A Roll in the Universe

I scored rather highly on the sci-fi/comic part of the Nerd test I took . That has made me think about the cultural difference between the US and Norway (as I understand it) in comics: Norway has a number of monthly comic books - aimed at adults. They are not adult comics in the sense that they are R-rated, but rather, they are the comics of the US Sunday newspapers, translated and offered to Norwegians of all ages. The magazines sit in the adult section of the magazine rack, not the kid section. UPDATE: Jefe's comment has prompted me to add this, since it made me realize that I was a bit sparse on the details: Just to be clear: I'm not talking about illustrated novels (like Sandman), serials (like Modesty Blaise) or manga, though those exist and are popular in their own right. Nor am I talking about the sort of magazine or booklet that offers printed stories of familiar animated cartoon characters (though we have that, too). I'm talking about the humorous strip or one

I like to think I'm not quite like other people. Usually, I'm right. Sometimes it amuses me greatly to suddenly feel myself a part of some great joined consciousness or group experience. It's not often, so for me it's like visiting a relative I rarely see. The rest of the time, I march to the beat of my own drum, and hear no echo. Then I read this about new classes of consumers: A karma queen, for example, is identified as a woman aged in her 40s or 50s who tends to buy organic food, wear Birkenstock footwear, practice yoga and buy high-end bath products. Except for the Birkenstocks, that's me to a T. Well, at least I'm something royal. (Found via The Consumerist .)

At work, I am the departmental nerd. I deserve that title: Of course I was nerdy enough to upload a photo that had been digitally retouched. ;-) (Thanks to fellow female nerd Paula !)

Well, no, it's not a flying jellyfish but I was impressed, anyway (see my comment to that post).

On my day off, I fully (I almost wrote "fooly", which may not be incorrect) intend to eventually get off my butt, shower, dress and, uh, do something. You know, productive-like. Even have some podcasts and audiobooks to listen to. But until said offgetting, etc., I'm drinking coffee, and doing these (blame Paula ): You Are Teal Green You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you. Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible. While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks. Your warm personality nicely counteracts and strange habits you may have. What Color Green Are You? Fits. Paula got the same thing. Now, to explore that knack. After I shower, dress, etc. You Are 81% Tortured Genius You totally fit the profile of a tortured genius. You're uniquely brilliant - and completely misunderstood. Not like you really want anyone to understand you anyway. You

The wind just picked up and the rain is pouring down. I am going to have a long weekend. I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off from work. No particular reason except that I've been wanting to just Get Away From It All for a while. So sitting here, with the weekend's shopping all done, I feel at peace with the rain lashing at my windows, making it hard to see out them. I want to spend time alone, catching up on some things (like housework), and try to get myself back on track. The oven is heating for a pizza and the weather and darkening sky on this vernal equinox is encouraging me to light some candles. I think I'll choose pink and green. Bliss and harmony. My crappy mood is finally letting go. I suspect hormones as the main culprit, but it could be the month. Tomorrow, the 22nd, is Grandma's birthday, and she would have been 97. September has sucked since she died. She died in July 2005, but it isn't July that's hard. It's funny; I had this same thing w

After a rather sucky two weeks, with my mood absolutely out of control (probably hormones, but I won't go into details), it helps to be reminded of where to put one's focus. Noticing the magic in everyday things helps. A great tit perched on my open window sill, eyeing my room with curiosity. Venus brilliantly greeting me in the morning (while weather permits). A reminder that great people have failed, and failed spectacularly, and that the point is not to avoid failure, but to never let failure stop you . And the following reminder that regular things are actually pretty awesome - you just have to have the right perspective:

This joke, Comprehensive Final Exam , had me laughing out loud the whole way through. So I just had to share.

Bergen has decided. The Right party (blue) has chosen a coalition with the Progressive party (dark blue). Now they're trying to get the Christian Folk party (light blue) to go in with them. The Progressive party has been not so much progressive (quite the contrary) as it has been, well, contrary. It's been the protest party, the populist party, the outsider party. It gained a lot of popularity, but only in recent years has it also gained some respect. Our neighboring municipality has been run by the Progressives for eight years, and still is. It seems to have been a success. Now other cities want to try, including Bergen. I don't always understand Norwegian politics. That is to say, I understand what the parties represent and the traditions behind them and why Norway is set up the way it is politically, but I don't understand what motivates Norwegians in any given election year, i.e. why the people vote the way they do. As usual, this is when I am at my most forei

No, I'm not blue. The city is. It's the day after local elections, and Oslo and Bergen are blue (still), and Trondheim is red (still). In the US, somebody fiddled with the colors on the chart showing where Republicans and Democrats are strongest and so went against an old tradition: That of assigning blue to the conservatives/right-wing and red to the liberals/left-wing. But in Norway, blue still means to the right (and our two right-winged parties have blue in their logos), and red to the left (so much so that the communist party renamed itself just Red). That Oslo and Bergen continue to be blue is not the surprise. It's how it happened: The Progressive party (Frp) has finally made a dent in the nation's two largest cities, and the local news today is about what coalition Bergen's Right party (Høyre) will enter into to form a local parliament. And if you think it's only about counting votes, it isn't. Høyres concern is the national election in 2009. All

Cartoonist B. Kliban said, "CAT: One Hell of a nice animal, frequently mistaken for a meatloaf. " I have always wondered what said meatloaf - formed when a cat is in repose with its front paws curled under its chest - looks like from below. Now I know.

Finally put one on my blog, didn't I. No, not writing - I've been doing that for quite a while. Well, it's what I tell people. I mean, the widget . I got me a widget. Look left. No, your other left. There, see it? Widget begotten here and not as fancy as the one Paula got (hers has hours and minutes and an oven light), but I couldn't tweak the colors on hers so I got this one so I could spend all morning trying to remember what colors I used in my own template. Well, OK, part of the morning. So what's the countdown for/to? NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth, which starts November 1 and which I have decided I will join and participate in and be a part of, because it's not really national, it's international and you don't even have to use English and probably not even proper grammar but neither nor may you utilize anything already previously written. The idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. The idea is also to suffer with as many people at once (

It's local election time in Norway. And I voted today. Norway is a constitutional monarchy that holds elections in odd-numbered years. Every four years there's a national election, when they elect their parliament (Storting). The other every four years are local, when we elect our municipal and county parliaments. Apparantly, the deal with parliaments is that you don't vote for individuals, but for parties. So no running on the "independent" ticket here. You have to belong to a party. As a foreign citizen who's been a resident of Norway for more than three years, I am eligible to vote in the local elections (municipal and county). As a foreign citizen who's been a resident of Norway for more than three years, I may not vote in national elections. Just as well. So you know it's election year because you get a pre-printed voter's card in the mail (They Know Where You Live), which you bring with you when you go vote. (Don't ask me what it sa

Alice has inspired me to do this post, thanks to her own on the same subject. I've learned what it's like to travel by air in the US. The stories about delayed flights were all true. The security checks and necessity of Ziploc baggies also true. However, I must say that, in all the repeated taking off of shoes and showing said Ziploc baggie, airport security people are a very pleasant bunch. Nothing makes the hassle nicer than approaching the bins to put carry-on and shoes in, and just a few feet away are uniformed colleagues sharing a laugh and big smiles. Returning home, I was thoroughly prepared and upon showing both empty bottle and full Ziploc baggie to an elderly uniformed gentleman, received a warm smile and a thank you for making his job a little easier. I wished then that I had the forethought to say something pleasant, rather than quickly smiling. I've learned what the extra security screening is like. I was flagged as SSSS on my boarding card and sent to a d

Recent surfing that caught my attention: "Married women do more of the housework" Men who are merely living together with their girlfriends, help out more. Studies about what happens after a long-term live-in arrangement becomes marriage have not been done. (Do them!) "Orchids may have been trampled on by T. Rex" (Bad, Rex, bad!) A paleolithic honey bee with pollen on its back, found in amber, may hold clues to the origin of orchids. Since orchids have never been found in fossils, scientists haven't been sure of their age. Now they know that orchids existed about 76 million years ago, at the time of the dinosaur. Pictures of the captured honey bee can be seen in this article (and if you read Norwegian, you get the whole story). "Working closely disrupts productivity" One of the big frustrations about living in Scandinavia is that all the brilliant (and all the non-brilliant) ideas about management and worker productivity that the US thinks up, arri