First snow

The first snow I've seen this autumn/winter is now falling down outside my office window. Snowboard season is approaching...

Impatient Norwegian cinema audience

I just saw the movie Volver by Pedro Almodóvar, which has been on my "to-see"-list all since Stephanie recommended it a long time ago. And it is indeed a nice movie! Shame I don't understand Spanish though, 'cause then I'd understand more of the nuances.

Another thing that troubles me a bit is the impatient Norwegian cinema audience: after some two hours of emotional twists and turns, the wast majority of spectators jump out of their seats and almost run for the exit, the lack of overhead illumination being the only reason they slow down.

Sometimes I really wish I never left France...

Preparing for winter

Torstein in the boat

After what turned out to be an amazing Friday out with colleagues, featuring a lot of drinks and dancing like never before, Saturday sported a full day of downrigging and lifting the sailing boat ashore. Although I was a little bit reduced after a late night out, the day went by at comfortable pace and even the long-feared final positioning of the crib on land became a trivial event.

With the boat safe ashore, I began thinking through what else needs to be done before I am ready for winter, and I realised that my bike is still at the workshop! I should stop by and bring it home - and have it swap positions with my snowboard.

Frightening Fritt Vilt

Living lovers...

Thrilling and frightening, Norwegian motion picture Fritt vilt made the whole audience jump, and in part scream, throughout most of its one and a half hour of playing time. The opening was expectantly calm and nice with a joking dialogue and wonderful snowboard-scenes, but just as the five snowboarders found shelter in an abandoned hotel, the movie audience started off every time a corner came up. I must admit that I sat tensed up in my seat most of the time, and even now, an hour later, adrenalin leftovers are still circulating my vains. So, if you're in Norway and appreciate a nice shock every now and then, this may be just your kind of movie.

Has Paris gone Texas?

Yesterday's dinner at Paris Texas in Oslo makes me wonder if the people running the place indeed have. Whereas earlier dinners have taken place in a crowded restaurant characterised by excellent service and delicious food, yesterday was totally different.

Almost empty, the waitress lacked the joyfulness, calmness and ease of her predecessor, and although nice and tender my duck was served with red cabbage totally lacking the refinement of the bird. And although drinkable, the wine wasn't much of a recommendation for the orange sauce, which by the way barely tasted of orange.

I hope Arnljot came out better with his fillet of beef, and enjoyed this year's birthday present from me.

Check out Apple iGreen

Never heard of Apple iGreen? Then check it out!

Sorry if you were disappointed--as you can see there is no Apple iGreen. At least not yet. But who knows what may come up in response to Greenpeace's campaign on making Apple turn greener, i.e. abandon using (extremely) hazardous materials in their products. I came across Greenpeace's spoof site reading the nGenWorks blog.

I think it's a good idea that campaigns like this are thrown, although at the cost of a single company. After all, it's consumer behaviour that matters, and if putting Apple on the stand makes people consider the more environmental-friendly alternative next time they go shopping, I believe that progress has been made.

Having said that, I still live in one of the world's richest countries, and am thus one of the world's most consuming citizens. It shouldn't stop me from being concerned, though...

How big is your ecological footprint?

I stumbled across this term surfing from an article about global over-consumption. An ecological footprint is a term used by U.K. organisation Best Foot Forward to indicate an individual's consumption of natural resources. They even put together a simple calculator showing how big your ecological footprint is--given that you live in the U.K. I found the calculator inspiring, and would like to see similar ones for other countries, followed by politicians taking measures to reduce the ecological footprints of their citizens.

The headline leading me onto this track had a link to NEF (New Economics Foundation), which in turn provides links to articles in The Guardian and The Independent.

If you lived in the U.K., would you have a small or large ecological footprint?

One year in Oslo

Oslo today

Today, October 8, it's one year by the date since I returned to Oslo from my studies in Strasbourg. It's been a nice and eventful year (just look through the blog archive in the right-hand column), but the period in Strasbourg was actually both nicer and more eventful--I don't mind going abroad again...

Le Café Rustique

Having dropped off my bicycle for yet another round of repairs of the crank, I met with Trine Lise and stumbled across a nice café called La Rustique. The place goes very well with it's French name: the interior is as rustic as it suggests, the place is somewhat randomly organised, and the girl behind the counter wandered charmingly disturbed around searching for plates before she ended up improvising with napkins. However, despite all this it would be wrong of me to recommend the place, 'cause then I'd never find a free seat for myself...

No need for a swimming pool

This morning I planned to stop by the swimming pool on my way to work. But I stayed a bit too long in bed and dropped the idea--until I looked out the window and saw the street filled with water from tonight's rainfall. It then struck me that I might have to swim to work after all...

Cool car

Whether it's because I have been thinking about buying a small car so that I can invite friends to join me skiing/snowboarding/hiking/camping/whatever, or simply the fact that I like Volvo's "new" exterior design, reading about the new Volvo C30 in today's article in Aftenposten made me want to buy one. Would you?

Phone gone crazy

My mobile phone has gone crazy! Maybe it doesn't like getting wet behind the ears...?

I guess that's what has happened, 'cause laying in the back-pocket of my bicycle pants it got a little wet when I fell into a pod on my way through Østmarka (hilly forest east of Oslo) today. I have tried to dry it up, but it appears to live it's own life--where people go crazy from alcohol, my mobile has gone crazy from water. Guess I'll have to detoxicate it, i.e. dry it up. Next time I'll put on protection...

Anyway, now you know the reason if I don't answer calls or messages.

Update (Sunday evening):
With the use of mom's hairdryer and a little patience, the phone became civilized again and stopped living its very own life. Feel free to call to verify.