It’s the middle of the month, it’s vacation, it’s too damn hot, I am doing a whole lot of nothing and everything…
And it’s time…
It’s that special time of the month when I pop back to give my blog a single breath of resuscitation, only to let it wimper pathetically out like a badly plugged air-mattress. I really have no excuse for not blogging, other than that I seldom find myself in the need to actively share deeper thoughts on subjects than what can be poorly put into 140 characters or less. Because I do Twitter. And I still think that’s pretty fun. Perhaps I’m just fickle son of a bitch, switching out this tried and tested blog for a something newer, shinier and a whole less user-friendly.
Well, what can you do. It probably has some slight connection with me being a lazy bastard. But even the laziest bastard-blogger must be up to something, so the question becomes, what have I been doing with myself, and how can I tell you it to you without this blog-post becoming too much of a over-indulgent, self-loving emo text where all the sentences go on forever and ever an end with three punctuation marks and a smiley face.
And should I stop using the word “well” all the time? I have no doubt that I should, but I just can’t stop myself. It must be my happy-go-lucky subconcsious constantly trying to manipulate me into thinking that everything is in deed & thought very well, thank you.
Which things generally are. There’s no denying that, except for the occasional grunt I utter whenever I have to go to work (at a gas station) and try to service people who I’m sure are pretty nice if you get to know them properly, but I’ll be damned if they don’t do they’re very best to annoy me and make me lament the current status of the human species in general. Well, okay, so maybe that’s a bit harsh, but a man can only take so many rounds of “do you want fries with that?” before you go a little crazy. All in all it’s actually an okay job when you’re option’s are as limited as they are up here. You can either: A. shovel shit for a living. B. Wash the shit of old people for a living, or C. Feed people shit for a living. I opted for option C., and I must say that my shit? It’s excellent.
But when July runs out of sun-sets, I’ll be setting sail for more southern parts of Norway, i.e. Oslo. Our capitol. The place where kings and queens recide next to drug addicts and fucking pick-pockets (more on this later) and our fine statesmen and politicians. It’s also the place where the University of Oslo recides, squared away in the busiest street of Norway, which is bizarrely named after our former oppressors. I think there’s something ironic about that, but I’m not entirely sure. Anyway, at this university, I’ll hopefully be studying law and be all serious-like, which will probably only last as long as it takes me to figure out how I can best coast through it without doing all too porly. I am nothing if not ambitious about my work-ethic.
It’s going to be weird though. I just ended my three year long tenure at high-school, graduating with probably the best grades in my entire year – which doesn’t say as much as you’d think, but it says enough – and now it’s off to foreign parts. And here I am, having never lived anywhere else than with my parents. There’s just so much stuff that’s going to change. New people, new places, no prepared dinners, no friends close by, no nothing.
But I bet it’s going to be great. I bet it’ll be just fine. I bet it’ll at least be okay when I’ve settled in tasered my way through the worst parts of the city’s pick-pockets, forever in hunt of the guy who stole my wallet last time I visited Oslo (which was like three weeks ago). He took my cash, my train-ticket home, and of course everything else of value in there. I did get the wallet back eventually though, so at least there’s that. Let’s just say I’m never going through that city without having that third eye installed in my neck. I don’t care if it’s creepy; it’s just necessary, folks.
It could’ve gone worse though. He only managed to take something like a thousand kroners worth of stuff out if it, and I’ll get some of that back from the insurance. The worst part would’ve been the ticket, but thankfully I had my sister close at hand, and she kindly provided a new train ticket home. And on that train I met a really cool Austrian guy who was back-packing through Scandinavia, and we chatted all the way from Oslo to Trondheim and beyond. It was a genuinly awesome experience, and I can’t help but think that I wouldn’t have had it if I hadn’t gotten that new ticket. The guy was going to Bodø last time I saw him. I hope he made it there and back again just fine.
So what was I doing in Oslo, besides getting to know it’s more colourful citizenry? Well, let me tell you: I was there to get my copy of “Best Served Cold” by Joe Abercrombie signed. And I did, even though I was bit shell-shocked at the time, what with being wallet-less and all… But Joe was the epitome of cool, and he inscribed my copy in a way that makes me smile every time I think about it. It sure made it all a bit better. I haven’t managed to get around to the book yet. though I hope I’ll get to it in a couple days’ time.
I just have to finish Martin’s “A Feast for Crows” first, and then it’s on to finishing an hitherto untitled work by my only blog-fan, mister Loki Aesir. I can’t actually tell which project I’m most looking forward to right now, and given how highly I hold Martin’s abilities, that’s saying something.
So… yeah, that’s me right now. That’s where I’m at, at this point in my life. Like the title implies, this isn’t a very structured piece, but I hope you enjoyed it if you came this far. As far as more blogging goes… Gee, I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll get around to it one day. Perhaps I’ll post a review of the new Harry Potter movie (which reviews have in fact convinced me that I might not hate this time around), or would you perhaps like it if I posted some thoughts on a Song of Ice & Fire. I do have some of those stored away by now, four books deep and all..
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“I just have to finish Martin’s “A Feast for Crows” first, and then it’s on to finishing an hitherto untitled work by my only blog-fan, mister Loki Aesir. I can’t actually tell which project I’m most looking forward to right now, and given how highly I hold Martin’s abilities, that’s saying something”
… about how little you care for “A Feast for Crows”…
If I’m requesting only one post, ASoIaF would of course be it, but I would not scoff at a HP-review, either. Much like you, I’ve been sold on it by reviews. (Ironically, I was somewhat de-sold (TM) on it by its own trailer, which was an insanely long stunt of “WE’RE GOING TO BE REALLY, REALLY DARK AND HAVE TONS OF SPECIAL EFFECTS but there’s not really any plot, apparently, because we spend the entire five minutes of the trailer not letting you know _anything_ about what the movie will contain except Draco Malfoy being a dick and Ron liking girls”, but luckily, the rather positive reviews make up for that. I say luckily because I have a certain social commitment to go see it regardless of quality.)
Really fun post, by the way, especially considering it’s a personal-life-one. The wallet-snatcher really spiced it up. Might be financial ruin, but at least it is dramaturgical salvation.
Don’t worry about the living alone-stuff. If paranoid, wussy, worried, anti-social me could do it at fifteen, you can do it now easy-peasy. Also, you need to go, so that I can finally be one of those guys who knows his lawyer. (You’ll have to come visit for supper and we’ll have to go play golf and stuff. It’s very important to be pals with your lawyer, the coolest movie-villains all are.)
I’d like to see a post on Carnivale, too, by the way, after your way positive twitter on the pilot. It’s been long since I saw it. And on that note, I’ll add a TV-show to my rec’s earlier today – “Easy Money”, which was canceled after episode four early this autumn, is back with the remaining four episodes they produced this summer. Don’t know if you’d like it, but I took to it right off.
Nice to see you blogging again. Cheery-bye!
Thanks for the comment, Loki, and I’m glad you liked it
I’ll have some time this weekend, so we’ll see what I can whip up. Carnivale though, that I probably won’t finish until I-don’t-know-when. I’m just checking out cool shows now that I may want to see later on. But I’ll get there.
If I recall, you also mentioned checking out The Shield? That’s definitely a show I’d like to hear more about, too.
Yes, I am watching the Shield, all though what constitutes as “watching a show” these days for me is more like watching an ep per week. I just haven’t had the time to get further. I think I’m at the beginning of the third season though. They’re pretty short.
One ep per week is enough to say you watch a show; indeed it is the regular amount that’s the way they originally air… If you slip down into once a month, though, I’ll agree with you.
Me, I’m currently fulfilling my age-old dream of watching the Timmverse’s “Justice League/Justice League Unlimited”-cartoons. My first step in years on my goal of one day watching the entire (now sadly defunct) continuity that was started with the oft-brilliant “Batman: The Animated Series”. And I’m keeping up with “True Blood” and “Kings”, as well as rewatching “24″ season 2 with Sarah. I’m also going to watch the “Easy Money”-leftovers when they air in a few weeks. When there’s nothing else, we also check out some “3rd Rock from the Sun”, it’s our long-running back-up show, I believe we’re somewhere in late season 2 by now.
For later this summer, we’re also thinking about checking out the British “The Office”-pilot, as we’re on a Ricky Gervais-kick, but I’m unsure if we’ll like it or not. Time will show, I suppose. When I get back to Norway (sigh) I’ll pick back up my “Ally McBeal”-rewatch with the season 3 opener when I find the time between all the shows I’m sure will start back up around then.
I bought the first season of the British “The Office”. It’s okay, I guess. Not really my type of humour, but for what it is, it’s very well done. And I guess I’ll have to watch True Blood, it being the most popular HBO series in a looong time and all.
Don’t stress with it. True Blood is weird in that it has really, really obnoxiously stupid characters (with one or two exceptions), but pretty smart writing. Also, early on, there is a LOT of cheese, but that wears off a few episodes in, blissfully. If you survive the first four-five episodes, you’ll probably like it. But if you can’t get past them? Won’t blame you at all. It’s a pretty good show by now (despite things like the moronic main character and her brother who’s actually SUPPOSED to be stupid, and who thus has to be OUTRAGEOUSLY thick to seem stupid next to his “normal” sister), which entertains and interests me with every new episode, but it is not in any way comparable to the other HBO-hits I’ve seen, like The Wire, Deadwood, Sopranos or Rome.
You’v convinced me not to watch it, so now I’ll contend myself with Carnivale, the Shield, Ally McBeal & the Deadwood re-watch I have planned. I may also re-watch Rome because it’s been a while since I saw season 1. And then I’ll probably re-watch the West Wing. Again.
I’m feeling like a rewatch of Firefly and Studio 60 myself, but neither is likely to happen ’til next year at the earliest. My schedule’s full.
S60 and Firefly I re-watched only some months ago, so not feeling those right now. But I do feel like a second viewing of Veronica Mars could be in order.
Ditto on that one, but that’ll have to be even longer down the line. This spring I’m starting a combined Buffy/Angel-rewatch I’ve planned for over two years now…
Not to disturb your converastion, but Amras, I don’t care what you write, so long as you do. Every word is like nectar in the desert.
(I hope I didn’t get off as too stalker-creepy with that one, by the way.)
And your recounting of stuff you want to rewatch makes me want to watch all that stuff again, too. Unfortunately, I am forcing myself to make some progress with new shows, so it’ll more likely be Doctor Who s4, B5, Burn Notice s2 and 3, Life on Mars, The Wire, Boston Legal (or whatever its name was), BSG, Deadwood and King for me, and then, sometime in early 2013, I plan on finding myself a good comedy show with a lot of seasons, like maybe Weeds or How I Met Your Mother or something like that…
Me? Nectar? Hee, I like that. All though if you should ever find yourself in want of nectar in the desert, I’m afraid you’d find my refreshing capabilities to be sorely lacking. But you know, thanks for the compliment. I will try to blog some more, and I do have some nifty movies that I’d like to review.
It’s “Kings”, btw, thou unholy blasphemer! Shame upon you and your house, good sir knight!
Doctor Who s4 was the last one, no? If so, it’s easily the worst one yet. It only had a couple more or less “okay” eps, and even that’s charitable. I’m looking forward to Moffat taking over the show though; he always writes the best scripts.
Burn Notice I’ve tried, but didn’t much care for, and when you say Life on Mars, I sure hope it’s the BBC version you’re reffering to, as the American one sucked so hard that even Uwe Boll was surprised.
But do try “Kings”. And “Weeds”. And “HIMYM”. And in that order.
You put Weeds above HIMYM? That’s… high praise.
Weeds is more ‘my style’, but to be frank, there first three seasons of HIMYM are totally on par with any Weeds season. The fourth season of HIMYM was enough to put it behind Weeds in terms of overall awesome.
And that’s saying something since, despite also noticing the decrease in quality, I absolutely loved HIMYM’s season four.
It had its ups and downs; I’m sure a maraton-watch of it (like you do) makes the low-points a bit more bearable.
It’s the Beeb Life on Mars, of course. As my record on matters pertaining to the Blu-Ray should indicate, I rarely involve myself with blatant waste of everyone’s time, money and energy.
Also, thanks for the tip. I always try to keep your advice in mind when choosing what to watch. You are both, in spite of everything, quite the distinguished gentlemen when it comes to these things.
“It had its ups and downs; I’m sure a maraton-watch of it (like you do) makes the low-points a bit more bearable.”
We actually saved up the last few episodes and dragged them out for a couple of weeks, we didn’t want to run out…
“You are both, in spite of everything, quite the distinguished gentlemen when it comes to these things.”
…in spite of what, exactly?
It must be our freakishly good looks.
How does he know about those? I’ve never sent him any photos, and I’ve made sure there has never been uploaded one on the tubes. By anyone.
I am sure he surmised it by the radiant glow of our syntax.
Ah… His insight must be unparalleled, his understanding unequaled and his methods not only unmatched, but downright unusual.
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[...] Cold by Joe Abercombie. I go in to greater detail about what happened next in this post right here, but the gist of it is that on my way to the signing, my wallet got [...]