Currently in for translation (into Norwegian). This one’s going to keep me busy for a few weeks. Which accounts for my lousy posting regularity.

Please expect no more than the occasional image – or YouTube clip – once in a blue moon.

Oh, that’s right: The afore mentioned Enemy at the gate was [...]]]>

Currently in for translation (into Norwegian). This one’s going to keep me busy for a few weeks. Which accounts for my lousy posting regularity.

Please expect no more than the occasional image – or YouTube clip – once in a blue moon.

Oh, that’s right: The afore mentioned Enemy at the gate was to little avail. Transcriptions will have to depend on my (hopefully not too) common sense.

What little creativity I once possessed eludes me when gloom looms.

Yet there’s no rest for the wicked: One book translated last week, amid translations of another one – and on-line updates for a third party. One website created over weekend for a fourth – client response pending (another one in [...]]]>

What little creativity I once possessed eludes me when gloom looms.

Yet there’s no rest for the wicked: One book translated last week, amid translations of another one – and on-line updates for a third party. One website created over weekend for a fourth – client response pending (another one in the pipeline). As of now, for as long as time permits: Undivided attention on temporarily remaining book: the wartime notes of highly decorated Russian sniper, portrayed by Jude Law in Enemy at the gate (which reminds me that the old bugger looked anything but the part, as it were – see picture to the right).

Wouldn’t mind a slice of that good old gung-ho, tho.

Let’s just blame it on that blasted trial, shall we? The suffering continues, courtesy of the press.

Howsabout an appropriate sound track?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk3s6q1m-kI

While I sympathise completely, extending my sincerest thoughts to those affected, I cannot find it in my heart to endure Norwegian media‘s one-tracked attention on the ten-week Anders Behring Breivik lawsuit commencing in

While I sympathise completely, extending my sincerest thoughts to those affected, I cannot find it in my heart to endure Norwegian media‘s one-tracked attention on the ten-week Anders Behring Breivik lawsuit commencing in Oslo today.

Furthermore, I simply can’t shake this feeling that the press serves as the culprit’s unwitting instrument, in offering exactly what motivated his evil deed; A deep-seated need for attention (for his cause), hereby granted by our all-too compliant press.

In continued respect for the injured, the deceased, their next of kin – and those otherwise inflicted, I shall remain focused on the news at hand (knowing full well that I’m throwing myself at the mercy of the foreign press), leaving legal procedures to the powers that be, as well as those insatiable souls out there.

Late edit: 23 Breivik stories on front of leading daily Dagbladet.no at noon (my apologies if I missed a story or two). Which is not at all unique, by the way.

Tiffany and Paul have finished decorating their new flat but they regret their purchase as they don’t like the area. Paul is a freelance graphic designer and works from home. Tiffany works for an insurance broker and has been dissatisfied with her life for some time. After [...]]]> A passage from a book I’m currently translating:

Tiffany and Paul have finished decorating their new flat but they regret their purchase as they don’t like the area. Paul is a freelance graphic designer and works from home. Tiffany works for an insurance broker and has been dissatisfied with her life for some time. After a spate of burglaries in their area Tiffany suggests that they move to the country and try to live self-sufficiently. Paul has doubts but goes along with the idea and before long they have sold their flat and found a small cottage on the edge of Dartmoor.

When they get there they realise how isolated it is. Tiffany does not drive and the nearest village only has a post office and one pub. They miss their family and friends and realise that they have made a mistake. Paul tends to blame Tiffany as it was her idea.

This may seem unlikely but in fact some people do move from a city to a rural location in search of the‘good life’ before suddenly realising that the lifestyle isn’t quite what they had imagined. (Liz Jones in the Mail on Sunday magazine writes every week about the disastrous consequences for her of making this exact decision.)

Get me the Mail on Sunday magazine this instant! Wait… We live in the country, bereft of even our domestic nationals (save for the tabloids). Even on workdays.

Launched a new site last night. Well, not so much new as a remake – or a micro site, put on top of the regular one, to be precise, advocating relocation to our small community. A pro bono job, comme d’habitude, as far as local charity goes. And you know how it goes:

Lovely (time-lapse – or just sped-up?) footage. Seems so small, looking at it from a distance. But a universe in its own right. God, do I feel homesick.
Kudos to the maker, Oslo photographer Eirik Evjen. Full-screen viewing highly recommended.

I am sure of it. He had one of those, an early 1960s Trabant, or Trabi, if you’re so inclined, and never spoke a word on politics (which always puzzled me, as I hardly spoke of anything else during my late teens, shortly before he passed away, incidentally). Hmm…

Now I cannot help [...]]]>

I am sure of it. He had one of those, an early 1960s Trabant, or Trabi, if you’re so inclined, and never spoke a word on politics (which always puzzled me, as I hardly spoke of anything else during my late teens, shortly before he passed away, incidentally). Hmm…

Now I cannot help but wondering what the Stasi archives have in store, should I ever feel the urge to… Nah…

Truth be told, it just struck my mind, on seeing a friend share this link over at Facebook (definitely worth a visit).

The mere thought strikes me as more than just a little intriguing, though, personal fascinations considered. At any rate it provided an excuse to post this photograph.

I’ve been accused of talking (in this case: writing) too much between the lines.

They may have a point.

Cocteau Twins (Milk and Kisses), 1996.

Quick sketch of self, done with Autodesks’s SketchBook (based on photograph in separate layer) on an iPad. Like a kid with a new toy. On-screen drawing without a stylus (bare fingers) feels a little strange, but a matter of habit, I’m sure.

(Of course, there’s wrinkles, too – details that [...]]]>

Quick sketch of self, done with Autodesks’s SketchBook (based on photograph in separate layer) on an iPad. Like a kid with a new toy. On-screen drawing without a stylus (bare fingers) feels a little strange, but a matter of habit, I’m sure.

(Of course, there’s wrinkles, too – details that I tend to omit from rough outlines like these. Doesn’t mean they don’t exist)

I’ve been curating a wide variety of eye candy over at Affinities for the better of the last year, starting 31 May 2011. Resulting in today’s milestone, passing 50 pages of sheer beauty, among which the above Sleeping Muse I, 1909–10, by Constantin Brancusi.

To receive sexual servicing from a female who is under the age of 18 years.

“Hey man I went to that trendy high school party last [...]]]> There been much talk of the EDB ErgoGroup re-branding to Evry, mentioned in yesterday’s post, chiefly due to the unfortunate confusion caused by this:

1. evry

To receive sexual servicing from a female who is under the age of 18 years.

“Hey man I went to that trendy high school party last night and I got some evry from this sophmore!”

Source: Urban dictionary

However, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able keep the new name, which pronunciation is yet to establish itself in the public. So how about this:

Just a quick thought (my apologies for the hesitant speech. It happens, when you speak off the top of your head). Then again: I’m sure, as mentioned yesterday, that it’ll all pass. Comme d’habitude.

Oh my God, wait… Is that how the dubious “evry” is pronounced? In which case I fail to see what people are going on about.

Oh well… As I said: What’s in a name?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5np10ON0kE

My old workplace, EDB ErgoGroup (actually just ErgoGroup at the time) re-branded itself Saturday night, following last year’s merger, to Evry – a deliberate misspelling of “Every”, for reasons lost on yours truly. But I’m confident we’ll get used to it, especially with such a talented brand management, responsible for [...]]]> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al2-gbjs-jM

My old workplace, EDB ErgoGroup (actually just ErgoGroup at the time) re-branded itself Saturday night, following last year’s merger, to Evry – a deliberate misspelling of “Every”, for reasons lost on yours truly. But I’m confident we’ll get used to it, especially with such a talented brand management, responsible for the above multimedia show. Looking at it now, I kind of envy my old marketing crew, but find that I simply have to salute them on a job well done. Indeed, very well done. You don’t get to see this kind of breathtaking footage every day. Congrats, Dag (and whom ever is left of you guys)!

Man, did that take me back… OK, so I had to rummage the old files, revealing a number of eight or nine-year-old shots of the old joint ErgoGroup marketing crew. We were but a few, consisting of the marketing managers from various ErgoGroup companies. Here’s someone, whose back I simply do not recall, gesturing wildly at an attentive audience (among whom far left Dag Heim, the current Evry brand manager, ErgoSolutions at the time, Tore Sorknes, ErgoEphorma, me, ErgoBluegarden — latter day Bluegarden, and the marketing manager of some subsidiary, which name escapes me – ErgoDialog?):

Which is not to say that I was all ears – all of the time:

In all fairness I should add that all we said was utter rubbish, in honour of present photographer. But I have to admit now, working on my own on a practically desert island, that I truly miss the company of competent colleagues and a dynamic, prosperous work environment – going somewhere. Alas, you won’t find that in these parts. Pride and prejudice, perhaps? I should hope not.

Anyway, the company has grown exceedingly over the eight or nine years that have passed since these pictures were taken – some 1800 employees at the time. Now: approximately 10,000, if I’m not mistaken. Hopefully we did something right.

Oh well, bygones.

On a lighter(?) note, though:

1. evry

To receive sexual servicing from a female who is under the age of 18 years.

“Hey man I went to that trendy high school party last night and I got some evry from this sophmore!”

Source: Urban dictionary

Ouch… That’s got to hurt. But it’ll blow over. It usually does.

At any rate: Bon voyage, Evry! Miss you to bits, but I’ll be cheering from my island exile.

(Evry breath you take // evry move you make // evry bond you break // evry step you take // I’ll be watching you)

HD resolution and full screen viewing strongly advised.

I seem to remember my desperate outcry the other year (more to the point: three years ago), as my despair over the constant growth of social media outlets came to what I thought was a culmination of sorts, named Social media? Enough already!

Little did I know that [...]]]>

I seem to remember my desperate outcry the other year (more to the point: three years ago), as my despair over the constant growth of social media outlets came to what I thought was a culmination of sorts, named Social media? Enough already!

Little did I know that it had only just begun, although I suspected as much.

Enter Pinterest, another me, me, me service, compiling your personal likes and dislikes for all the world to see – and partake in, if I’m not mistaken. Well who am I to complain, sporting numerous blogs, a half-hearted social media presence, and curating visual art, in a manner not too unlike that of said Pinterest?

The Tumblr community, causing something of a rampage in most parts of the industrialised world the other year, came fairly unnoticed in these parts, for reasons unknown. The very few domestic Tumblrs I have stumbled upon, however, tend to use their Tumblrs as traditional blogs, not so much as a community-based, themed reblogging phenomenon.

Pinterest, on the other hand, seems to have created something of a frenzy on the Norwegian social media scene, among women and men alike, even if the service comes across as extremely girly, teaming with cupcake images, scrapbooking samples, interior design and such (but hey, that’s me). Nothing wrong therein, of course, but being the guy that I am, I’ve concluded that it’s just not my thing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcCqO1KbRTw

Had I been a man looking for sweet loving, on the other hand, I can see how… Ah, you naughty boys, you!

Oh well. The question that immediately springs to mind, though, is: What on earth possessed them to think the world needed just one more social media outlet (as I’m sure that eons of future SoMe—So Me Social Media—services will conclude)?

Of course, the inevitable shake-out is relatively imminent, and Pinterest, for one, seems to have found its niche. Just a little surprised to see that it includes men, is all. So the question arises: Do we find ourselves at the dawn of a metro-sexual era revived? I am digressing, of course. My main concern lies with the social media surplus, as indicated in this off-the-top-of-my-head list, which I posted over at Google+ (would you believe) yesterday:

• BBS (Check)
• Usenet (Check)
• IRC (Check)
• Webchat (Check)
• PowWow (Check)
• ICQ (Check)
• AOL IM (Check)
• MSN (Check)
• Internet fora (Check)
• Blogging (Check)
• FB (Check)
• Twitter (Check)
• Google Buzz (Check)
• Posterous (Check)
• Google Wave (Check)
• Paper.li (Check)
• Tumblr (Check)
• Quora (Check)
• Scoop.it (Check)
• Google+ (Check)
• Pinterest…

Right. And the list goes on, pushing us onward, making us leave our personal data in so many databases that, in the end, they will know more about us than we ourselves do. That doesn’t strike you as just a tiny little bit uncomfortable, does it?

Besides, it’s not as if they’re offering staggering, new functionality, is it? Come on… Revisit the above list. At the time of the BBS’es (we’re talking 30–40 years ago), wouldn’t you, too expect the world to have evolved just a little further by the futuristic age of 2012? Only to discover, some 30–40 years later, that we’re more or less in the very same spot (even if communications take place via TCP/IP, in lieu of a machine-to-machine modem connection)?

Should we perhaps be impressed? The later day saved, devoted social media “experts” seem to be, but they’re excused, novices that they be.

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

At the risk of reiterating myself, though: Enough, already!

Sweet.

Not too encouraging with respect to rural and provincial development, though. But hey, it’s the way of the world.

Yesterday saw the release of the long-awaited Symbian Belle (I refuse to call it Nokia Belle – don’ let yourself be fooled, it is a Symbian, no matter how they brand it) OS for older versions of the last generation [...]]]>

Yesterday saw the release of the long-awaited Symbian Belle (I refuse to call it Nokia Belle – don’ let yourself be fooled, it is a Symbian, no matter how they brand it) OS for older versions of the last generation Symbian mobiles from Nokia. An update originally scheduled for late Q3 2011, postponed until late Q4 2011, then 8 February 2012. Surprisingly, though, the launch took place yesterday, Tuesday 7 February, providing us with the false impression of an expedited release (if that is what the 7 Feb 2012 launch of an intended Q3 2011 release is).

At any rate long awaited, as you may well understand (cont’d after video clip):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3REHGbxqn0

Granted my patience with Nokia had long-since run out, to such an extent that I swore never again to buy a Nokia product (well aware that I may some day have to take that back), but as rumours of an immediate release started to pick up momentum across the Internet yesterday morning, all was forgotten. Checking for availability every five minutes, I could hardly contain myself. Several hours later the official Nokia announcement was a fact.

However, it would appear that my network operator, Telenor Mobil (whose website appears to exist in Norwegian only) is withholding the release – as the only Norwegian carrier doing so (cont’d after table):

So I decided to take the matter in my own two hands, with the following tweet:

@nokia Before we srt the blaming game, who needs 2 make a move 2 make Belle update available 4 Norwegian Telenor customers? @telenor_service

In addition to responding to another:

@NokiaUpdate Not so fast. Some carriers, such as Norwegian Telenor, apparently have decided to withhold the Belle release. @telenor_service

Resulting in the following reply:

telenor_serviceTelenor Kundeservice

@J_Petterson Hello Jarle. Firmwares branded by us will usually be avaiable a couple of weeks later than the unbranded version. /Morten

Cursed be my damned politeness, but my response sounded something like:

@telenor_service thx a million 4 yr swift reply. I only wish U sorted out ths matters w/ @Nokia prior 2 their (long overdue) release.

Truth of the matter is, however, that I’m in no need of a Telenor – or any other – branding. I simply want the latest version of my mobile OS. How hard can that be? Clearly, as shown in above table, smaller Norwegian carriers have made it available to their users. How can it be that Norway’s – by far – largest mobile network operator employs fewer developers than that of their much smaller competitors? And what makes them think customers are willing to wait for their branding, in order for Telenor to distribute free marketing – at the expense of inpatient, unsubsidised, paying customers? Besides, branding (implementing a Telenor browser start page and including a few Telenor specific apps) shouldn’t require more than an hour or two – 20 minutes tops, if they put a small team of developers on the task. After all, it’s not as the OS update came unexpected. Do you hear me, Telenor?

I can tell you this much, though: I should have stuck to my four-year-old plan.

As for Belle, I’m (still) more partial to the one accompanied by Sebastian (the song’s title is for you, Telenor):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UeFaayyw3o

Late edit: Apparently, according to a Telenor spokesperson, this procedure applies to mobiles of all makes and models, which, contrary to his intention, makes the matter even graver than originally suspected (insofar that my problem isn’t caused by my choice of manufacturer, but the choice of carrier).