Overdrive - what you want?

MTV Overdrive is a rather interesting flash-based "broadband video channel" - complete with Olay commercials and "coming up" (but only works with IE 5.5, Flash 7, WM 9 and decent hardware underneath).
Haven't watched that much, but even without the vid-optimizer it looks good full-screen and most importantly sound really good. Definetly one to watch to see how it evolves over time in terms of available content.

Google your way

Google has started trying out some funky personalized pages... good news: drag n'drop finally works on Firefox (gave up adjusting the G News interface). Bad news: seems like a laughably simplistic demo compared to my Yahoo.

But they have quotes of the day - and it gives a nice add-on when you are there to search (but I never go there, since I have it as toolbar/top-box in both IE and Firefox).

"Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content." - Louis L'Amour"

hmmm - red...

You were destined to have a Red Lightsaber.

Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, and determination as well as passion and desire. You have seen the Strength and Power of the Dark Side of the Force and have you thirst for more of it.



What Colored Lightsaber Would You Have? brought to you by Quizilla


And yes, I did rather enjoy the (hopefully?) last Star Wars movie. Even if there were a few "jumps" (deleted scenes dvd directors cut anyone?) and some lameness. At least there was closure and a bit of explanation along the way. But KOTOR is still a better experience.

...and the sun is hidden behind the rainy clouds of a typical summer day...

Poems

	GLAD
		SAD
			BAD
going down.......................

WHY

          WHY  do we KILL
 said a child  on tv
          WHY  is there PAIN
said the girl  on the street
          WHY
          WHY
  I WONDER AS  I STAND HERE
          WHY     continue
          WHY         stop
       In the  end
 It will make  no difference
   for me the  end is now
          the  end is the edge
BECAUSE
     the edge   is the goal
  but I shall  move onwards
      FOREVER     searching
      FOREVER       wanting
      FOREVER     wondering
          WHY

[the visual part is would required some serious testing of pre, but it looks as it should/did - main point being an open line down the middle after the cap-words]

Who wants to be free

         A
            net
fell across my 
     path once
I was almost caught
     but I moved on
     Now I can return
   on the same path
but this   time
It will be
        empty
        and
 I will be free

???
Here I stand
alone
in the crowd
I know them, but
I do not, I know them
they are just a cut
-out piece from
some other night
maybe I'll
know them again
Or is this the last
before the blast
we thought was in the past

A-92


LOVE -
Smilin' at each other
Holdin' hands and kissing
Then one wrong word
And it's all gone
- IS IT ?
(undated, late -92? - published Kort Sagt #3-92 - so early fall)


POEMS FROM THE
EDGE [A]

Hear my cry
It's not for help
There can be none for me
I stepped forward
And when I did, I left
Hope
Behind
On the EDGE


THE END IS THE EDGE
BECAUSE
THE EDGE IS THE GOAL

BUT I SHALL STILL MOVE ONWARDS

FOREVER SEARCHING
FOREVER WANTING
FOREVER WONDERING

WHY

[undated, first part probably printed -92/early -93 - back when cut and paste was cutting up the pages from the typewriter and gluing them onto the large pages to send to the printer, and getting it back - shrunk down, stapled and folded to A5 with colored paper on the cover. 2nd part expanded on under the heading Why]



And not
Early in the morning
in the middle of the night
Two dead boys
stand up to fight
Back to back they
face each other

A dead police man
heard the noise
and tried to kill
the two dead boys

If you don't belive
this lie is true
Ask the blind man
he saw it too

(courtesy of Kim) Yo.


In the forest

Out of the mid-woods' twilight
Into the meadow's dawn,
Ivory limbed and brown eyed
Flashes my Faun!

He skips through the copses singing,
And his shadow dances along,
And I know not which I should follow,
Shadow or song!

O Hunter, snare me his shadow!
O nightingale, cathc me his strain!
Else moonstruck with music and madness
I track him in vain!

- Oscar Wilde



Wondering in the night
1
What is it
when two people

who never met
feel lonely
for no reason
what so ever

2
why is it
that two people

can never meet
one another

for no reason
what so ever


no, no, no reason
what so ever
never, never
forever

[A] 22-9-93

No control
who can say it
when no one dares
to even think it
anymore

what can we do
to stop it
when it has already
gone too far

oh why
is it so hard
so hard to even
carry on

why can't I even ask you
the things I need 2 know
before I have to
chose my way

Have I lost
or will I win
this gamble which is
out of control

It has gone too far
and I moved to slow
so now it is
running wild

You have to decide
it cannot go on
it has to end
by your hand

For it is out of control
I am no longer
in charge of myself
and the beast within

I have no, no, no
no control
anymore,
not any more

[A] 22-9-93


Lonely
I am by myself
tonight
as I've been for a
long long time

I miss the time
when I sat there
missing you
oh misery, sweet misery

Where did those days go
when you were the one
I wanted to see
the voice I wanted to head
the face I wanted to touch
the heat I needed to feel

the only thing that is left
is that sweet misery
it is attacking my heart, my brain
oh the pain, the pain

of misery, sweet, sweet miseryyyy!

[A] 10-10-93


Two

You know that I'm here
only for you
whilst you stay over there
oh can it be true

I guess it is
yeah, I guess it is so
so increadibly real
and strange for you

But when you need to
we'll talk
and when you're confused
I'll walk
with you through the night
and into the morning's light
for it shines oh, all to bright
down on us

two souls, two true friends
some problems
will be solved in the end
it's got to be true
'cause there's just me & you

one and one is still
two sould, two minds
talking, thinking
dreaming, walking

It feels so good, so nice
what will be the price
we have to pay
because it can't stay

the situation is too strange
the problems are too far,
out of reach
oh, how are we going to teach
the children
what we do

when there is just me and you
just the two

two souls, too long
do you feel it, too
confused to even talk
so we'll just walk

[A] 8-11-93

+What a day+ (rap poetry)
Early morning       'till late in the night
tryin' to sleep but       it'll just have to wait
lots of things       have been going down
should have stayed home      but I went down town

it's hard to believe      all that I've seen
And even stranger      are all the things I've been
told 'bout (the) this situation
where is it going      yo, I don't know

but I'm sure      that some f...'in how
it will probably      become even more f...'ed up
before one day or      night it finally will have to stop
but for now all I can say         is

what a day, hey
oh what A DAY

sooner or later someone      might just have to pay
for this strange,      strange day      that we've been through      today

oh what a dat, what a day

[A] 2-12-93

Back
Now she is here
back with us
for a while

Her face is
back with us
with a smile


She looked so good,
so happy, so radiant

It's hard to belive
but close to
five months have passed

Back for christmas
Not back to stay
Maybe
back with a vengeance
then who'll have to pay

doesn't really matter now that
SHE is back again.

18-12-93

Live!
sometimes it's hard
to express
just how you feel

something are true
but you still wonder
if they are real

there is no time to waste
and no point in waiting

what's coming,
will be going
and what's going
will be gone

live life to the full
and grab the horns of your bull
'cause if you don't play
your stake will just go away
because the wheel keeps on spinning
(for? as long as?)

[A] 24-12-93


DON'T CRY
Outside it's dark, the night has come
It's below zero again
I can see the lights from the city
Hear it's silent noise
Half a million people
Living, breathing, dying
So much to cry about
But really so little

[A] 17-10-94 19:00


you're going
away
you'll be back
before you go
and stay
away
forever or just
for an eternity
day, weeks, months

what will remain
what will be gone

forever or just
for another eternity

nobody knows
am I the only
one who cares -for real

[A] 7-7-93

Three poems written at B12 thursday 31th of march, 1994 - on the back of free postcards - will try to get the images up, as they set the theme for each of the texts.

Looking out the window
searching for a face in the crowd
Hoping to find you
But knowing that you're gone

I was the one to leave
And although I always wanted to
I could never return
Because you were already gone

Had I gotten another chance
What would have happened
Would there have been a tomorrow
With us together once more

Could things have been different
Or was it never ment to be
More than a short glimpse
Of true happiness and love?
[A]
--

Trying to call
To reach out to you
From afar

Dialling your number
One more time - just to here the
voice and let it bring back all the
memories of days long gone

Picking up the phone
Hoping to get through to you
To talk, to ask, to listen

Voices in the night
Sounds coming through the air
Breaking the long silence
But will it be enough
Or is it already to late

[A]
---

Back to back - in the nude
Looking into space - in two directions
Trying to find our answers - but finding nothing but doubt

HOW - WHY - WHEN - WHERE

Would the answer help us - when we don't even really know the question
which is burning inside
Can we find it if we turn around and look at each other instead - or is that just
another question
Even if 'yes' might be wrong - isn't it worth a try?
[A]

- and that is the end of that collection of old poems, from some 10-15 years ago. I have another set of some various pieces from three years ago, and there are also some other that have been published over the last decade. And quite a few in Norwegian, but I won't be putting those up here in the near future unless there is a roaring demand for it.

Es aqui

BBC also offers up some language coureses, such as this Spanish Steps. !Hola!

Sunday - but still some days off

Public holiday tomorrow, and then on the 17th is the constitution day, so some sunny days of relaxing and reloading after two hectic weeks.

architecture days: "Walk through the campus of The Illinois Institute of Technology, home to the world's largest group of buildings designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe" - rather poor site, but then again the main point is to get people out there and walking around on organized tours to see historical/special/famous building, in LA, Chicago and NY.

Burn it
Once upon a time a "real" laser was something to be seen in large industrial complexes and factories - but now you can bring one home and cut out your own stuff, using the "VersaLaser"
Maybe something for my rather craft-addicted darling? But starting (!) at 8000 usd ... maybe not.

Flying through time
On Friday tour natinal broadcaster started a rather interesting BBC series called "Wild Europe" [norwegian] - going back through the ages and showing how Europe came to be what and where it is today. Can't seem to find it on the BBC site - but they have two similar projects, looking at the Natural history of Britain and the Americas. Typical example of the web really adding value by having tons of related in-depth information. Such as maps of the super-continents, such as Pangaea, the third one, during the age of the dinosaurs.

Do the math, stupid
First there was CSI. Then it spun all around the country - more "international" in Miami, darker and grimmer in NY, but still best in Vegas. Then along came Numbers[official] - or Numb3rs[wiki] as the visual cue is. It is on in Sweden, and I caught part of the virus episode the other day (obviously the second one, as it premiered on the 29th of april). Nice mix of crime and science. Using logic and modelling to find the patterns. Neat. Maybe something to watch, as I'm tuning out of CSI NY - really didn't catch me in terms of "interesting" main-characters. (And for some neat math background - have a look at these curves or the whole picture or the overview)

So, to close off for now - solve the puzzle: if a gallon of gas on average costs $2.11, a hybrid goes for a $3000 premium in price, but gets 20 mpg more ("2005 EPA-estimated 60 city/51 highway/55 combined mpg") - how much should you drive to even it out in terms of pure direct gasoline costs? Or how many years if you drive 15k miles/year (that's some 40 miles each way each working day). Never mind tax rebates, or the fact that gas some places go up to $5...

had to have it

Tony Christie: "the million-selling 'Is This The Way To Amarillo' (written by Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka)" - has been top in the UK for quite some time, and I am officially "hooked", so I used iTunes to buy the single today. Good fun for all... and a fraction of the price of buying just a crap version as a ringtone for the mobile. And still people complain that iTunes is "too expensive". Yeah. Right.


On another note - a great article from the last issue of Wired, is "La Vida Robot", by Joshua Davis. You might know the story, as the base has been in quite a few news-outlets, but the article is another example of why Wired is one of the best outlets for great journalism.

the future is in the garage

DNA Hack: "website for Amateur Genetic Engineering" ... need I say more? Where did Apple and HP basically start? So get inventing, improving and dreaming.

WHAT IF ___________________________________ (fill in the blank - then go find out)

Back to the C60 ?

ThinkGeek: bring you the thing you always knew you wanted... "PlusDeck 2 is a full-logic cassette deck for your PC" ! So you can both transfer all those old mixtapes to your cd - and revieve your old skool original Walkman and listen to podcasts. Oh yeah.

IDeas?

The Nobel Peace center is coming along nicely, and the architect David Adjaye was interviewed in Morgenbladet. One of the interesting points was his concept of "Idea stores" - as the new brand/incarnation of the old library. [img]

Because reading a book makes your mind start up again? As opposed to being slowed down by "just" watching TV or shopping? But do books have to be "mind boggling" or informative? Can't they be "just" plain entertainment and time-passers? What makes it an idea rather than just an experience? The fact that they have magazines, internet connection and encylopedias?

"But there is a world out there that feels disconnected from this particular brand, the library. So you have to set up a new model." [1]


Split interests?
Cropped short hair, Slipknot banging on the Zen, and sitting on the balcony drinking a chilled Italian white and reading the "academic weekly" Morgenbladet

(?Morgenbladet will be an independent weekly newspaper focusing on culture, politics and research. It shall be national and globally oriented, and shall increase the interest for critical thought and exchange of opinions. The newspaper targets readers that are more than average interested in culture and society" - rough translation of the vision/mission) - and yes this was yesterday when the rain was but a bit of water in the sky



And from FT last weekend: coming on strong is jewellery for men - such as the stylish items by Dane Georg Jensen - flash site, select the GJ brand, the jewellery, men and perhaps necklaces - victory.

...and the sun is gone gone gone - rainy Sunday...

Pirates of the cardgames

WizKids are the company behind the "latest" card/collectible craze - Pirates of the Spanish Main (technically the name of an expansion/new version) - and they are rather open about the system; you can view flash animations of the rules and download the full rules, as well as views of cards and listings. So the only reason to buy the actual packs, is the collectibility: the combination of the art, quality and "wonder what I get" factor. Cool. Maybe something for the balcony this summer to supplement our Harry Potter obsession (fueled by radical discounts on the packs, 10 NOK vs normal 50 NOK )

bbc rocks

The election results from the UK are more or less in - and the Beeb has a truly wonderful flash presentation - showing a colorcoded map of the UK, along with a list - hover over the list and it just highlights on the map where it is, click and it gradually zooms in and gives detailed results; candidates, votes, change from last election.

And when you are zoomed in you can hover over the neighbouring constituencies and see their name & result. Great job of showing why the net supplements other media for news and facts.

...and the sun is getting ready for a big day - woke me up way early and bright today...

day off - write on

Exploding goodness - or at least the Explodo-o-Pop is finally available, at $5 a pop (or pack) it is definitely good fun. Now I only need to figure out when someone I know is heading over next time. (© cbs)

Pop, art and comics fused
Mariko Mori: "an oversized, plastic pop star doll in Birth of a Star" - a Japanese artist mixing in the influence of manga/anime with a view of the future. Her media prescence makes Japan look like the future of creative art. But the "problem" is that the ones who promote the trend - young artist with a pop-culture mix - are unable to make it big due to the high cost of living, not to mention the cost of renting a space to do your work - in an already overcrowded urban Japan.

Sobered
The Sober virus is/was making up 77% of traffic... or at least 70% of all viruses mention - depending on the source. Talk about a big spread... and I only got a single one... looks like a lot of our local hosts [stats] have done a good job at keeping it contained - even it the number of removed viruses have gone up from 9k to 28k.

All alone?
A year ago "Magasinet" printed a great image by Eve Arnold from Cuba back in 1954 (Magnum, might need login - BugMeNot ok, other option here). She also made quite a few pictures of among others Marilyn Monroe, but her best work is the "snapshot of the times" - while bringing you a story in an instant.


And the same can definitely be said about one of my all-time favorite painters - the late Mr Hopper (no, not the actor). As the NY times said - he "pinpointed a New York state of mind. ... more unsparing isolation that touches on the traps of modern urban existence" (Google had some 5000+ hits on images by him - actually listed on top of the page when I did a regular search! They figured out it was as relevant to see his works as the facts. Way impressed) Wiki

But he also painted quite a bit from more rural environs - such as the Cape Cod Morning [img]. But probably the best known (and recycled/spoofed) is Nighthaws - the feature image of the exhibiton in London last year. Nice site that features a digital copy of his sketchbook - on page 11 is the Cape Cod.

Even when there are several people (most I remember are either a single person or just the (urban) landscape), they don't seem to interact, hardly aware of the others nearby. Reminds me of the comment "Even though I'm not alone that doesn't mean I'm not lonely"

...sun coming, time to head outside

Saying it loud?

"There is an inner darkness that is overcome by the blood," [Vaughn ]

It is an extract (fittingly enough) from an artwork she posted - mixing a text with an older (?) painting, and doing some rather interesting work on the layout in Quark. There are several "layers" to both the text, art and layout - as well as the overall balance, so have a look, and then go back a bit later and re-examine it, and your own reactions.

For the full text, have a look at "No Need to Wrestle With Your Pride..." , as the post is named over at 'We Can't Tell Reality From Fantasy', as well as have a look at the other relevant links are either there - or right here for: the complete' pdf and the base art

Black. Red. Impact.

Banshee - and then some

Banshee Std - a rather nice caligraphic style font (Open Type) [img direct]

...maybe more on why I happened across the font later.