Winterson's November column

Really liked this sentence from Jeanette Winterson's latest column: "Invest the ordinary with the extraordinary." To read the whole thing, go here :-)

22 July 2011

The Prime Minister of Norway says:

Today, Norway has been hit by two shocking, violent and cowardly attacks.
We don’t know who has attacked us. There is much that remains uncertain.
But we do know that many have died and many are injured.
We are all shocked by the evil events that struck so suddenly and brutally.
#
This is an evening that will demand a great deal of us all.
The next days may be more demanding still.
We are prepared to face them. Norway stands together in times of crisis.
We mourn our dead.
We share the sufferings of those who are wounded.
And we feel with the families and friends of those affected.
#
This is an attack on innocent civilians. On young people at a summer camp. On us.
I have a message for those who attacked us. And for those who are behind them.
It is a message from the whole of Norway:
You will not destroy us.
You will not destroy our democracy or our commitment to bringing about a better world.
We are a small nation, but we are a proud nation.
No one is going to bomb us into silence.
No one is going to shoot us into silence.
No one is ever going to frighten us away from being Norway.
#
This evening and tonight we will take care of one another.
Comfort one another, talk, and stand together.
Tomorrow we will show the world that the Norwegian democracy grows stronger when it is under pressure.
We will find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
The most important task this evening is to save lives and take care of all who have been hurt and their families.
I pay tribute to the police, health workers and others who have put in a formidable effort over the last few hours to help people and prevent more harm being done.
#
We must never give up our values.
We must show that our open society can pass this test too.
That the answer to violence is even more democracy.
Even more humanity.
But never naivity.
That is something we owe the victims and their families.

Transcript from Prime Minister's Stoltenberg press conference 22 July 22.00.

Hurtigruten

The Boston Globe has been on a cruise along the Norwegian coast, read about it here: Elbow room


Photo: Kari J. Bodnarchuk for the Boston Globe

Happy holidays!

An Attempt At Unrhymed Verse

People tell you all the time,
Poems do not have to rhyme.
It's often better if they don't
And I'm determined this one won't.

Oh dear.

Never mind, I'll start again.
Busy, busy with my pen...cil.
I can do it if I try--
Easy, peasy, pudding and gherkins.

Writing verse is so much fun,
Cheering as the summer weather,
Makes you feel alert and bright,
'Specially when you get it more or
less the way you want it.

-- Wendy Cope

Maze - Celine Clanet

Check out these really cool photos!

It's a new dawn, it's a new day

2:15 AM: Lights out.
2:16 AM: The wife falls asleep. I'm thinking: Wow, that was fast! But that's wonderful. She really needs to sleep after all she's been through.
2:18 AM: The wife starts to snore.
2:23 AM: Still snoring.
2:26 AM: Right...
2:36 AM: Should I wake her? No, she's sleeping so well. That's really good.
3:21 AM: On the other hand: I need to sleep too! We're driving home from the hospital tomorrow, and we both need to be alert.
3:27 AM: And isn't snoring bad for the quality of your sleep? Perhaps I'd better wake her.
3:28 AM: "Sweetheart! Sweetie!"
"Huh? What?"
"You're snoring."
"Oh, ok"
3:29 AM: The wife falls asleep again. Wow, that was fast!
3:31 AM: Silence.
3:35 AM: More silence
3:36 AM: I probably fall asleep.

And the third little person in the room has been sleeping, well, like a baby through all of this. As you should when you're 3 days old.

October 23rd 2010

Outside:


Inside:

Poem

Thank-you Note
by Judith Viorst

I wanted small pierced earrings (gold)
You gave me slippers (gray).
My mother said that she would scold
Unless I wrote to say
How much I liked them.

Not much.


Here's another poem that I like, by the same poet.

Sunday trip, October 3rd

Taking a walk not far from where we live. Lovely weather! But if you look closely you'll see there's a little ice on the water in the first photo. Fortunately it's been nice and warm this week, so winter isn't here yet:-)

Fun stuff

If historical events had facebook statuses

Summer 2010 - Trondheim

Spent some sunny, lazy days here...

Summer 2010 - Sundsvall

We immediately noticed these cool dragons while walking around the centre of Sundsvall. According to the hotel receptionist Sundsvall is called the city of Dragons. I didn't know that, but the sculptures is a nice way of showing it. Every year you can vote for you favourite dragon - I guess new dragons are added every summer? The flying dragon was the winner of 2008.

Mosjøen

This is actually the area we were driving through today! But we skipped the cliff diving. Only because it was raining, of course:-)

Holiday 2010 - Luleå

We drove through Sweden on our way from Alta to Trondheim. This is from the park outside our hotel in Luleå. Luleå was a lovely little city, but very quiet when we were there, because of some kind of midsummer celebration. The celebration was obviously not in Luleå!

Finnmarksløpet

Some impressions from Finnmarksløpet, the northernmost sled dog race in the world! More dogs! And, of course, most of the photos I have "borrowed" from the lovely wife.

Some photos from the opening of the race in the centre of Alta:





And here are some photos from the start of the 1000 km race on the Alta river:











And they're off:

Lots of energy!

Ready, steady...




GO!

Snowy night

Walking home from a pleasant evening with friends, Saturday night in early March. It had been snowing all night, but when we started walking it stopped for a little while.

I think we might be missing out!

From a short interview with designer Afroditi Krassa:
If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why? This is a no-brainer for me; it’s got to be Classical Greece. We are talking about a time when you had a Goddess specializing in the protection of prostitutes, a God of wine which you celebrated by getting totally high on alcohol an drugs, free theatre, as well as a chance to work on projects like the Parthenon. 2,500 years later, are we missing out on something?

Read the rest here.

Cross country skiing today

Starting off from home:


Ten minutes later:


It's nice living this close to the skiing trails!