Gives "Surf Rock" A New Meaning

Worst. Idea. Ever.

I do suspect this is a joke. But if it isn't.... Come on! Shouldn't you guys be working on my new Intel-powered Powerbook?!

Hrmph.

The House Got Me

Wow. It's not often I get so totally engulfed in a book as I've recently become with Mark Z. Danielewski's "House of Leaves" - even though, like my mother, I practically consume books when I start reading them. Anyway, get this; last night, having read through the most thrilling part of the book (so far), I went to bed and actually couldn't sleep for a good while.

The imagery from the book still clear in my head, it almost felt like a little bit of Johnny Truant's paranoia was reeking out from between the pages and into my very own bedroom, making the darkness a little darker, the shadows a little longer and the LEDs blinking from my wi-fi router just slightly more irregular (hey, I AM a geek, after all)...

It was a great feeling, I haven't been "disturbed" by a book for a long, long time.



Of course, it could have been those two cups of coffee I had an hour earlier.


Oh, and there seems to have been a small update to the Dionaea House website. Clickety.

I'm Only In It For The Money

As some of you may have noticed, dear readers (both of you), I'm a bit into the music-making thingie. Strictly for the love and the hell of it, of course, which kind of makes today a bit special;

My music-making compadre, T, informs me that we have received our first payment from Tono (the Norwegian equivalent to Ascap) for radio-play of our music. Hooray! Now that we're wallowing in cold, hard cash (sounds a bit uncomfortable, really) we'll soon start making crap, meaningless and soul-less music to please the Great Evil Record Company (TM) that will soon own our souls. Where did we go wrong? When did we lose touch with what we're doing? The humanity of it all!

Then again, I guess a hundred bucks (600 Norwegian Crowns) isn't quite enough to make us sell out just yet.

Or is it? Nah, just kidding...

Or am I? Muahahahaha....



No really, I AM kidding.

The Friday List: Top 5 80s Cartoons

Ah yes, the 80s. Mostly remembered for its music, horrible clothes and dubious hairstyles. No no, please, no justifications; I was there. Hey, don't get me wrong, it was a great time to grow up and I have many fond memories (and some truly disturbing photos) from the time.

So, I find it only fair to do a list of my favourite 80s Saturday morning cartoons. Here goes:

1. Thundercats. I loved this show; the drama, the action and the hot... uhm.. furry chick. A simple premise (scary mummy-like being does bad things, tough and well-trimmed cat-man hybrids set things right) that nevertheless worked very well.

2. Transformers. Whoever came up with this concept truly understood how a boy's mind work: Cars and robots. Simple, yet brilliant. Cars and robots. Story? I'm sorry... I was distracted by all those cars and robots.

3. Masters of the Universe. I was never as much a fan of the cartoon as of the actual action figures, but I recognize the impact it had. Later on, I discovered it was basically "Conan Light" but it was fun anyway. The testosterone levels, man!

4. Inspector Gadget. Ok, so it was pretty goofy, but it was great fun, and the gadgets and the car (oh boy, that car) were really cool. Clearly inspired by Peter Sellers' "Inspector Clouseau", it also had the most memorable theme song EVER.

5. Super-Ted. Well, maybe not the coolest of shows, but at least this was one show me and my kid brother could agree on watching together (and the one show mum would let us watch due to its morally correct and mostly non-violent content)

Boo! (Hiss!)

It's that time of the year again. Pumpkin pie, trick or treating, fancy costumes. Now, don't get me wrong, I haven't got anything against Halloween as such it's just that...

...it is NOT a Norwegian tradition. Not by a longshot. Heck, it's so fresh, even I remember when nobody knew about (or cared about, for that matter) this imported "thing". The Norwegian equivalent, Julebukk, has existed for ages and yet nobody seems to remember that, at least not here in the city.


Hey, I am all for kids stuffing their faces with candy once in a while, but not on Halloween - not here in Norway, anyway. Besides, when the kids go julebukk, they have to EARN their goodies by singing Christmas carols, and we all know that working for your candy builds character.



And this has nothing at all to do with the fact that I never got to go trick or treating when I was a kid.

The Saturday List: Things that made me happy this week

Hah, I strike back! My last posting was so grumpy I actually felt kinda bad about it today, so here's a list over things that made me happy this week:

1. An... acquaintance... supplied me with a heap of beer (24 x 0.33l boxes) at a very comfortable price. Not that I'm much of a drinker, but the Norwegian prices for beer? Pfft!

2. Winter came and went again VERY quickly. Yeah, no kidding: Tuesday it was -5 degrees Celcius and snow on the ground, yesterday it was all gone and a warm (well, warmish) wind of +12 degrees swept across town. Marlboro coat back on its hanger for now.

3. I got "Lost" season 1, "Firefly", "Batman Begins" and "Princess Blade" on DVD. Woohoo!

4. I discovered Antony and the Johnsons (thanks, Kristian!): Holy smokes! Superb stuff, makes me happy, sad and somewhat uneasy all at the same time.

There you go; I'm not that grumpy after all. Of course, it COULD be the cheap beer talking...

Hear ye, hear ye: No list today

October sale frenzy at work. Tired as hell. Leave me alone. Bah.

The Friday List: Music To (Virtually) Kill To

Ok, so you've fired up your favourite shooter, stocked up on your beverage of choice, turned the lights down and the sound up: What music to shoot-dodge in Max Payne 2 to, waste Zombies in Doom 3 to, or kill mercenaries in Far Cry to? Here are my suggestions:

"I don't wanna be me" - Type 0 Negative. After playing the "Cinema 2" mod for Max Payne 2, this is the de facto shoot'em up tune for me. Rocks hard!

"Ricochet" - Bionic Jive. I first heard these guys on the "Transporter" trailer a couple of years back. Good stuff.

"Here to stay" - Korn. My little bro' suggested this one, so I'll just have to take his word for it.

"Du Hast" - Rammstein. Come on, it works with ANYTHING involving guns: games, movies, comic books. Wünderbar.

"Damn Me" - Deathstars. Ok, so they're so over the top it hurts, but the Swedish death-pop'ers can make some pretty cool riffs. Great for background music in "Doom 3".

"Shock" - Fear Factory. When that guitar kicks in 00:32, I can see myself playing Quake 4 - if I actually had it. A perfect mix of metal and sci-fi.

Suggestions?

The Friday List: Things to do on a Friday Night when you have to go to work the next day

1. Write stupid Blog entries. Mwahahahahahah.
2. Watch the latest "Lost" episode.
3. Enjoy a nice, hot cup of Earl Grey while watching said episode of "Lost" or - if there is no latest episode of "Lost" to enjoy - re-reading "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".
4. Scouring the interweb for strange facts, fresh music and cheap DVDs.
5. Watch the "Apple Special Event" broadcast.

A Great Big Thing

Ooook, so.... like, wow. This is a really, really good hoax. I mean, seriously good. So good, I almost felt a little scared watching it:

Tsunami uncovers giant skeleton

Man, that thing is huge! I refuse to believe this is real (even if I'd like to), but if it is - How the heck did you know, Roald Dahl?!

Wow. I need some coffee.

The Friday List: Top 5 geeky gadgets I'll (probably) never buy

1. Equally parts daft and cool, the iTech Virtual Keyboard will project a standard qwerty keyboard onto any flat surface. Like, totally space age, dude!

2. The Log1k laptop-in-a-log. Now, I love case-mods and the likes as much as the next geek, but this is almost (ALMOST) over the top. However, I'm seriously considering the iLog.

3. The Firewire Electric Guitar. Ok, so I'd probably never buy a guitar anyway, but this... this... abomination just makes me sad. I'm sure it'll create quite the ruckus in the guitarist camp.

4. A Pin Clock. Oh, wait, that one I'd actually like to get. Seriously. If only IWOOT would ship to Norway... Sigh.

5. The QURO robot from Sony. My oh my, is this thing sweet. It also costs a small fortune.

Hey, this was quite the improvement from previous Friday, wasn't it?

My Flexible Friend

I got my Mastercard yesterday. It's very pretty, golden and all that. It's my first credit card, actually. "Why Bit, you're closing in on 30 and you don't have a credit card?! What else haven't you told us?" Ah, but I've never NEEDED one, see. My old card (a plain vanilla VISA/bank card) has worked just fine for me. However, a long story involving my favourite online DVD shop, my old card and a supposed mismatch of certification standards led me to believe I needed a credit card. Well, to be honest, my bank led me to believe I needed one, and preferably a Mastercard. And I trust my bank, ya know.




So there it sits in my wallet, all fresh and shiny and waiting to be abused. I can see a financial disaster striking me within the next three months.

Or perhaps not.

Woah

A hot air balloon just landed on the field just across the street from the store where I work. No, really. I think they kinda aimed a little further down and, uhm, sorta missed. They managed to stay clear of a bunch of trees and bushes AND a powerline, which is pretty impressive, though. It was a Remax ballon, by the way. Perhaps they will pay me for this advertisement space?


Sadly, this is about the most exciting thing that has happened this week.

The Friday List: Essential TV (for the boys)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know: not the most exiting of lists. I'm tired and can't think of anything clever to make lists about. Hopefully I'll figure out something more exiting next week. Woosh.

1. "Lost" - 'nuff said. It's clever, exiting, has great actors and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The season 1 DVD is heading my way as we speak, can't wait to rewatch it with comments!
2. "Firefly" - It's like Buffy in Space, only without the vampires. And Sarah Michelle Gellar. So I guess it's not much like Buffy in Space at all, actually. Meh. It still rocks, though.
3. "John Doe" - Don't ask me how I came to watch this one, 'cause I won't tell. Why this show was cancelled after one season is a mystery to me, but hey, it's a great watch. DVD, please?
4. "Prison Break" - Still in it's humble beginnings, this is almost more intense than "24". A cool premise, a clever break-out plan and Dominic Purcell (the star of "John Doe") is in it. Woot!

That's it for this week.

Sea Monster Comes Alive!

Woah, this is equally cool and unnerving; last year a Japanese crew of scientists encountered a real, live giant squid at 900 metres depth off the coast of the Ogasawara Islands and today the images where published.

Ok, it doesn't look too intimidating in the pictures, but that thing is 8 metres long. Yikes.

Article (in English) here and pictures (Norwegian captions, sorry) here.

Freaky.

The Friday List: Fall music

Aight! The weekend is here, and to force myself into blogging more often, I am hereby opening the Friday List - which is where I, well, present lists of... stuff. M'kay?

So, this Friday I present you the official Bitstreem approved Fall music list; music to listen to while drinking a hot cup of chocolate/a glass of wine/beverage of choice and watching the rain pound on your livingroom window. Aaah. Here goes:

1. "Majesty" by Madrugada. This song simply reeks of Autumn. Trust me.
2. "Max Payne 2" main theme by Kärtsy Hatakka and Kimmo Kajasto (download here). Awesome!
3. "Window Pane" by Opeth. Who says black metal guys can't be sensitive?
4. "Nothing at all" by Rob Dougan. I hear his second album might be coming out soon... Woot!
5. "Gravedigger" by Dave Matthews. Espescially the acoustic version.

That's my top 5 Fall songs, feel free to give me any recommendations.

My First Wedding

Well, actually not MY first wedding, but the first one I've been to. Yeah, I know, one would think that at the tender age of 29 I'd been to a wedding before, but I haven't. See, most of the weddings I've been invited to before have taken place in some other part of the country and I simply couldn't be there due to work stuff and things like that. But I digress.

Anyway, my good friend Marius married his beloved Camilla yesterday and it was a very nice wedding indeed. Not that I have much to compare it to, but the people were nice, the place where the reception/dinner was held was nice and the food was great. I enjoyed myself, even if it got a little late (yawn). Marius' speech was simply mindblowingly good, if I translated it and sold it to some Hollywood hot-shot scriptwriter I'd be a rich man. Or something.

So, this blog entry is dedicated to Camilla and Marius: live long and prosper, and remember that love will save the day.

(wipes tear from corner of eye)

Sorry!

Dear Blog,

Whatever you may have heard or assumed during my absence, I have not forsaken thee. September has been a ridiculous month so far, with very little spare time on my hands, and when I've had the time, I've been too drained to think of anything even remotely exiting or funny to post. However, I hope to be back on schedule within the next week and start posting MORE sporadically as opposed to less. Or was it the other way around?

Sorry for the lack of posts, and enjoy your weekend.

Regards,

Your Creator

So long, Bob

A legend is gone; Bob Moog died yesterday. Although I've never owned a Moog product, I - and many other wannabe owners - recognize the amazing impact Bob's creations have had on the very core of electronic music of all genres throughout the years.
My condolances to the family who have lost a loved one; rest assured though, Mr. Moog has left a legacy that will last a long time. More on Moogmusic.com

Ah, fer fecks sake!

Ok, ok, I know the Net is flooding with spam, and I've learned to live with it (more or less). Today, I deleted a spam-comment from this moron that was longer than ANY article I've EVER seen in a blog, ever.

Come on! What happened to the two-line dodgy software/financial solution/male reproductive organ improvement spam links of Ye Good Ole' Days? Two lines I can handle. A freakin 100 line monster spam just makes me grumpy. Grr.

So, Lucy1384923462938238445 or whatever yer frickin' name is, if you REALLY need to spam, please, two lines only.

And if you want traffic, post on a blog that actually has traffic. Which means, er, just about any other blog than mine.