I LOVE SKYPE

Marte in Boston... I promise to come visit sooooooon!!!
haha

NYC correspondents : Ash, Panda, Lynds, K-fun and Merce

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

Thank You America!!!

LOST AND FOUND in BARCELONA

Lost: 2 girls, one dressed as a fried egg, another as a Flasher, at the mosh-pit in Club Sutton right after "Jump Around".

Found: In my bed- A swede ( I wish), a glittery butterfly and a bag of white subtance - In my purse - A lollipop, 10 color sharpies and a disposable camera.

Also Lost: Words. And Dignity.

Icy

I can live with my friends disappointing me. Because I know I have my weak moments aswell. What is worse is when people you trust and somewhat look up to - people who inspire you - act in a way that diminishes your respect for them.

Reality is a concept that is difficult to grasp for some people. to some extent we all create our own realities, parallell to our own destinies. But I realise that is is important to acknowledge that the realities we create are paralell to oneanother, they coexist, and are normally an intertwined entity. There is a common responisbility to reach an understanding that some realities are common for all. As we say in Norwegian, call the showel by its real name, a Showel.

Henrik Ibsen says it well in this Play Peer Gynt where Peer meets his destiny:

Now he has had enough adventuring and hopes for a serene old age at home. But on the heath he meets a Button-Moulder who says: "I have been sent for you ... you are to go into my ladle ... I must melt you up." Peer Gynt protests that to lose his soul, his identity, his self, is not fair. "I'm not really a bad soul. At worst, you may call me a bungler, but certainly not an exceptional sinner," he pleads.

That, says the Button-Moulder, is just the trouble: "You're not bad enough for the sulphur-pit, nor good enough for Paradise. And so, into the ladle you go!"
Peer Gynt insists: "But you cannot kill a soul! Haven't I been a personality? An individual? Myself?"

"You have been selfish,"the Button-Moulder replies, "but not yourself."

Peer Gynt asks the answer to his riddle: "What is it, to be one's self?" The Button-Moulder answers:

"To be one's self is to deny one's self."

Pretty Leaf Swing

Photo: Design Spotter

The Happy Happy Plastic Stadium – Biggest Plastic Art Installation Ever?

Photo: Design Spotter

Besides the fact that I love the name of this installation, the magnitude of the piece is quite incredible, Last September, thousands of people all over Seoul collected 1.7 million pieces of discarded plastic in order to create it. They transformed the gigantic Jamsil Sports Complex into an enormous eco art installation.

The work was presented for the Seoul Design Olympiad 2008, currently underway - from Oct. 10 through Oct. 30.

Jayson Musson

Fun art from this Philly artist.

jaysonmusson.com
myspace.com/plasticlittlerap
shesmature.com
myspace.com/americansneakers
space1026.com

PHIARY

Just a little reminder People!!

Check out my Phiary, click here!!!

BACKSTAGE WITH JUSTICE!!!

Gaspard, MT, Vikki, Xavier Xavier

I really have no idea why me and MT end up in so much trouble/crazy situations all the time. This time aroud we ended up backstage at Justice's concert in Oslo. Hung out with the guys, playing games, drinking, eating sushi, discussing soul, metal and every genre inbetween. The screening of their new documentary was great aswell, the guys are exactly as ridicilously funny and insane as the documentary portrays.

I can't believe I have now met 3 of my four favorite bands, first The Rolling Stones in Sweden with MT, then MUSE in Sydney with Katie and now Justice!!!

Wonder what's next..... More raging madness and random adventures I hope!!!
Crazy gun-lovin' manager and ME
The Set
Shoes

The Village Petstore and Charcoal Grill

Banksy's new exibition is fucking ridiculous! Sausages in terrariums, Nuggets eating BBQ sauce... all done using animatronics. hahahaaaa... Still laughing after I saw the vid.



Anyone in NYC at the moment - This is a must to check out!!!!

Check out http://thevillagepetstoreandcharcoalgrill.com/

The Make-Believe Maverick and Mad Dog Palin

Well, I usually try to be aware of biased jouralism, and treat it with the scrutiny and sceptisism needed to read it. But when talking of republican vs. democrats in biased litterature, it seems to me that the less deciving ones come from Magazines, news corps ++ that are pro Obama. I believe these two articles from Rolling Stone (posted below)will give us a more truthful image of the two republican candidates than the republican campaign ever will.

Make-Believe Maverick
A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty

Mad Dog Palin
The scariest thing about John McCain's running mate isn't how unqualified she is - it's what her candidacy says about America

Paper cut

Your love
was like a paper cut
painful, but not deep
and it bled a lot.

My heart is full of paper cuts
Yours was not the first
I am wating for a dagger to cut me deep

I’m like an elephant in many ways
I have trouble forgetting
A blessing and a curse

First line
Erased.
Second line
Erased.
Third line
Erased.

The lines help me forget. Dulls my senses
I’m ready for my next
Paper cut

C215 in New Delhi

C215's artwork is breathtaking. They say he is the first street artist to paint on the streets of India. I'm taken back by the details, colours and his amazing stencil shading techniques.

WOW.

Check out more of his New Delhi Pieces here

The Weakened U.S - Lipstick wearing Pigs - And me.

I am finally finding back to the things that inspire me, encourage me and challenges me. Learning and gaining new knowledge of how the world works is so important to me, yet, when studying Business and IR in Barcelona, I could not feel any joy working with it. Getting Barcelona and Uni at a distance has given me somewhat of a new start, I again feel passionate about International politics and conflict resolution/Political negotioations. With the U.S election is coming to a critical point, it is no longer possible to not pay attention to the carnival going on over seas.

Yesterday I went to a day-long seminar, addressing different foreign affair topics. Many of the panel discussions and speeches where focused on the financial crisis and US election. It seems like there is a common European sentiment that the US can now be considered a FORMER world power that we used to respect. The question now is how weakened the US will be after Bush and this financial crisis. This weakening of the US economy and reputation will most likely also have repercussions for the new president to be elected in 20-something days. Both candidates have been promising CHANGE. The question now is if they have a real possibility to make these promised changes. With a decade of national budget deficits, 700 billion dollars going to rescue the economy and billions spent on a war with no real time perspective in Iraq and Afghanistan; Are there any resources left for the new president to lead the US on a new path? If not, the next president could be known as a guy that promised much, but did little – In a time when the country was in great need.

It is not a secret that most the European citizens would vote for Barack Obama. As for the Norwegian population, we clearly understand that Barack Obama stands closer to our foreign policy and national values – to talk to our enemies – create dialog – fearness and equality- Obama is a EUROPEAN in our eyes.
The concept of being or acting European is something that I connect with concepts of democracy, respect for human rights, freedom, intellect, insight and an international viewpoint – to have the ability to see that the repercussions of action taken by one state will be felt world-wide in today’s globalized society.

Therefore, most of the European society watched in horror when Sarah Palin made her first public appearance. Anti-abortion. Creationist. Drill, baby, Drill. Avid supporter of NRA. Pro-war. Environmentalist? I think not. Palin sued the US Government to get polar bears off the endangered list. The Scandinavian population screams: “what?!?!!” Due to our value system and international perspective it is mind-boggling to see how this woman could appeal to anyone, except for her physical appearance. She is a Phenomenon. A fundamentalist. An Idol. A skilled artist. But NOT a Politician.
Well, to try to understand I would have to make a small analysis of how the average Joe six-pack and lipstick-wearing hockey- moms perceive Palin.

EVERYONE knows a Sarah Palin. And everyone likes that Sarah Palin that they know. She is a good mom, fun, spiffy, outspoken, not stuck up. She’s the epiphany of a real hockey-mom. She is gracious, pretty, and a huge flirt. You like that, don’t you, Joe Six-Pack? The problem here is that just because someone is your idol, your dream wife or your favorite neighbor, does not make them eligible to govern your country. Yes, she is like you, and she probably understand your situation – but she has no knowledge of how to manage a vast country such as the US. Her international and Global insight equals 0.

So far, Palin has really made a mess out of herself throughout the campaign. Her interviews with Katie Couric only emphasized her lack of deep knowledge in any subject, especially foreign affairs. The Troopergate scandal is an embarrassment and possibly a felony. Still, voters seem very little affected by this. It seems that she is so much like the average American, that they forgive her, she is like family or that likeable neighbor that ended up in trouble and just need a hand. I do not think we have seen this kind of invincibility since Regan’s time.
This is the scariest part. If the lipstick-wearing pig sends her own country into ruins, well, then so be it. But this woman will possibly have the power and opportunity to make decisions that will affect the whole world -and remember people- we all live in a globalized world, whether we like it or not.

I am scared.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Blodsporene i Dagaliveien - International terrorism in Norway

Sorry guys, this post is in Norwegian only. This has one reason: It's my immediate reaction to the documentary released today about the attempted terroristic assatination of a member of my family, which has a fatwa - a deathsentence spoken by the Irani Leader Athollah Khomeini - over him and his translator of the book Satanic verses by Salman Rushdie. Thank You for your understanding. If you are confused about this - feel free to email me, comment or read more here



Dokumentaren som ble vist i dag hos Fritt Ord i Uranienborgveien omhandler av en av de første terrorsakene i norsk histore. Wiliam Nygaard ble skutt utenfor sitt eget hjem - og som dokumentaren tilsier- var på grunnlag av fatwaen over Salaman Rushdie og hans meget kontroversielle bok "Sataniske Verser"(Satanic Verses). Dette åpner igjen debatten rundt ytringsfrihet - og det noen vil mene er misbruk av ytringsfrihet. I paneldebatten etter visningen kom mange betraktinger rundt ytringsfrihetens stilling i Norge og verden. Per Edgar Kokkvold hevder retten til å le av de mektige. Han stiller spørsmål rundt Hvordan den vestlige verden før vant slag etter slag mot undertrykkelse og fundamentalisme ved utgivelser av omdiskuterte og fordømte bøker - i kontrast til hvordan i dag den fundamentalistiske delen av samfunnet vinner krigen - vi ettergår hver utgivelse uttrykkelig i sømmene for å passe på at vår kommersielle og faglige utgivelser ikke støter noen. Et eksempel er hvordan de norske ambassader ble tilsendt en unnskyldning å formidle utenlands for trykket av muhammed-tegningen i Magazinet. fundamentalisme og "diktatorisk" undertrykkelse tvinger demokratiske rettigheter lengre og lengre ned på kne, frykten for fundamentalistenes voldelige aksjoner, frykten for å støte religiøse/ideologiske grupper har blitt så sterkt at vi ofrer en av demokratiets byggestener - ytringsfrihet - for å få være i "fred". Denne omvikende oppførselen fører oss ned i en nedadgående spiral lenger vekk fra demokratiske idealer som vi har kjempet så lenge for å oppnå. Åse Klevland viste også en klar bekymring for denne utviklingen. Klevland sa at en slik sensur, går klart i mot de verdiene vår samfunn er bygget på. Selv om vi er et demokrati og delvis er nøytrale trenger vi ikke å være ryggradsløse. Et demokrati er basert på og avhengig et opplyst folk, med tilgang til de utgivelser, ideer og tankeretninger som eksisterer verden rundt men er Klevland. Debatten kan derifra fortsettes til tematikken rundt ytringsfrihet vs. misbruk av ytringsfrihet en debatt som nylig har vært i nyhetsbildet med David Erwing som var satt til å tale om "sannhet" på - Litteraturfestivalen på lillehammer. Per Edgar Kokkvold støtter også sterkt oppom denne tankegangen - og viser til det man kan kalle et skrekkeksempel i Nederland, der Gregorius Neckshot ble arrester for sine skriverier, samt opprettelsen av en statlig og tverrfaglig "anti-kontrovers" gruppe for å gå utgivelser og andre prosjekter som mulig kunne skape debatt nærmere i sømmene. Vanskelighetene ligger også dypt når det er flere som har oppfattningen - helt legalt - av at total ytringsfrihet støter oppom rasisme, et tema som ikke har blitt belyst eller analysert godt nok av hverken statlige enheter eller internasjonale organisasjoner i det vi kaller den vestlige verden. Derfor virker det som vi har få virkemidler vi kan bruke mot ordlyder som "misbruk av ytringsfriheten". spørsmålet mitt blir - hvordan burde vi møte denne utfordringen i dagens globaliserte samfunn? har ytringsfriheten en mulighet til å inkorporeres i alle de forskjellige tros- og samfunnsretninger i verden - eller vil den som nå oppfattes som en kulturimperialistisk ide fra den vestlige verden?

Les mer: http://www.klassekampen.no/55122/article/item/null

Oktoberfest!!

WOW!!! Oktoberfest in Munich this year was pretty god damn amazing!! So good seeing all the TSS'ers again, Love the fact that we are just jet-setting around the world to hang out and party. And offcourse all the DMC's(Deep and Meaningful Conversation, betches!!) about how to assainate the whole republican party and NRA. Without using guns, offcourse. My weapon of choice is my close combat with my fatty fingers. haha. Which, btw, proved to be extremely convinient when carrying and holding 1l beers!!! Well, I can't be bothered to post all the pics here, but the rest can be seen on my Facebook.


My Drindl
5.76 promille. Good job!!!
My favorite Stein glass

Autumn Exibition - Oslo

Ccccheck it out, betches!!

http://niconice.blogspot.com/

livet er aldri så vondt at det ikke er godt for noen

Phiary

London

Yogafire

Three

Answer

"You asked no questions,
I told no lies."

The answer was as simple as a three-letter word. A three-letter word you did not dear to say. You took the easy way out. I am left wondering if the easy way out really is for you. Is this really your choice, not the one of continious pressure, obsession and dependency? If this is your choice, it is forever. committed was the word used. Committed by whom, to whom and for what? Is this what makes you happy, forever?

I hoped you had the strenght to deal with the past, like you talked and dreamed about. To get away, finally be free, to feel the power and strenght of yourself, without others interfering. I only tried to give you the freedom you deserved, I never wanted to own you, for you to be my possession. But you have left me wondering, is that what you wanted from me after all?

I wrote you a letter just after I left. I thought I would find it undeserving for you now. But when I read trough it, what it says is still the truth.

It ends:
"I will always wonder what could have been.
Maybe we will meet years from now to share our stories again"

I still hope we will. Lets pray your story will be one of freedom.

Question

Could you live a life without me?

Indulging in lies

Cannot a fool be a fool without any worries

Stop fighting the fight of not being fooled

Accepting that truth can not be obtained

And live in the now that is created

Second by second

Word by word

Lie by lie

Can it be so

That happiness is formed by accepting

By giving up the suffering

To indulge in the untruthfulness told

The pain may come later.

“But later is not now”

The words of a fool.

A butterfly in the middle of the ocean

La vitre cassée

A broken window with the draft for soul

When was it shattered

Beyond repair

Who broke the window?

It was a work of many

But at last the frosty cold took it

It had been raining for to long

And when the cold set in, it had no other choice but to break

Time will see if someone patient enough comes along

Not to replace it with a new

But to glue all the shattered pieces together

And see past the ugly shapes and angles it now creates

when peeking tough it

The Fool -Translated from Norwegian

I haven’t been breathing since I left.

Luke warm rings of metal are clamping my insides

Restricting movements in fear of eruption. My heart is racing of fear again.

I am the fool. I cannot control the truth

I am fed dreams and cloudy lies as paper thin as my mind and mission.

Rivals using me as an ally

How much can I take before I break?

I am already dancing perilously close to the edge.

Regardless of all warnings I am swimming in limbo.

My mind will not decide. Chaos or Cosmos?

Will opposites ever be able to unite?

The steril sheets of this room whispers

expectations and anxiety.

This space is for rent, much like the chambers of his heart.

Is it worth the spending?

Will I ever own it?

I am scared. I am the fool.

The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Panama owns my heart

01.10.07
Since the tendering for shore was cancelled on the 31, we had to stay onboard for the night. Leo, the manager of the boat bought everyone a drink, apologizing for the inconvenience, very sweet, but totally unnecessary! Had a fun night, just hanging out with everyone. Next morning we took the tender from the boat to a yatch club. Yesterday, the sea didn’t look really rough, but when boarding the tender you really had to concentrate to keep your balance while keeping our luggage out of the water. When we reached the shore, we had to wait a while to get on the bus, because our guide, Osvaldo had forgotten his computer in a taxi, and was chasing it with our bus. Our driver was Luis, a quiet guy from Panama City. We headed towards Santiago in the Veraguas Province. We ate lunch at CEPAS, a NGO supporting indigenous rights. They gave us a great lunch, it was the first time we had to deal with Panamanian courtesy and our multicultural one, as well as that we had to consider the allergics in our group. We had a great conversation with the indigenous people that had travelled from their different provinces to complain about hydroelectric projects being built on their native land without their consent. I want to get some notes from alaine, because she took notes. One thing that caught many of us was this quote: “When we dry out the last river and cut down the last tree we will realize that money means nothing in this world.” The indigenous people told us that they had been offered big amounts of money for their land, but that money did not mean anything to them. They needed their land to get their livelihood, to grow, farm and keep animals. To relocate from their land would for them be to be deprived of the essentials of living, thus killing them and their culture. After 2 hours we boarded the bus again, and headed towards Palo Seco, which is a Protective reserve in Boca del Toro. We were to sleep in an eco lodge called Willie Mazu. The bus ride over the mountain really scared me. It was pitch black, and the rain was pouring down. Luis was driving approx. 100 km/h downhill, talking in his cell phone, passing cars with big trucks coming towards us extremely fast. We barely missed a giant hole in the road, half a tree and other cars and trucks driving by. I was so relieved when we reached the lodge. Willie Mazu blowed my mind. We had expected “TSS quality” accommodation in a safe environment. Here we where at this awesome jungle lodge with the coolest man who told us about all the dangers of the jungle. Awesome! A little recap: white flies, mosquitoes, parasites, spiders, fire ants, snakes, etc etc. After a great dinner we where told that the lights would be out in an hour because they had to save power. Later the girls sat upstairs in the lodge in the hammocks and on the floor talking about the experiences of the day. I decided to get the boys, and took the little hike up to their cabin. I experienced a new feeling walking alone in the jungle with only me and my flashlight. I wasn’t afraid of the dark, I felt some kind of inner peace, just listening to the jungle sounds and the sound of the rapids rushing by.
Andy brought a bottle of gin and Canadian dry, and we sat singing and humming as Mikal played the guitar. Insects where flying everywhere, but since everyone was well-DEET’ed no one shrieked and freaked out. I really did not expect that from some of the group members. Quite cool that they stayed calm. Well, it ended up with Andy and me drinking most of the Gin, nice being tipsy under the stars at an astonishing eco lodge. Had a great night of sleep.

02.10.07
Woke up at 5:30 of rain drumming on the tin roof, it was pouring down. I forgot to write about the little bird living in one of the abandoned nests at Willi Mazu. His name is Tito, and he moved in there with his girlfriend a couple of years ago. One day, his girlfriend left, and came back with another male. Tito scared them both away, and has since stayed in his nest, singing melancholically and only leaving for food. Poor guy. There is also a big big turkey-ish bird living there that had a crush on me. I took pictures of it one day, and made its sounds, and whenever I see it starts following me around. I don’t know if it’s angry or infatuated with me!
We woke up really early, I shared a room with Lindsey, and off course we had put the TT flag on display the day before. For breakfast we got willies special porridge, fruit, queso fresco and toast. Great meal to start the day. After the breakfast we checked out the area around Wille Mazu, last night it was pitch black when we arrived. It is in the middle of the forest, with only jungle sounds, and the waterfall rushing by. Hummingbirds are zipping around, you can hear the monkeys screaming from far away, the insects are buzzing, and the trees are moving in the wind. So peaceful, but still so vibrant and full of life. We left the lodge and took the buss for 2 hours to the tiny port of El Silencio, on the way we stopped in Almirante and picked up our translator, Sarah. We also bought delicious litchis from a guy selling them outside a tiny supermercado. They were so fresh and pulpy, and so firm that you almost could not chew them, you had to just suck them until you got all the sweet, gooey delicious flavor out. In El Silcencio we repacked our stuff and went to board the dug out boats of the Naso people. The boat ride up stream was incredible. The nature was like nothing I have seen before, the river was wide, so we had a great view all the time, bird where flying by, lianas where hanging under the trees that were stretching over the water. We navigated trough small but strong rapids, one man on the motor and one man in front to use a pole to push us if the stream took us in the wrong direction, and to look out for other dangers in the water. After an hour boat ride we got the Wekso travel lodge. We were only to be there for a couple of minutes, since we had to go to visit the Naso community. The lodging was clean and simple, to my surprise no one complained or made a scene.
After another transfer with the dug out boats we arrived in Naso territory. After a steep climb up a muddy hill we saw the Naso village in front of us. In that second the rain started pouring down. We ran into the community hall, where the Nasos where expecting us. It was a little awkward to begin with, I did not know if I should greet them or not, and in which way to do it. We where then asked to go to the dining hall to have lunch. It was about 100 m from the community hall, but the rain was pouring down. We ran over as fast as we could, it was like being in a warm shower. Mud splashed up our legs, and the Naso children at the school was laughing and cheering at us. When we got to the dining hall we were soaked. We were served a delicious meal, and as we where eating, some kids came in to spy on us. They were scared and curious at the same time, but Catlin and I started chatting wit them in my limited Spanish. I especially remember a little kid named Miguel, he was soaked in water since he had been running between the houses to observe us. I gave them some Norwegian kroners, and told t hem about the cold country of Norway. Not sure if they understood about the snow and such. After lunch we ran back, got even wetter, and sat down for a cultural presentation of the Nasos. One Naso tribe had travelled from upriver for 2 hours to perform for us. The dance was great, traditional and also primitive in its way of moving, but very suggative with the drums and song. The snake dance encouraged all to participate, we had a lot of laughs and fun twirling and spinning around while singing the song of the snake. I also took of some of the tension and barriers between us and the Nasos, what laughter can’t cure…..
After, some of the schoolchildren performed a great dance in very colorful costumes, very impressive of the youngest children! Then we came to the time to talk about the serious matters affecting the Naso communities in the area. After a lot of questions and answers from both ends I think we all where left with a feeling of insight, but still a hopelessness surrounding it all. They are too few, with to little organizing and education to be able to fight this, was my sentiment. After this we were supposed to go on a hike to see the areas that would be affected, but because of the rain, we arranged a football match instead. Mixed teams, in the pouring rain, mud, grass and water everywhere, we had a blast, and the Naso kids loved it as well. After and hours play, we were dirty, soaked and blissfully happy, every single one of us. I did not join the game from the beginning, just sat and watched for a while to soak up the surroundings. Then, a little Naso girl came up to me and gave me one of her beautiful glass-pearl necklaces, and smiled at me with the cutest, warmest smile I have ever seen. She was shy, but bold enough to offer me this token of friendship. I gave here some scrunchies, but soon remembered that I had a mother of pearl feather in my pocket that I wanted to give to someone special. This was clearly the one special person that this was meant for.