Rock It, Jesus!

A couple of years ago I heard a song of a band called Switchfoot. Excellent stuff, great guitars, great drums, some awesome bass playing - definitely worth the buy. Some of the lyrics were perhaps a bit cheesy for my taste, but I can handle the odd love song.

After a while, though, I realized that most of the song I had thought were love songs were not. As it turned out, Switchfoot was a Christian band - that I found all their guitar tabs at the Christian Guitar site sort of gave them away. I’m very skeptical about all things religion and although the discovery didn’t ruin the music it certainly made me read the lyrics differently.

And now it looks like I’ve fallen down into the same trap again. Enter stage left; The Almost. Continue reading "Rock It, Jesus!"

Mr. Splashy Pants.

Greenpeace love their whales. So much, in fact, that they are satellite tracking a pack in the Southern Ocean. Of course these whales, or at least one of them, will need a name and Greenpeace has an online poll going where you can help decide the name of the whale.

Ah, the wonders of the great interweb.

As you’d probably expect, you’ll find all kinds of fascinating names there, like Aiko (”little love” in Japanese), Bumi (”world” in Malay) and Kaimana (”divine power of the sea” in Polynesian). All good names for a large mammal that will hopefully not be shot by Japanese whalers; the odds are they are way too busy firing at the Greenpeace boat. Continue reading "Mr. Splashy Pants."

Doped.

There has been quite a lot of talk about sports here lately, the main focus being Formula 1. Some of you might argue that you can’t really look at Formula 1 or even perhaps motor sports in general as a sport per se, as they are just driving their vehicles - it’s not really physical.

Except for the fact that driving a car at extremely high speed around a tight track is a huge strain on the body, both physically and psychologically, I agree with you to some extent. Running a marathon could probably be seen as more of a sport than driving a go cart. I’m not sure if you really can define if a it’s a sport or not based on the level of physical activity, but for the sake of the argument, let’s say that’s the way we do define a sport. So what about a very physical activity, like Pro Cycling? Is that really a sport? Continue reading "Doped."

Tødden Will Prevail!

I grew up in Notodden, a small town almost in the middle of nowhere. The population has been stuck at around twelve thousand people for as long as I can remember. Whenever I tell people I’m from Notodden, they usually associate the place with one of two things: Either the annual Notodden Blues Festival, the event with the highest density of drunk 40 and 50 year olds in Northern Europe or “rånere” (sing. “råner”). I was unable to find a good English translation of the word, “lowbrow joyriders” comes close, but the best thing is to describe what they do and why they are one of the things people think about when they hear the word “Notodden”. Then you can make up your own English word.

I honestly have to say that I have never been a part of this particular subculture, so the description is solely based on my impression of them and what they do. Still, since I lived in Notodden for 18 years, I would boldly argue that my description is more or less spot not. There are, of course anomalies, people who do not accurately fit the description, but who is still a “råner”. Also, you should note that this description probably best fits Notodden’s “rånere” because I’m not familiar with how the same stereotype residing in another city is best described. I do, however, imagine that the description would be pretty much the same. Continue reading "Tødden Will Prevail!"

The Art of Aiming.

Not much happens at work. At least not that much I can tell you about. It just wouldn’t look good if I started writing about all the fun we’re having with our customers. Still, there are those little things. Like people who just have to talk to you while you’re with them in the elevator, even if you have never seen them before in your life.

We rent offices on the eight floor of a rather modern building in downtown Oslo. Every floor has toilets, which is nice since sometimes you’ll need to go to the bathroom during the day. That’s just the way we work as humans, and doing it in your office desk drawer just wouldn’t work in the long run.

I’m a guy, and there is some unwritten law saying that guys have to stand when they’re taking a leak or they’re freaks of nature. This is not a problem if there is a urinal or if you’re capable of actually aiming at - and hitting - the toilet. On our floor there is no urinal and a guy who is just incapable of hitting the toilet, but for some reason, he has to stand. The cleaning lady cleans the toilets in the morning, around noon it looks like someone have partied like it was 1999 on our floor without telling us.

I’m not sure who you are, but if you’re reading this, for the love of he-who-I-do-not-believe-in, sit down! Personally, I’ve been sitting for 25 years because my mother concluded that I was incapable of hitting the toilet and told me to sit down. This has not damaged me emotionally, I do not enjoy watching Sex and the City, nor do I wear pink or bright blue shirts. Actually, it’s rather relaxing. So, please, give it a try before the cleaning lady goes postal.