This week

I read

  • Tilbake til fruetiden "på 70-tallet (...) En del av studinene var sogar helt klare i sin tale: Det var ikke viktig å få eksamen. De ville bare lære nok til å kunne konversere sine kommende ektemenn på et høyt nivå! Den gang trodde jeg knapt det jeg hørte. Nå hører jeg det igjen! Jeg har kunnet leve godt med min 90-årige svigermor som omtalte sin gode venninne som fru Overingeniør Thorkilsen, men å se unge, velstående kvinner bære videre det samme rollemønsteret i 2007 er forstemmende." Dette skriver Grete Faremo, direktør i Microsoft
  • Vi er i den lange halens tid Både medieforsker Petter Bae Brandtzæg, redaktør Chris Anderson og blogger Jeff Jarvis hevder at "small is the new big" når det gjelder media. Jeg er enig. Men begrepet "den lange halen" er ikke kjent i Norge.
  • How to tell that you're in a good coffee house According to this list, I have found plenty of coffee heavens.
  • Bjørn Stærk comes off the fence on global warming, writing: "It is irrelevant that you think capitalism is evil, that you see a beauty and a harmony in nature that is superior to anything humans can create, and that you think technology takes us away from who we are. It is just irrelevant that you think capitalism is good, that you see beauty and harmony in an unregulated economy, and that you think technology gives us the freedom to be ourselves. And it is irrelevant that some people who disagree with you believe some of these things. It has nothing to do with climate science. (...) There's only one thing that matters, and that is the science of global warming. Not the people who debate it, not your beliefs or esthetics, just the science. That science has a life seperate from the public sphere."
  • The Sartorialist a fashion photo blog, and the newest edition to my Bloglines.
  • A history of fashion photo book that a friend of a friend let me spend about an hour looking through. Why, oh why was I not alive when stuff like this or this or this were acceptable everyday outfits?
  • Lady Chatterley's Lover Or at any rate, I started, thinking I should read the book before seeing the movie. Free books online... It's stuff like this that makes me glad to be alive in 2007, even though the clothes used to be better.

I listened to...

  • NPR's "All Things Considered" and more from what used to be my local radio station
  • The Weepies. When Heidi told me she wanted to introduce me to this music, I said: "The Weepies? Sounds like a parody version of the kind of band who write really sweet, but tragic lyrics about being lonely and depressed. Is that what they are? Cause then I'd probably like them." And when they sang: "No amount of coffee (...) No, nothing else will do. I've gotta have you." I realised I did. Can't wait for that cd, Heidi.

I watched

  • Lady Chatterley The French language version of the story. I'm still not sure what I think, except that it was weird that it was in  French.

Posted by Julie at 10:34 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 12, 2007

This week

Actually, some of these are from the last couple of weeks. 

I read...

  • 101 Simple Meals
  • The Kiterunner by Khaled Hosseini. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did, just because it was one of those books that everyone got for Christmas. But it made me cry. Literally. While I was at work. Dad liked it too.
  • The Bloggosphere is real Just like Steven J. Dubner, I have had people tell me: "This is off the record. You don't have to quote me on this in your blog." Makes me feel much more important than I probably am; I must admit that.
  • Apparently, radio listeners buy less music, and this got me thinking about Pandora again (sigh...). I have bought more music since I discovered internet radio. Granted, I still don't buy a lot of music. I never did. Music has never been as important to me as written words (insert defence against more musically interested friends who will now accuse me of just not appreciating the beauty of music. OK, so sue me; I like music, but if forced to choose, I would rather read.) Of course radio can substitue other forms of listening, but it also serves as advertising. That's the problem with selling information; the minute you start telling people about it, you're already giving it away for free. But if you don't give people free, legal music radio, they will download illegally. Not to threaten you or anything...
  • Tips for enjoying Oslo without spending too much money. In his tips to tourists, Bruce Bawer has basically described my free time, including Underwater Pub where I more or less live, at least on Thursdays.

I watched...

  • Octane Sure, Jonathan Rhys Meyers cutting up his tongue is scary, but mainly it's just annoying when the script writers decide to never tell you why he's doing it.
  • Coupling. Warning!!! DO NOT READ THE TEXT THAT WORD LINKS TO! SPOILERS! An addictive British comedy series. And I mean addictive. It's been less then a week, and I've watched nearly every episode.
  • Ghost World

I listened to...

  • Avenue Q. This musical includes song titles like "What do you do with a BA in English?", "I wish I could go back to college", "Schadenfreude" and "There is life outside your apartment"
  • The Dresden Dolls
  • Regina Spector again, because I seem to have a neighbor who is a fan. Who is this person who plays my favorite songs? I can't tell which apartment the music is coming from.
  • Placebo
  • Mika again, because I am going to the concert
  • The Phantom of the Opera The first musical I saw live. I was ten at the time, and I became more or less obsessed, learning the entire thing (including spoken lines) by heart. I mean, opera, murder, fantastic lacy clothes, tragic fates (the poor phantom was just misunderstood!); it was perfect for my ten-year-old self. Rediscovered the music recently. (And NO! Not the movie version.)

Posted by Julie at 10:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 17, 2007

This week

http://www.break.com/index/tough-to-argue.html

Posted by Julie at 10:06 AM | TrackBack

June 10, 2007

This week

I read

And other then that I basically enjoyed my vacation. I spent hours wandering around Oslo with a novel, going from park bench to park bench and watching my skin go from ghostly white to pale beige (which is all that is going to happen to it this summer, as usual). I dropped by friends' workplaces and kept them from doing stuff. I had a party, and before doing that I tried on everything I own and made pesto things using a champagne bottle as a rolling pin.

And I took a trip to Amsterdam. I was going to blog about the coffee places (and by that I mean the places that actually serve coffee), but based on what I really did there, a guide to the shopping districts would be better, paying special attention to shoe stores and lingerie shops. However, if you want to read about shoes and lingerie, I suggest you go here and here. Meanwhile, the weather is so nice and this is my last day off before I have to wear wool and cook over an open fire.

Posted by Julie at 1:16 PM | TrackBack

June 1, 2007

This week

I read

  • "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams
  • "On Flirting, part 1" by Sjokoladepiken
  • The blogs of the American Doll Posse (well, I tried to, but when a blog is as cryptic as the lyrics of a Tori Amos song, but lacks the piano melody, I give up. I guess I don't have what it takes to be a truly devoted fan.)

I watched

This week (May 31st to be exact) was also the first annual "Take Your Friend to Work Day" or if you want "Show Up Randomly at Your Friend's Work and Stop Them From Doing Anything Productive Day" or "Go to a Party and Eat Expensive Food Paid for by a Company You Technically Don't Work For Anymore Day". It was my first real day off in ages, and I felt the need to rub it in.*

Yes, this week's This Week is early. The reasons for this are as follows:

  • I feel like it's Sunday, because it's the second day in a row I haven't done anything school related.
  • I am going to Amsterdam tomorrow, so I won't be blogging (much?) next week.
*Take Your Daughters (and sons and dogs) to Work Day is already a tradition, so why not one of these?

Posted by Julie at 10:12 AM | TrackBack

May 27, 2007

This week

I read

  • The Wired and the Dead about Myspace and Facebook profiles that stay "alive" after the person is dead. While the whole "afterlife on the Internet" and "what if the dead answer that message?" is a bit much, I found the idea of writing to dead friends through the internet touching, not morbid. People talk out loud to gravestones, but I think if I suddenly lost a close friend I would feel the need to write, not talk. And since e-mails and mailed letters would only bounce back to me, having a profile to go to might actually be comforting.
  • Tyler Cowen's favorite Norwegian things

I watched

  • A Fair(y) Use Tale
  • Breakfast at Tiffany's which made me want to eat croissants and drink take-away coffee (lunch in the park with a book on development economics is apparently my version of breakfast at Tiffany's) and have a party (sometime in June, I think. Should be like the party in Breakfast, but no smoking indoors, and no police)

I listened to

Ok, so there was a This Week this week. But I promise, almost all of this happened after my economics exam on Friday. And the next one isn't until Wednesday.

Posted by Julie at 10:06 AM | TrackBack

May 20, 2007

This week

I read

I listened to

And other than that I basically just did school stuff. Next week I have an exam every single day (actually just three exams, but one of them lasts for days), so if there is a "This week" next Sunday, you'll know I haven't been working hard enough.

Posted by Julie at 9:54 AM | TrackBack

May 12, 2007

This week

I read

  • Ut med subbet, inn med folket,  om redaktører, nettaviser, blogger og wikier
  • What Mihoe did this weekend, which made me realize I really don't have a lot of free time, even compared to people who seem smart
  • Morgenbladet, especially the article about import restrictions
  • "The Innocents Abroad", "Seoul Brothers", "Panama Banal", "Third World Driving Hints and Tips", "What do they do for fun in Warsaw?", "The Post-Marcos Phillipines - life in the archipelago after one year of justice, democracy and things like that", "Christmas in El Salvador", "In Whitest Africa" and "Through Darkest America: Epcot Center" in Holidays in Hell by P. J. O'Rourke

I listened to

  • Jem
  • more Mika, after my little sister discovered how much fun he is ("He's weird! Just like your friends... Julie, everyone you know is so weird!") and he become the default soundtrack in our kitchen
  • Well, why don't you check out my profile on Last.fm? They know all my secrets now.

I watched/listened to

  • Paulo Nutini trying to convince us that he's not going to rehab. Not that I don't like his version of the song, but when Amy Winehouse says "No! No! No!" I believe her, and when Paulo Nutini says "No! No! No!" I think: "Nice try. Stop whining; you're going."
  • Regina Spector over and over again. I don't know why I got so addicted to this video. Maybe it's the look of the video: black and white, her shoes, her nail polish, the coffee. Maybe the rhythm just got stuck in my head (and when that happens, the only cure is to hear the original of the song, rather than the constant playback in my mind). Or maybe it's the lyrics.

This was also the second Sunday in a row that included episodes of Gilmore Girls and eggs with basil. I think I like these new traditions.

Posted by Julie at 9:51 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

May 6, 2007

This week

I read

  • "The Yellow Wallpaper", a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and also why she wrote it.
  • Ingar's new blog, he was my favorite teacher in high school, and I should have known it was only a matter of time before he started blogging
  • The Others, about the kids at school you never get to know, but everyone talks about.
  • The long awaited return of Sjokoladepiken
  • Norwegians should read more
  • Interrobang
  • "A ramble through Lebanon", "Weekend getaway: Heritage USA", "At sea with America's Cup" and "Intellectual wilderness, ho! - A visit to Harvard's 350th anniversary celebration" from Holidays in Hell by P.J. O'Rourke.
  • ... and I finished Dorian Gray. I wanted to post a list of good quotes from the book, but Elisabeth pointed out: "It's Oscar Wilde, Julie! You would end up posting the entire book."

I watched

I listened to

  • "Overdosing with you" by Billie the Vision and the Dancers , it's a song about watching episodes of tv shows on DvD all night
  • Kings of Convenience
  • William Hut
  • (I am not adding links to the artists above because I am still heartbroken over losing Pandora and can't bring myself to link to another music site. It's just too soon. I am experienting with Last.fm however, but only time will tell if that is just a rebound.)
  • ... and I got my ticket to see Tori Amos in June!

I ate

  • chocolate and coffee cookies with macadamia nuts, and other wonderful things from Elisabeth's kitchen

Posted by Julie at 9:25 AM | TrackBack

April 29, 2007

This week

I read

I watched

  • Sex and the City
  • Wallander
  • Mona Lisa Smile
  • Peter's Friends

I listened to

  • The soundtrack to Mona Lisa Smile 

Posted by Julie at 9:15 AM | TrackBack

April 22, 2007

This week

I read

I listened to

  • Amon Tobin, supposedly "a dense, plunderphonic kaleidoscope of an album with giant, noisy jazz breaks and groovy electronic synthwork" which I mainly used to drown out background noise in the university corridor
  • Mika, I hadn't thought I would enjoy the whole album as much as I enjoy the first song, but I did. You wouldn't think that he could get away with some of his lyrics and still be able to stay mainstream, but the music in itself is just so sweet.

I watched

  • Mean Girls, sometimes the most over-the-top, stupid teen movies are really the most believable. Unfortunately. (Oh, and a quote which I might one day use to insult someone: "Her clothes look like they were picked out by a blind Sunday school teacher." It's kind of like the one from Peter's Friends (which is a great movie, one of those that my parents have watched so many times that I knew most of the lines by heart long before I knew what they meant): "You make Mother Theresa look like a hooker.")  

Posted by Julie at 9:54 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

April 15, 2007

This week

I read:

I listened to

I watched

  • Den Brysomme Mannen kind of like Brave New World meets 1984, except it's a Norwegian movie shot in areas of Oslo where I spend a lot of time. OK, but a little too obvious to be scary, and the movie should have ended earlier in the story.
  • La Vie en Rose seen impulsively. Surprisingly long, but I enjoyed every minute.

Posted by Julie at 9:36 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack