A Roll in the Universe

Touring Bergen March 24 2007 - 10 by thinkbigshrinktofit . It's been a delightfully busy end to March. Last Saturday I met a blogger, her husband and two of their friends and guided them around Bergen. I had excellent company in all four of them. We ended up on the top of Fløien, where the funicular goes, and there we met some characters. Good use of old trees, I'd say. Say "hi" to the nice troll. Maybe it'll go home with you! Also say "hi" to the blogger I guided: Emily , an American who is trying to figure out this living in Norway bit. I could go on a bit about that myself, because I remember my own struggles (and I still struggle, sometimes) but by and large, it's a good place to live, and by and large, people are nice anywhere you go. Emily writes well about her experiences (and about her trip to Bergen) and also takes some good pictures. It is Palm Saturday, going on Palm Sunday, and the beginning of what the Norwegians call "the qui...

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer, and he started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkie. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Once again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted. They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, yet they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave. Before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the...

The Golden Rule – do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12) – is found in many philosophies and religions. It is not exclusively Christian. It is universal. Here are several other ways it has appeared: Do not to your neighbor what you would take ill from him. —Pittacus, 650 BCE Do unto another what you would have him do unto you, and do not do unto another what you would not have him do unto you. Thou needest this law alone. It is the foundation of all the rest. —Confucius, 500 BCE Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing. —Thales, 464 BCE What you wish your neighbors to be to you, such be also to them. —Sextus, a Pythagorean, 406 BCE We should conduct ourselves toward others as we would have them act toward us. —Aristotle, 385 BCE Cherish reciprocal benevolence, which will make you as anxious for another's welfare as your own. —Aristippus of Cyrene, 365 BCE Act toward others as you desire them to act toward...

It's in the air right now: People are blogging about the bad behavior they observe on the internet, whether it be creating webpages to bash someone with or bashing each other in blog comments. So what if you've drawn fire and now you want a cease-fire? A blogging friend of mine experienced just that, and I offered this affirmation (edited for this blog): I remind myself of my true self which is love, peace, and beauty. I remind myself of the true selves of others which is also love, peace, and beauty. No matter what happens, I am grounded in this truth and I am safe from harm. I participate joyfully in any discussion, as my true self, knowing the truth of my being will guide me towards harmony and respect. And so it is."

For a while there, I thought they had abandoned their building project. They had started with a nice foundation, then a storm came and I didn't see them for a couple of weeks. But they came back, and they have been busy building one of the most indestructable structures known in nature: A magpie nest. Floor, walls and roof, tightly woven together from twigs, characterizes the home of breeding magpies. I caught my new neighbors busy working some longish twigs into their ever-growing nest this morning (compression sucks) : I'm told that if they drop a twig, they won't pick it up and use it again. I am delighted to have the magpies this close! (I may not be after the neighborhood cats discover the nest, though.)

OK, some paste-this-result-in-your-blog tests are stupid, some are fun and stupid, some are extremely satisfying, some are weird, and all I take way too seriously. I do this one, too, but first I got a good laugh at the result: You'll die Mysteriously... You are a different sort of person and your death will be unexplainable. 'How will you die?' at QuizGalaxy.com (Via Paula .)

Mark is blogging about nastiness in the blogs - specifically, blog comments - and has pointed his readers to an article about the downside of free speech , meaning, the downside of using the First Amendment in the US consitution to justify saying what you want about another person. You know: Gossip. Lie. Which is wrong. But what got me writing, was this in the editorial: [...]a Web site of postings for law schools prestigious and otherwise, where students blab about whatever. An awful lot of it is about other students, most of it mean-spirited. This is all extremely weird for those of us born before the Carter administration[...] I was born before the Carter administration. I don't think people's morals are worse today than ever before; even Socrates complained about the young people of his day, so older generations have always eyed younger ones with a bit of skepticism. I am now (unfortunately? unnecessarily?) in that boat, because I can't help but wonder at the lac...

First seen at Alice's . 1. Name a movie you have seen more than 10 times. "Star Wars" (the first one, i.e. episode III). First it was waiting in line about 3 times to see it in the movie theaters, then it was showing on the ferry from Bergen to Amsterdam, and since then it's been aired umpteen times on TV. I stopped counting after 14. 2. Name a movie you've seen multiple times in the theater. See above. I used to see movies I really liked at least twice in the theater; if I really liked them, three times. One other movie that got that "3-rating" is "The Gods Must Be Crazy" . Haven't felt like doing that in recent years. It all ends up on TV, eventually. 3. Name an actor who would make you more inclined to see a movie. Sean Connery . 4. Name an actor who would make you less likely to see a movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger . 5. Name a movie you can and do quote from. None. I never remember stuff like that correctly. 6. Name a m...

As The Unofficial Apple Weblog , whom I lifted this from , says: This quality skit isn't so much about the man in charge at Apple as it is about another man in charge. So hear about the latest product: The iRack.

I have heard and read of women who were treated to romantic dinners, bouquets, candy on March 8 , and that made me angry. Perhaps I have no business being angry, or perhaps I am becoming an active feminist in my "old" age, but it bothers me that people seem to be turning the International Women's Day into another Valentine's Day, i.e. husbands volunteering in the kitchen and bringing gifts. In Norway, this day has always had political overtones. I said "active feminist". I have always been a feminist in that I, as a woman and a single, working woman at that, don't want to experience being held back, abused, denied or patronized because of my gender. I know it happens and has happened. There are feminists in my family; in California, my grandma was a member of a working women's organization that fought to allow women the right to work overtime, because managerial positions often require overtime. Until they got the law changed, women couldn't...

Swans 2007-03-05 3 by thinkbigshrinktofit . The walks continue, now for the sheer joy of it - though also because my pants aren't quite so snug anymore - but really, for the joy of it. For seeing the fuzzy gray flowers of the female pussy willow (hence the willow's name) grow bigger and bigger; for hearing starlings, blackbirds, great tits and sparrows all chirping and singing in a tree each; for finally getting a picture of the pair of swans - yes, a pair - before they left for the north; for feeling milder temperatures and being blinded by sunshine; for waiting for that moment when I first spot a cautious bud ready to unfold into a tender leaf. Who knows what next I will experience as I detour around my local pond, but I am looking forward to it.

This has been making the rounds and at first I didn't want to follow the crowd. In a fit of curiosity, though, I went to the site. It's a personality test! And the choices don't necessarily lead to the conclusion you may think. When you're done, a book pops up with a description of your moods, idea of fun, etc. and I found it to be quite accurate in its description of me. The comments as the pictures flash by are mine. (Via Gekko .) Read my VisualDNA ™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Sravana did this so I did this, too, and got tickled by the result because horses are associated with my Sun sign, Sagittarius. What Is Your Animal Personality? Horse Take this quiz ! UPDATE: I knew I'd used this title for a blogpost before and finally tripped over it. Hence change in title of this blog.

Bizarre but true: This is a website that will help you learn Norwegian . Yell-pen is the Norwegian pronounciation for (the) help, assistance. One word about Tush Day, I mean toosh-dahg, as noted in lesson 4: That's Oslo dialect. They prounounce "rs" more like "rsh" or just "sh" so "tors" (as in the Norwegian for Thor's) ends up described as sounding like "toosh". And I gets me a good laugh. Could you say the line in my subject in Norway and get away with it? Sure. It means, "Thanks for the help (I got) Thursday." Norwegians have only one word for please, and they don't use it much for fear of wearing it out, but do have a bajillion ways of thanking you afterwards. So a request is made by either a question or an order and ending it with "takk" (tahck). For example, to order beer, just say, "Ehn hall-leeter, takk!" (A half liter, thanks!) And, with the right tone of voice, a polite request c...

This is an old meme, but I just realized it's been a few days since my last post, so I'm using an e-mail from a friend of mine as inspiration. Four jobs I have had in my life: 1. Secretary/clerical (many times) 2. Service Manager (i.e. service management seminar coach) 3. Data entry operator (many times) 4. Graphics designer Those are actually the only four jobs I've had, i.e. same job, different department or company. I used to be a temp and so have worked many different places, but doing the same thing. Four movies I would watch over and over (and have): 1. Men in Black 2 JAWS 3. Blazing Saddles 4. Titanic 5. Quigly Down Under I have to tell you those five because I actually bothered to tape or buy them and keep them. Four places I have lived: 1. Los Angeles harbor area (San Pedro, Wilmington) 2. Twentynine Palms, CA 3. Glendale, CA 4. Åsane (Salhus, Hordvik) - now part of Bergen Four TV shows I like to watch: 1. Law & Order 2. CSI 3. Medi...