30.6.06

Transformers teaser

More goodies for the fanboys: Grab the "Transformers" teaser over at Michael Bay's website and tell me you're not getting a wee bit excited...(edit 11.08.06: changed the link to the official website)

Transformers teaser @ The Transformers website

Oh joy!

29.6.06

The C64 orchestra!

Ok, this is simply cool beyond all coolness:



Oh man, Rob and Jeroen are old geezers! Fabulous stuff, sure hope there will be made a proper audio/video recording of this when it's performed in September.

Some more info here.

Life vs. The Movies

You know what separates real life from a movie? A director. Well ok, a few other things too, but mainly a director. Take dialogue, for example; tonight I saw someone off at the train station, and as we were talking our conversation came to a halt several times as the PA announced the different trains' arrivals and departures. Fair enough. Still - have you ever seen this problem in a movie?

Person A: "So, there I was, minding my own business, when Joe came and..."
(screech - click)
PA: "THE TRAIN FOR LILLEHAMMER WILL BE ARRIVING AT LINE 12 IN 3 MINUTES"
(screech - click)
Person B: "...."
Person A: "Err... Where was I? Oh yeah, Joe's gonna leave the company."

See what I mean? With the director in place, the same scene would have played out like:

Person A: "So, there I was, minding my own business, when Joe came and told me he's gonna leave the company."
Person B: "Really?"
Person A: "Yeah, that's what he said."
Person B: "..."
(screech - click)
PA: "THE TRAIN FOR LILLEHAMMER WILL BE ARRIVING AT LINE 12 IN 3 MINUTES"
(screech - click)

In a movie, the director neatly gets rid of all these little distractions and annoyances to get things flowing smoothly: cars won't woosh by in the middle of an intimate conversation, people don't yell and laugh in the background of an emotional moment between the main characters and PAs don't bellow out their messages during dialogue - they neatly fit them in during pauses. Cafés, bars and discos are never louder than that one can lead a conversation there, and the music will always be lower in volume when someone whispers or lowers their voice.

So... Am I asking for life to be more like the movies? Not by a longshot - it would be a total bore. Just making an observation, that's all.

What, you never spend time contemplating these things? Geez...

27.6.06

Spider-Man 3 trailer/teaser debuts tonight!

Or, today or... Uhm, well, depending on where you are in the world at the given time, I suppose. It'll be up on Apple sometime today, at least. Woot!

Trailers @ Apple

I know; I'm such a fanboy... *sigh*

26.6.06

Happy Days

Seems like I'm reaping the rewards of some good karma these days. Saturday at work was great fun, I got more or less carte blanche to put together a complete computer-based homestudio (sans PC) for these two guys and they were so thankful for my time and assitance, I was almost a little touched. The good thing about having the store outside of the downtown area is that you get the chance (most of the time) to spend the time each customer needs to to feel confident they're getting the right product/package. Heh, by the end of the deal, I gave them each a coffee mug with our logo on (I have a small stack of them) and they almost fell to to ground. Made my day.

Of course, my day at work could have been rotten as heck and my day would still have been made thanks to a very nice Saturday night. Turns out my previously mentioned nervousness was completely unnecessary. What, details? You wish. Let's just say I spent the evening in some very good company. The weather for Midsummer Night was reasonably good, if a little chilly. Quite a few people out and about enjoying themselves.

But the "Omen" remake? Gah. Someone will have to teach the good directors of Hollywood that in 9.9 out of 10 times, remakes are a bloody stupid idea.

23.6.06

Nerves

I'm a little nervous. Not a lot, just that slightly giddy, not-quite-uncomfortable, yet not-quite-comfortable feeling that bubbles a bit in your tummy - not unlike your first appearance in the school play or before a concert performance. Why on earth would I, the rock-solid, down-to-earth, hard to sway guy - the very epitome of coolness (ahem, well...) be feeling nervous? Well, there's something happening tomorrow. Nothing huge or spectacular - well, probably not, anyway - but still enough to get my nerves working a bit harder than they usually do. No, I'm not telling. Not yet, anyway. If you want to indulge in the inner workings of a stranger's emotional life, there are plenty of blogs for that. I'm just telling you I'm feeling a bit nervous, and that there is a reason for it.

Of course, it could be the 5 mugs of coffee I've downed the last couple of hours - I'm seriously considering doing a few laps around the building.

15.6.06

Random Goodness

Some stuff for you all to enjoy/ignore...

French DJ crew Birdy Nam Nam showing some amazing turntablism skills:



Catchy little tune, too.


Blue Man Group's wicked musical toys: Damn, I want these already!



These are now officially on my wish-list for this Christmas. You listening, Santa?

Finally, check out this phenomenal music video called "Tyger" by Guilherme Marcondes:




Low fidelity, high noise

Ever had one of those days when you feel like everything moves past you at lightening speed, that whenever you turn around there's a new task at hand, that for every phone-call you answer there are two more on hold, that for every form you archive there are ten more waiting to be reviewed? That you're working your butt off, sweating blood and tears, and that everyone just takes you for granted? That you're the only one who can answer the questions about how this and that product works, why there are items missing from the latest product delivery, why the server is down and how to use the credit card terminal? That the blood in your veins are 75% caffeine, that someone stole your lunch from the fridge (again) and that your boss just asked you to work overtime this weekend?

And when the day is over, and you leave your underpaid work (for which you are highly overqualified, of course) and return home to find that the only energy you have left barely lets you collapse on your coach in front of the TV/computer screen, only to doze of a few minutes later and wake up in the middle of the night, realizing you have to leave for work again in a couple of hours?

By Grapthar's Hammer, I'm glad I don't have a job like that!

Here, on the other hand, are some of the interesting characters you meet in my line of work (musical instrument sales):

  • The Auditionist: Enters the store at opening hours, finds himself (or rarely: herself) a chair and a guitar, and starts playing. Sometimes, they'll sing, too. Loudly. Not that I have anything against Creedence Clearwater Revival, but once you've heard "Rolling On The River" performed on an out of tune guitar by someone whose voice have a strong crow-like quality, it loses some of its charm.
  • The Worried Parent: While I can understand that buying a guitar/keyboard/kazoo for their child prodigy may be an arduous task, and that every musical instrument salesman (in their eyes) is as trustworthy as a used car salesman and only out to rob you of your hard-earned money (probably earned in a job as described in the opening paragraph of this blog entry), I do find it tiresome to be labeled as a jerk for not giving them a 30% discount on their high-quality 99$ beginner's instrument.
  • The Hardcore Haggler: Look, I know there is some kind of unwritten rule that you're supposed to haggle in a musical instrument store - heck, I'll even play along if there's the possibility for a sale in the horizon - but asking for a 50% discount because you bought your first guitar in the store 20 years ago is a little far-fetched and shows a disturbing lack of understanding about our mark-ups and the inner workings of a store. You know, actually making money off the products you sell and stuff?
  • The Manual-thrower: Manuals are scary things. Not only do they accurately describe the functionality and operation of that high-tech thingamajig you just unwrapped, it also contains wise words regarding the dos and don'ts of said thingamajig. So, while I am happy to explain to you that lowering your newly acquired gizmo into an acid bath may not be the best way of treating it, and yes - it will probably stop working if you do so, I do not have to listen to your complains about the product's failure to comply to your rigid quality expectations. It's a microphone. You plug it in. You sing. If your voice sounds horrible, it may have something to do with your voice, or the fact that you just put it in an acid bath.
Note: this is all written with tongue firmly in cheek. If you have ever bought an instrument from me and feel hurt by this, please let me know and I'll throw in a free kazoo the next time you buy some strings or a cable (it's hard enough to get rid of the blasted things as it is).

12.6.06

Poetry in motion

An exceptionally hot and slow day at work today, so I've written some off-the-wall poetry for you all to... ehm... enjoy. Ahem. *knocks on microphone* Is this thing on? Ok, here we go:

"Lament for a sales-person"

T'was the middle of June, on a day warm as Hell;
My shirt was getting sticky - my feet were as well.
Not a customer in sight, not one single soul;
We'd have to sell our grandmas to reach the budget goal.

I pondered this predicament; I pondered it long -
If I don't get my bonus, this will be my swan-song!
My mind was a flurry, my pulse raising high
- because of the coffee I just spilt on my thigh.

Then along came a maiden - and this was no tramp
- and ordered two cabinets and one Peavey amp!
And just after that a young lad made my day,
by buying a wireless system - whahey!

And thus my desperation was somewhat decreased,
by selling some products made in the Far East.
The moral, you say, to this long, dreary tale?
Get a job in Management, not in Sale. *

* I wish I could say that this last line you see,
was conjured, produced and then written by me.
It did not, however, come from my brain-stem
- this killer last line was written by M.


For this next little bit, I'd like to state that I've never watched more than 3 or 4 minutes of "The Apprentice" at a time: apart from the brain-numbing stupidity of the show, Mr. Trump's "hair" make me giggle uncontrollably.

"Ode to Donald Trump"

There are many a thing that I wish I could say,
'bout this fake piece of hair that we call a "toupee"
But the truth - short and sweet - 'bout this hairy chapeau?
No matter how elaborate, it still looks quite faux.


Let's all hope for some more action tomorrow, since more poetry of this calibre would surely threaten the sanity of both the author and the reader in the long run. You've been warned.

5.6.06

Strikers unite!

Another month, another strike here in Norway. This month, it's the banking and insurance people. Yeah, you heard me: the banking and insurance people. Right. What IS it with Norwegians and paralyzing strikes? Let's have a short recap of the year so far:

  • The fly-boys in SAS-Braathens are unhappy: all planes are on the ground (again)
  • The transporters union is unhappy: no food in the stores and public transportation brought to a halt (again).
  • The TV-journalists are unhappy: no commentary on your favourite sport shows (ehm... come to think of it, that's not too much of a loss).
  • The banking and insurance people are unhappy: no paychecks, none of your credit cards work. All this within a few months. Geez!

You know, you guys should get together. I mean, if you joined forces, you could TOTALLY paralyze Norway - how cool would that be! Planes on the ground, no public transportation, no food in the stores, no TV, no way to pay your bills and the stores won't accept your credit cards. Terrorists? Pfft! Who needs them! Let me lead you to unknown heights of supreme power: together, we can bring Norway to its knees! Join the Dark Side! Mwahahahahah!

I wonder if anyone would give a rat's ass if the noble (ahem) salesmen of Norway's musical instrument stores went on strike?



Anyone?



Hello?



Thought so. Hrmph.