ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO_QRSTUVWXYZ

1981.01.31-2007.10.27

What do you write when words won't say it?

What do you do when tears don't show it?

I will try by thanking you for the joy you brought
I will try by remembering the good you gave

Tack för allt Per!

:: You will be missed ::

Nǐ Hǎo!

There and back again - A Beijing Tale.
I would love to start out with something grande, something about how wonderful, special, marvellous, revitalizing it was for the soul to enter the Middle Kingdom. But honestly - there is a limit to what one can make out of 48h of which there were supposed to be work three days and dinner one night with the client. What can be said is that the people are at a surprisingly high economical standard, with a professional attitude and seemingly harmonic calm persons. (All these generalisations go for the few people I met at the engineering company we work with.)

The food is a chapter on it's own, the rule of conduct is to eat and smile so what passed my lips was among other things shrimps (eaten w h o l e) shells, clams and snails and a frog or two. All served in seasoning and sauces of various taste, strength and enjoyment. All in all a pleasant experience as long as you can accept the fact that everything from pork and chicken to prawns and what-knows will crunch when you set your teeth to it be it bones, cartilage, knuckles ...

The shopping was limited to a 45 minute visit to the Ya Show department store / mal on the way out to the airport. And the items purchased was a Wilson squash racket - first buy and I was definately scammed. For how much will be revealed once I get to try it and actually play it. If it turns out to be playable I didn't make too great fool of myself. The second item was more of a lottery buy, an iPod nano @ 100:- can't be anything else but a bluff but we had them turn it on and play whatever tracks was on it - and here comes the good part - for some random chance they had the track "Basshunter - Vi sitter här i venten". A warning signal if there ever was one. Final buy was two ties to fill up my collection at around 50:-

There were more of the drinking. Too much beer in too little time and too little sleep and too much jet lag. Needless to say I'm slightly grumpy today

Gan Bei! (Bottom's up!)

---

But if the physical journey wasn't all to fancy schmancy the inner one was the richer.
Having spent the time traveling meant I had some time to catch up reading and viewing through other medias.
The list goes as follows:

• Albert Camus - The Stranger
• About Schmidt, drama with Jack Nicholson
• Transformers the movie
• Sommar i P1 Pelle Almqvist and Paolo Roberto
• Filosofiska rummet on the topic eroticism in philosophy
• BBC Documentary on India
  
• Interview with Dave Gahan in King magazine
  

A list like this would have taken me weeks to go through back home at my current pace. Some of them goes without saying of course.
Pelle Almqvist is a rock star and talks about coming straight outta Fagersta in to a red carpet world beeing hand shaken by Joe Strummer and beeing thanked for "saving rock".
Paolo Roberto is a boxer and will talk 'bout boxing. Always inspiring to hear other people's views on martial arts (which is what he did first before he became a boxer) and them describing the 'presence' and 'now' you can only feel in the ring.
The Dave Gahan interview was just a confirmation that he is an inspiring person with a bit more artistic twist than I had known before.
The eroticism discussion didn't really spark me up very much. Was at times a bit too hard to see it was eroticism and lust the discussion was about.
Transformers delivered what I had expected.
About Schmidt could have had a touch of Camus and Lost in Translation-ish existentialism over it but Mr Nicholson is a bit too grumpy and absent for that.
But Camus, and his Mr Mersault - the Stranger this is a work the sparks my interest and makes me alert, and in some ways slightly worried.

Short on the book. A novel set in a French North African colony i think it is Algeria a man's life and living is re-told in "I-form". The story leads up to an accident where he accidentally takes another man's life and the following trial afterwards. The strange in the stranger is Mr Mersaults complete abscence of remorse and regret, his lack of sorrow and empathy. This is subtly noted during the starting chapters in his clinical conclussions and his sort of viewing himself from the outside-perspective he has to things. What scares me in the story is when one tries to apply this to oneself and compare and see similarities and differences.

But enough of that. I have sleep to reclaim and sheets to wrestle.

SAS is a lie.

I have always been told the SAS was an abbreviation of Scandinavian Airline System. Just to discover that the truth is that it's actually named Scandinavian Airlines. Or as I have come to think of them after today - Scandalous Airlines.

Today has in many senses been a wasted day. Got up well late and did the only two things today I consider beeing something constructive - I played WoW, c a s u a l l y for an hour and attained a new cooking recipie. And I did the dishes. The clock is now close to 1200 and preparations for the coming China trip takes place. Pack, plan, pass time and voilà the clock is 1730 I arrive at Gardermoen, check in only to find my original 1930 flight to Arlanda cancelled and my two co-travellers have seats on the 1805 one and me and the fourth one and me on the 2105 one. Not to anyone's surprise time goes, the 2105 is re-schedulued to go @ 2145 and hence having us miss the Beijing connection from Arlanda and well, 2240 I am once more back home in Oslo with a new ticket for the 1405 flight tomorrow monday. Yiiiiiipppppiiiiieeeeee.

To sum it up. The only really bad thing is that I am now down to 48h in Beijing instead of the planned 72 which I fear will cut the chances of touristing, in percentage, down to slightly less than the alchol content of a folk-öl. Or should i say people-beer since we are on the topic of the People's Republic of China.

Nevertheless, not all is wasted. This blog is getting written - doh - don't ever underestimate the art and writing. I am served a single malt Cragganmore in the comfort of my own home instead of a blended whisky in a plastic cup on a crowded plane. (Which still might be the case in less than 24h again though.)
But most valuable of all. I found myself as a calm, stress resistant person that is not letting himself down by a sudden setback or uphill. Sure I miss this and that, but trying to see the benefits and positive sides to things is a great strenght. And hey! I got a new cooking recipie:

Eat a cake, be happy for an hour. -God how easy life is online!
Or is it: perhaps the Cake is a lie. (That song is wonderful!)

The "Cake is a lie"-thing is something from the game Portal. Sure that would be ok if I had actually played the game, but what scares me is that I know a whole lot about a game on a platform I don't even own (xBox 360) in a genre I don't play (puzzle games in the Half-Life universe in 3rd person perspective) but since I read up on my nerdy comics CAD and LG and get into the random online hypes that come and go I have to fuel it with some more rant.


(Story in short - you are supposed to solve puzzles on command from a co-worker and she promises cake as a reward. But graffiti seen on the wall keep implying that "The Cake is a lie")

This reminds me of the viral marketing campaign Ask did towards Google.
Hmm did I write something on that. Gotta check.
If I didn't it is quite an interesting topic in it's own.
A topic another favourite comic/community has been touching.
xkcd they are too nerdy but in a more science/math way and not the gaming way as the other two. Well worth the read.

T h e _ a l g o r i t h m _ c o n s t a n t l y _ f i n d s _ J e s u s

And risking to tip off on another one again here goes the fourth A Softer World, not a comic in the obvious way - just a random picture/pictures framed in to three pictures and some text added. But the mood in it is just lovely. Romantic, weird, slightly emo and some weird undertones. Not all of the currently 261 strips are spot on but the ones that are are really good.

#136: WE CAN AFFORD NO MORE DISTRACTIONS

#194: even after we're done

Re.use

Found some writings and jottings in a notebook. Know some of the content of it has been revealed previously. But as the "Industry" likes to release items like CD's and movies I will do it as well then:
"This blog contains "previously unreleased material"

Just write don't spell . never think of hell
But if you do . and if you go
I'll go there with you

Spring spring, oh the joy
Life is now, bring a toy

Come out and play
Value each day

This might be your very last
Start living and do it fast!

I am here, a friend is near
Think of this and feel no fear

Time flies, present is past
But nothing dies, memories last

As long as someone remembers
All is forever, even rainy Novembers

Sunday screams . screams for the new
Monday listens . loved by few
But I count among them . the Monday lovers

Poesi utan fantasi
Likt vatten utan väte i
Men syret det räcker för att hjärnan ska jobba
Ny lyckas jag inte infallen nobba
Skriver och står i
Gömt mig däri
Tömt ut lite av min själ
-är jag den enda som känner mig väl?
Hoppas det icke, för det skulle gagna mig föga
Men nu börjar fan rimmen bli tröga

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Well if I ever saw a contradiction if there ever was one
this has to be it: WoW+ Casual
Apparantly it is possible according to this blogger.

Thrown into Existence

.: Disclaimer :.
Call it a brief review over a philosophical movement. Think of it as a turning point. Consider it an awakening. Disregard it as nonsense. Be upset by the illogical reasoning. Thank me if you find it interesting. Flee me if it scares you.
.: End of Disclaimer :.

.: Start of shameless theft from wikipedia and other sources :.

Existentialism claims that individual human beings create the meanings and essence of their own lives. Existentialism stresses that people are entirely free and therefore responsible for what they make of themselves. With this responsibility comes a profound Anguish or Dread. The same topic as the infamous Angst.
Two forerunners of the movement were Nietzsche and Kirkegaard, connected to this movement are also writers like Dostoevsky and Sartre.
(The Swedish wikipedia-page on "Existentialism" holds an interesting writeup with focus on Sartre.)

I realized aloud in the midst of saying it that even when we die we probably don't find out the answer as to why were we ever alive. Even the avowed atheist probably thinks than in death he'll get some answer. I mean God will be there, or there won't be anything at all.
'But that's just it,' I said, 'we don't make any discovery at that moment! We merely stop! We pass into nonexistence without ever knowing a thing.' I saw the universe, a vision of the sun, the planets, the stars, black night going on forever. And I began to laugh.
'Do you realise that! We'll never know why the hell any of it happened, not even when it's over! We're going to die and not even know. We'll never know, and all this meaninglessness will just go on and on and on. And we won't any longer be witnesses to it. We won't have even that little bit of power to give meaning to it in our minds. We'll just be gone, dead, dead, dead, without ever knowing!'

"The Dark Moment", passage from Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat

How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn't it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the manager—I have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint?

Repetition, Kirkegaard

.: I feel I am just opening the lid of Pandora's infamous Box here and can't get to a wrap-up at this point :.

You always have a c h o i c e. You are always responsible
To c h o o s e not to act is also an act.

Whatever we choose to do we are always responsible
To shift blame to not see our responsibility is not an option.
You can never lie to yourself

And just to repeat myself ...

Existentialism claims that individual human beings create the meanings and essence of their own lives.

Grasping that one to its fullest width holds some interesting consequences. No other philosophical movement makes sense to me. I don't want to put my faith in the hands of a maker - a man with a plan. I don't want to be a set of cells on a predefined course through life, neither do I want to be a victim of animalistic needs and instincts that would navigate me.

But again - freedom is the bless and the curse of it.
Y o u are held responsible:

F r i h e t _ u n d e r _ a n s v a r

This topic will be continued. If I c h o o s e to do so.
This message was posted incomplete since I c h o o s e to do so.

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Wrapping it up with a Banksy.
The "Art Terrorist" has several facebook groups in addition to his www.banksy.co.uk. The one named "Banksy" for instance holds some 300+ pics.

Talk Tonight - Act Tomorrow!

Sittin' on my own
Chewin' on a bone
A thousand million
Miles from home
When Something hit me
Somewhere right between the eyes

I wanna talk tonight
Until the mornin' light
'Bout how you saved my life
You and me see how we are
You and me see how we are

Oasis - Talk Tonight

We talked tonight
Until the morning light
Mind bending
Idea blending
Save my life it might

These last few days has hold a lot of good solid talks on quite varied topics. Well ... less talk more action - would be the next phase now then.

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Going off-topic to post one of the more interesting dialogue-boxes I have bumped in to during my years as user of M$-systems

Thank You!

With this post I would just want to say:

T H A N K _ Y O U _ A L L !

This year's birthday celebration exceeded all

my hopes and expactations.
I have had a couple of great days.
Sure some hard work in the kitchen -
Sure one could always wish for this
and hope for that ...
But this is just awesome, perfect, lovely.
Course I love the attention,
Course I love to have friends over
Course I love to be loved
But this was just more than one could hope for!

Leafkickers FC

This was just a spontaneous snapshot.
But I'd say it is quite representative for the uncomplicated joy,
for the relaxed come-as-you-are spirit that has been flowing lately!

-And I just love it!

Once again - thank you all for lighting my path, for making this place a place worth living and a place I love to live in! It is such a joy to be able to give and get back.

And the recipe for this success ....
well if I'd knew that I'd live it every day.
But what I c a n post is the recipe for the cake:

150g butter (melted)
3 eggs + 4.5 dl sugar = whip together until puffy
add 5 tbs of cacao and 2 tbs vanilla sugar and blend.
Stir in 3 dl flour and finally the melted butter.

Bake for 20 mins in 175° and sift vanilla/icing sugar on top if preferred when cool.

Yours Truly
/Adam