Norwegian Cultural Contributions

Reading The Independent this morning, I stumbled upon a bit of nostalgia. A-Ha, the Norwegian band of "Take On Me" fame has released a new album and, as the article notes: "the fans are still screaming." This alone is not earth-shattering. At the column's end came something peculiar:

Other Norwegian contributions to world culture

* HENRIK IBSEN 1828-1906

Ibsen is believed to be the most frequently performed playwright in the world after Shakespeare. His plays, which include A Doll's House, Ghosts and Hedda Gabler, were considered scandalous to many of his era.

* EDVARD GRIEG 1843-1907

The composer and pianist is best-known for his incidental music to Ibsen's play Peer Gynt, but other works, such as the Piano Concerto in A minor, and the Lyric Suite, are still popular. At the age of 15, Grieg began studying at the Leipzig Conservatory and became music director of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra from 1880-1882. The Edvard Grieg Museum in Troldhaugen celebrates his life.

* EDVARD MUNCH 1863-1944

The artist who painted The Scream had a major influence on the development of German Expressionism in the early 20th century. His parents, brother and sister died when he was young, which may explain his preoccupation with misery. One of four paintings of The Scream was stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo in 2004.

* BJØRGE LILLELIEN 1927-1987

The sports journalist and commentator won international fame after Norway's 2-1 victory against England in a World Cup qualifier in Oslo in 1981. At the end of the match, he proclaimed: "We are best in the world! We have beaten England! England, birthplace of giants. Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana, we have beaten them all, we have beaten them all. Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher, your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!"

* LIV ULLMANN 1938-

The actress, author and film director played the lead roles in nine films directed by Ingmar Bergman, with whom she has a daughter. Born in Tokyo, she grew up in Trondheim in Norway. She was nominated twice for Academy Awards, for The Emigrants and Face to Face, and published two books of her memoirs, Changing and Choices. Ullmann, who is multilingual, lives in New York and is a Unicef goodwill ambassador.

* ANNI-FRID SYNNI-LYNGSTAD, 1945-

Anni-Frid, better known as Frida, is the only Norwegian member of the Swedish band Abba. Born in Ballangen during the German occupation, her father was the German sergeant Alfred Haase. At the end of the war, her family fled to Sweden, and Anni-Frid got her first job as a jazz singer at 13. After winning a television talent contest, she recorded a couple of albums for EMI, and became part of Abba, dominating worldwide charts through the Seventies. She is now 60 and lives in Switzerland.

Geneviève Roberts

The inference that I take from it is that A-Ha are of similar or like cultural weight as these other contributions to world culture. REALLY??? A bold assertion, no doubt. Granted that this is coming from a British publication and it speaks from a European perspective. Also, America is hardly globally culturally aware. So, perhaps, color me enlightened.

If you haven't gleaned so yet, this is a shameless solicitation for comment. Are you as out of the loops as I was?

Lonely Apple

© BDeviant 2005

Lonely Apple, Battery Park City.

Soft a.m. Light

© BDeviant 2005

Apocalypse. You know, for kids!

© BDeviant 2005

I wish I could say what the title of the work is that the little girl was looking at, but I honestly don't remember. But the image was there, so I took it. In MoMA back in July '05.

Lunch on the Battery

© BDeviant 2005

DC Olympic Team...

From West Capitol & J Street, NW:

I love this idea!

I just got this awesome email. I encourage everyone to support this noble cause. I thought their previous venture to rename RFK stadium was brilliant but this one takes the cake. I also love that the DCOC Chairman and Curling Team Captain is a guy I vaguely knew in college:

Last year, you helped strike a blow for democracy by supporting the effort to rename RFK Stadium, "Taxation Without Representation Field at RFK Stadium." We didn't win that battle (yet), but we got a lot of attention for DC's lack of representation, and put the issue in front of new audiences in the process.

To continue this fight, we're proud to announce that we are launching a much bigger and bolder effort: District of Columbia Olympic Committee (DCOC)

That's right. We've started the process of getting Olympic teams for the District of Columbia. We figure if other territories that have a single, non-voting delegate in Congress like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands can have their own Olympic teams, why not DC? If we can't have representation in Congress -- then we should at least have representation in the Olympics.

We've even put together a curling team -- it was the only sport that fit our collective athletic prowess, plus nobody wanted to wear the tight body suits for the luge. (We're pretty sure you didn't want to see that either.) The DCOC even has an offcial sponsor, Labatt Beer.

We're going to need your help in pleading our case to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Please join us and send a message to the IOC today. Tell them to "Let DC Play!"

You can learn more about this effort at http://www.dcolympicteam.org/. Visit the site, join a team, and send a message to the International Olympic Committee. You'll be helping make the case for democracy in DC.

Please spread this to your 10,000 closest friends -- especially any who are reporters, have blogs, or just like to talk a lot .

Thanks,
Mike Panetta & the DC Olympic Committee
(aka, the Taxation Without Representation Stadium Crew)

Just because its a good idea to further a good cause.

Peaceful Returning Visits

From my stats page:

Make of it what you will.

Humiliation

The bathroom at work is a place to loathe. While it is a place of relief, a recent experience suggests a dual purpose to the space. It could be that the janitorial staff of this building on Broad Street near Wall, in an effort to usurp and/or humble the aristocratic banking class that occupies it, have booby-trapped the bathroom. However, as with any omelet, eggs do get broken. This bourgeois member of the proletariat fell victim to the soap dispenser.

Upon placing one’s hand and pressing down upon the soap dispenser, the last thing you would expect would be for it to ejaculate onto the area of your trousers covering your naughty place. However, that is what happened. (Visualize if you will, the liquid soap spewing out of the dispenser nozzle and then using my hand as a launch pad for its final destination.) The pressing down was not particularly forceful, which compounded befuddlement. The end result was something looking very much like the byproduct of youthful autoerotic-stimulation.

It is just comforting to suspect conspiracy. What was uncomfortable was washing it off and having a rather substantial wet spot covering a surplus of the original offending area. It begs the question: When working for a bank, what is worse; something appearing to be a naughty juice stain or the look of having wet one’s self?

Needless to say, I spent a while in the bathroom letting it dry. I would rather portray a lengthy bowel voiding than all of the above. Prerogative and initiative taken with favorable results achieved. Humiliation abated, for the most part. Janitors do the work we don’t want to and thusly deserve our respect. (Just in case they are reading...)

WTF is a MeMe?

10 Things You Never Knew About Me
(‘Cause Martha MeMe’d me)

1. In grade school this blogger was on a trivia team that got to the quarter finals. The question that sunk the team’s chances answer was “trolling.” This blogger choked on the answer and, consequently, the one girl on the team never liked me after that. She was stuck up anyway. He still likes to fish, though.

2. When this blogger was 6 years old, he went fishing with his Dad in a canoe on a lake. They were a couple of miles from their cabin when the wind really kicked up and a thunder & lightning storm hit. They paddled to a shore and had to drag the canoe up and pull it over them to protect from the rain and lightning. This blogger was never scared and still thinks it was one of the best times he ever had with his Dad.

3. This blogger wanted to name his dog David after his best friend in first grade. It didn’t happen. He was named Charlie instead and was a great dog.

4. This blogger wishes he could find religion, but finds organized religion utterly abhorrent.

5. The Marx Brothers are a huge soft spot for this blogger.

6. This blogger found out in 2005 that he has colitis and, consequently, can’t eat meat (it would appear), and, consequently, misses steak terribly. However, his lust for sushi has grown ten fold.

7. Esto blogger was planning on applying to grad schools this year, but had to switch it up upon discovery of Baby Bourgeois Bananas coming on the scene in July. Now he looks forward to being a stay- at-home Dad for a while.

8. Aforementioned father-to-be is balding, slowly but surely. Thusly, he feels slightly less confident than he used to.

9. This slowly balding father-to-be/blogger has, as of this 30th year on this green earth, never had a burning desire nor has he ever been to a strip club or any like establishment. He finds the potential sense of desperation that could permeate the air unpalatable.

10. Since moving to Brooklyn, New York, the subject of this MeMe has become a notoriously bad driver and, as a result, even worse with driving directions.

11. *BONUS MeMe* or *MeMeMe* - Doesn’t know five other bloggers to MeMe ‘cause Martha Who? done gone and took ‘em all. So, won’t.

Lewd Playlet: Cold Winter’s Night

Set: Union Street, Brooklyn, NY. Temp: 22° F. Windy.

Characters:

The Bourgeois Deviant – 30, Devastatingly handsome. Formerly athletic. Walking and shivering.

Mrs. Bourgeois Deviant – 27, Radiantly beautiful and three months pregnant. Periodically athletic. Walking and nearly shivering.

BD -Can you hurry up? Its freak’n cold!

Mrs. BD -*teeth chattering* Duh! And, HELLO! I’m pregnant! Cut me some slack!

BD -Yeah. I know. But seriously. I’m bloody cold! You have a warmer coat on. Meanwhile my balls are in my throat I’m so cold. Hurry up!

Mrs. BD -Puh! Bite me!

BD -Suck my balls!

*silence, moments pass*

Mrs. BD -Shouldn’t it be “Kiss me. Passionately. And lick my balls!”?

*both giggle*

BD -That would be better.

Scene

A Good Idea

These folks have the right idea. Check out FUH2. (TH)

What I'll See This Weekend

Fat to Fill the Space?

Alchemic Spot via Seth Godin via treehugger

If you know anything about pet fish, you would know that, for the most part, they grow according to the size of their tank. Perhaps we are more like our aquatic friends than we care to admit.

Guilty Pleasures

In my maturation, a love of the accordion has infected me. Most people look at me as if to say "What the f*ck? Are you nuts?" But seriously, I do love the sound of the accordion and its cousin, the harmonium. The reasons I am infected by this sound are the Tiger Lillies, Gotan Project and most recently (courtesy of The World), Motion Trio. I suspect that Calexico uses the accordion occasionally. If not, then the klezmer (also posessing a great sound). One Ring Zero is also a superb accordion featuring band.

Call me crazy. I just think its groovy. Give them a shot and they are sure to please.

Leeds Boys Gonna Make Good

It looks like February is going to be a good month:

FOUR DAY HOMBRE 'EXPERIEMENTS IN LIVING'
Released February 2006.

Four Day Hombre release their debut album on their fan-funded label Alamo Music. The band stole themselves away to Black Box Studios in France in early 2005 with producer Dave Odlum (Gemma Hayes – Mercury Award nominated, The Frames, Mark Geary, Josh Ritter, dEUS). Louis Teran (Dave Matthews Band, The Futureheads, Pink, Snow Patrol, etc.) mastered the album at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California.

Partially inspired by the book “Among the Bohemians: Experiments in Living 1900-1939” by Virginia Nicholson, the album is exactly this: an exercise in freedom outside the mainstream music industry, and the right to create something to prove that it deserves to exist. Nostalgia, sadness and a pure and innocent hope that things really can get better are themes that run through this album. Its sound is classic: eschewing the ‘loud and the now’; its delicate and intimate melodies blend with enraptured moments of intensity.

The First Word Is The Hardest – The recording captures the sound of Experiments in Living better than any other: a driving mix of fracturable atmospherics, stunning vocals, repetitive beats and a final euphoric release all smothered in Neil Young-esque feedback. The song is an outstretched hand to someone carrying a hundred tons of shit on their shoulders - someone who is repeatedly running at a windowpane unable to see the glass, when all they need is a friend to open it and let them through.

Flame – A simple alt-country song of hope. Delicate and beguiling, its understated production and heartfelt sentiment makes it a real grower. It was written with a sense of clarity only found from being in a field on a clear day or from drinking 10 pints of Stella.

Thirteenth Of The Month – A fragile piano line leads into this stately waltz, Si's superb vocal drifting in and out of a bed of pillowy reverb, sonic treats and statuesque guitars. Simon comments about the song: “A period of life when my relationship seemed to end on exactly the same day every month. The monthly cycle everybody must obey – ‘it's funny how satellites govern the way we are’. No idea where the dressing gown line came from.”

Three Years – Like the E-Street band trying desperately to rock out through a haze of red wine and sleeping pills. A truly moving vocal performance expertly cushioned by barroom piano, woozy guitar and Hammond. Simon: “I wrote the lyrics and the tune whilst driving to my family away from Leeds and all the mess and darkness it held at the time. In the rehearsal room the song just happened perfectly - one of those where you all sit down play it twice and it's finished.”

Inertia – Beginning with the gentlest of out of time guitars, and gritty broken vocals - erratic bursts of electronic noise and beautiful backing vocals slowly and gently mutate into the loudest and gnarliest of guitar freakouts: grinning defiance with the deftest of touches. Si on Inertia – “Driving in a van at 4:30am on your way back from a gig knowing you've got to be at work at 7:30. Oh things could be so different if the planets would just shift an inch or two. Or the record industry didn't move with the agility and speed of a maimed pig.”

Four Day Hombre are most at home on the road. Their live show is simply breathtaking, taking the audience from intimate quietness to overwhelming, stadium-filling wall of sound. Their next national tour is for three weeks from the 9th January 2006. (AP via FDH)

We are really looking forward to it!

So Euro!

Every morning, I blitz through the links in the right column of this page to see who has updated, what's new and interesting and what's to be pissed off about today. Occasionally, I will repost items or discuss them here. Today Planetizen grabbed me with this headline: "Stockholm Becomes Second European City To Implement Congestion Charging"

London was the first to initiate this and though people balked at first, it seems to be working. Hopefully the same will be the case for Stockholm. Here is the abstract:

Despite public opposition, Stockholm is pushing ahead with implementation of congestion charging for a trial period.

Most Swedes take pride in their country's environmentalist credentials, but public opinion is not necessarily supportive of efforts to impose a tax on traffic. Despite polls suggesting significant opposition to the new tolls, the city of Stockholm is pushing ahead with a test run of what will become the world's most extensive system of traffic congestion charges. The trial program began January 1st and will last until July 2006. The Swedish charge aims to cut traffic on the most heavily congested roads by 10-15 percent and is also intended to "bring about an overall improvement in the urban environment in Stockholm, particularly air quality." Stockholmers will vote in September 2006 on whether to make it permanent. The experience of London indicates that a defeat for the Stockholm scheme may be far from certain. Opposition to the charges was widespread in the British capital before their introduction, but three years later polls show Londoners have warmed to the system. "There was lots of apocalyptic talk before it was introduced about the impact it would have," said Transport for London spokesman Richard Dodd.

One can only find this encouraging. Well, actually, most Americans will find this frightening. Economically speaking, if this were to be instituted in most major US cities (I am alluding to you DC) it would seriously bugger the lifestyles of many a citizen. However, buggery aside, it would be a progressive measure provided there was no managerial malfeasance.

Caveat: I hate driving. I have an immense dislike for cars the industries around them. I irrationally (perhaps) blame the auto and respective industries for many of the ills of modern society. However vehement those proclivities are and whatever their degree of rationality, I think this type of tax would certainly be a positive move for many state and local US governments to implement. The moneys derived could go towards the development of public transit, alternative energies and smarter development.

Just food for thought.

Too Good Not to Re-Post

This just keeps me laughing. People around me in the office are starting to give me strange looks. Re-blogged to you (edited) courtesy of my beaten to death and into the ground so far that it can smell China sense of humor. Baccus bless you, Martha.

Merry Gin Day: A Christmas Monologue

Setting: In-laws' condo in Vermont. Late on Christmas night. Martha Who, Husband, In-laws are in living room. Post-West Wing. It is quiet. Brother-in-Law enters from kitchen with a fresh gin and tonic.

MARTHA'S BROTHER-IN-LAW (holding glass up to Christmas Tree)
Anyone else want a gin and tonic?

*Silence*

MARTHA'S BROTHER-IN-LAW (continuing...)
Anyone else deserve a gin and tonic?
Ahhhhhhh....gin.
Gin, gin, gin, gin gin!

(not to really anyone specifically)

Gin is....
Gin is....
Well, Gin is like the nectar...
Like the...

Gin is like the nectar... of Baby Jesus Christ, Himself! Seriously... the baby Jesus. As in Jesus Christ. If Jesus were to stand up here right now, and urinate down on us, it would be gin. Beautiful, crystal-clear, wonderful, perfect gin. Jesus Beefeater Christ...

Gin, gin, gin...we've been through a lot together. Some good times, some bad times. But mostly good. And always interesting. And always ... together. This day is really a celebration of gin. Of Jesus's pee. Thank you, Jesus.
Merry Gin Day!
Merry Gin Day...
I'm done.

CURTAIN

postscript from MarthaWho:
Merry Gin Day to all, and to all a good night!

New Bit: Guilty Pleasures

+ =
Since the dawn of time... No. Scratch that.

Since the dawn of my adolescence... Wait. That’s still not entirely right.

Since the dawn of my collegial career (third time is a charm!) my deviance has had a love of knowledge. In specific, exploring the deviant world through both revealing and inquiring about my fellow Homo-Sapiens’s guilty pleasures.

Now, what I mean by "Guilty Pleasure" is really pretty simple. For example, I savor the culinary combo of cottage cheese and pickled red beets. Delicious on so many levels. As the years passed, I grew to learn that this combo, not to mention the individual components of this pleasure-o-mine, nauseates people to the point of queasy.

Being that the national religion of the Bourgeois Deviant is catholicism, one naturally surmises that guilt is endemic. When people scorned my love of the beets'n cheese, the default reaction was what you might expect. But being bourgeois, I transcended the guilt and turned that frown upside-down.

So, share your guilty pleasures with me. Won't you? Seriously. It can be anything. Like, if you enjoy our President intellectually or really get a kick out of sniffing gasoline at the filling station. Email it to me or list it here as comment and spread the joy. I will give it its own unique entry and bat around some commentary-esqe babble. No scorn, just understanding, awareness and fun.

Incendiary and Delicious

When you drive, society becomes an obstacle. Pedestrians, bicycles, traffic calming, speed limits, the law: all become a nuisance to be wished away.[TH]

Tee hee.

Oh Dear Lord!

Good gracious it is been a while since my one time "proper blogger" posterior posted on this here little outlet. My most deviant apologies to all three of you who might check in on the odd blue moon.

Great holidays were had. Traveling transpired with great alacrity as with each destination achieved, fun was had and joy was spread. And by joy, I mean news.

No, not the Good News.

Christ was sort of in Christmas, but we didn't wish to coddle and spoil the newborn messiah. We wished to tell everyone about the newborn we (i.e. Bourgeois Deviant and Bourgeois Wife) would be producing come July 2006.

That’s right. Deviant spawn.

So, from here on, periodically you will be getting updates on aforementioned spawn heretofore dubbed Bourgeois Bananas. Comedy and hilarity to ensue.

It’s good to be back.