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Monday, November 30, 2009

Good friends

My wife has left me. She spends some advent days in Wales together with Trine, Helene and Henrik Isak. David is presently delivering papers at Universities in Australia.

I am having my own homemade cod and pollack fish cakes with chopped leek for dinner. Lovely.

Stimulus Jobs Drying Up
A new report shows that thousands of stimulus-created jobs are already wrapping up with no replacements in sight. Luckily, the thousands of imaginary jobs created by the stimulus are expected to last another 500 years.



Afghan Decision
Tonight, President Obama is expected to announce he'll send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan and about 40,000 troops to protect Democrats in Congress who vote for health care reform.



New Focus
The Pentagon now says it is targeting its most serious inside threats... so the people responsible for the cafeteria food are in big trouble.




Swiss Minaret Ban
Muslim groups say the Swiss vote to ban future construction of Mosque minarets is racist and hateful. They say without the minarets, Swiss Muslims may not find the nearest Mosque where they can spend hours learning racism and hate.



Plane Recovered
An Atlanta World War II vet is reliving his role in history after his fighter plane was pulled from Lake Michigan. He was, after all, the only American pilot to bomb Lake Michigan.




December 1st


1969: The first draft lottery in the United States is held since World War II. Everyone who thinks it's a scratch off ticket lottery is immediately sent to the front lines.

1990: Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 metres beneath the seabed. Not long after the first contact, it is determined that the French section gave the British section VD.


1998: Exxon announces a $73.7 billion deal to buy Mobil, thus creating Exxon-Mobil, and offering crazed environmental protesters one-stop shopping.


2006: Mexican President Felipe Calderon declares war on drug traffickers... a declaration somewhat watered down by the fact that he was smuggling heroin out of Tijuana at the time.

Lier Mentalsykehus - Part 3

































Odd Run Shots

The reason they call the race on Thanksgiving morning the Turkey Trot is:
...because everyone tries torun faster than the turkey.

But I don't know where the banana comes in.


Odd Shots are here every Monday. Leave a comment if you have one, too. Check the comments to see what else is odd around the world today.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

First visitor from Al Jamahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uthma

Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent, and my Christmas gift white Amaryllis can be symbol for the Christian Church and the pure beginning of the Western liturgical year that commences on Advent Sunday.
I am not a member of any church, so I also use this day to present the Flag of Libya.My first visitor from Libya (the 17th largest country in the world) found my blog on November 21st.

The flag of Libya (Arabic: علم ليبيا‎) (adopted on November 11, 1977) consists of a simple green field with no other characteristics. It is the only national flag in the world with just one color and no design, insignia, or other details.
The flag of the independent kingdom was red, black, and green with a crescent and star in the center, but after the revolution of 1969, the flag became three simple stripes of red, white, and black. In 1971, Libya joined the Federation of Arab Republics with Egypt and Syria, which used a similar flag with a hawk emblem in the center and the name of the country beneath it.
When Libya left the Federation in 1977, the new plain green flag was adopted. Green reflects the people's devotion to Islam, and is also the national colour of Libya.
By the fifth century BC the greatest of the Phoenician colonies, Carthage, had extended its hegemony across much of North Africa, where a distinctive civilization, known as Punic, came into being. Punic settlements on the Libyan coast included Oea (Tripoli), Libdah (Leptis Magna) and Sabratha. All these were in an area that later was called, Tripolis, or "Three Cities".
Libya's current-day capital Tripoli takes its name from this.

According to the map of Herodotus from about 450 BC, Libya was a major area of the Mediterranean southern Seashores (North Africa) including Carthago. We have all learned in our history lessons how Marcus Porcius Cato Maior (Cato the Elder) always ended his speeches in the Roman Senat: "Carthago delenda est or the fuller Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" (Carthage must be destroyed).
The ruins of Carthage (presently in Tunisia) is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

If you want to learn more facts about Libya, go HERE

Screwed to the wall

No escape this way

Sunday's Psalm--First Sunday of Advent

To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,


Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
and for you I wait all the day.

 To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.


He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.

To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.


The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.

To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.




 



Psalm 25: 4-5, 8-9, 10, 14
Photos are from Yakima Arboretum, taken in October 2008







Saturday, November 28, 2009

Svartkulp reflections

At an altitude of 202 m close to lake "Sognsvann" you may find one of Oslo´s naturist places. During summertime you do not need any cloths when sunbathing or swimming. Yesterday when exercising, the surface of lake "Svartkulp" was not disturbed by any bodies or waves. The black water lived to the full extension to the lake´s name: Black Pool.The waterfall on the lake´s western dam side deliver the water surplus to lake "Sognsvann".

Monochrom weekly - Gulskogen gård


This Monochrome concept came from Aileni at The Monochrome Weekly

A roof and a lost balloon


You may see other things than trains at a station.
The Bergen Railway Station



This Monochrome concept came from Aileni at The Monochrome Weekly

Recharged viril friends and Statoil Art Award 2009

When downsizing active employment you can find room for regular gathering with friends. So has four of my old friends done for a while, and this photo is taken at VAD in Sykkylven this week.
The paintings on the wall are by Eldar Tandstad.
These viril grown up men seem to have survived their age with pride. Maybe the figure below can explain where men get their strength from, and why women feel drained of energy now and ......
At least, one possible explanation ...
However, yesterday night we went down town to have a look at the Christmas Market at the City Hall Square. Lots of lights, but nothing to hunger for.
The Christmas market visit was as every year, only a break on our way from fru Burum´s Friday drink to the Statoil Art Award 2009.
The four nominated artists: Ida Ekblad, Marius Eng, Anawana Haloba and Lars Laumann and their chosen works, were presented by Statoil´s senior vise president HR Jens. R. Jensen, an old colleague.
The award winner will be announced on Wednesday, December 9th. I know my favorite.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Badwater Reflection--with shadows

The lowest point in the USA--282 feet below sea level.

Weekend Reflections' homebase is Newtown Area Photo.

Bench of the week - Gamlebyen Fredrikstad

For more benches - visit Rune at "Visual Norway".

Lost Data
Scientists at the University of East Anglia have admitted throwing away much of the raw temperature data on which their predictions of global warming are based... outraging millions of environmentalists demanding to know why they didn't recycle.



Gate Crashers Latest
The public is still up in arms over the phony couple that managed to sneak into the White House... but enough about Barack Obama and Joe Biden.



Tiger's Crash
According to a police report, Tiger Woods pulled out of his driveway about 2:25 a.m. Friday, struck a fire hydrant and then a tree. Then he took a two collision penalty and finished the round four crashes over par.


Woods is refusing to talk to police about the crash... not because he committed a crime, but because after his wife confronted him about his alleged affair, Tiger's voice is still a bit too high to talk to anyone right now.


The 911 call from Woods' neighbor has been released, but it only brings up more questions like: Why did Tiger speed away from him house? Why didn't police get their sooner? and Why is Woods living next door to Larry the Cable Guy?



Shame Game
Today the White House will name banks that have not modified enough mortgage loans in hopes of shaming them into helping more homeowners. Experts say this ploy will not work because the economy is getting worse, jobs are scarce, and the banks have no shame.



Booze Cruise
Celebrity Cruise lines is now offering unlimited beer, wine and whiskey on some cruises. This is being done in the hopes that more travelers will fall overboard and Celebrity will be able to double-book their cabins.




November 30th


1783: A 5.3 magnitude earthquake strikes New Jersey... New Jersey actually looks better after the quake.


1993: U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the Brady anti-handgun bill into law. What Mrs. Brady had to do to get Clinton's signature is not disclosed.


1999: Massive protests against corporations and globalism erupt just before the WTO meetings in Seattle, Washington. But the protesters lose a great deal of street cred when it's revealed they all took regular rioting breaks at Starbucks.



November 29th

1877: Thomas Edison demonstrates his phonograph for the first time. Unfortunately, no one really gets his attempts to rap while scratching two turntables at once.


1947: The United Nations General Assembly votes to partition Palestine, offending hundreds of millions of Arabs who wanted the right to blow the whole country up.


1965: Canadian Space Agency launches the satellite Alouette 2. It crashes back to Earth as soon as it runs out of beer.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

More Desert Sky


Looking up in Death Valley's Mosaic Canyon.

Skywatch is here.



November 28th




1811: Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, was premiered at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. Despite rave reviews and lucrative receipts, Beethoven stll refuses to purchase any hair products.


1895: Frank Duryea wins the first American automobile race, taking 10 hours to get from Chicago's Jackson Park to Evanston, Illinois... which is half the time it currently takes to get from Chicago to Evanston during rush hour.


1989: The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announces it will give up its monopoly on political power... and move to the United States to take over the Bowl Championship Series selection process.


November 27th


1830: St. Catherine Laboure experienced a vision of the Blessed Virgin standing on a globe, crushing the feet of a serpent, and eminating rays of light from her hands. Her experience inspires millions of pilgrims to begin looking for her stash.


1839: In Boston, Massachusetts, the American Statistical Association is founded... also known as "The Society for Guys who ain't Getting Any."


2004: Pope John Paul II returns the relics of Saint John Chrysostom to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Tragically, he forgets to get a receipt.

A Monastic Bench

I'm back at the Lyse Kloster (Lyse Abbey). I don't really know if this is is a bench since I was not around in the 12th century when this was built. I can only imagine a couple of monks sitting down here for some intricate discussions.

My own interest in benches originated by reading the site published by PERBS and Kerri, and the site published by Malyss. Also, others showed an interest in the subject, so I started to take photos of benches I "stumbled" across and posted them on Fridays. It was never meant to be a "proper" meme (so it may not always be possible for me to find an appropriate bench for a Friday), but others joined me in publishing benches on (mostly) Fridays . I therefore never made a blog roll, but visits to my former posts (see archives in the sidebar), to the previous mentioned sites and to Gerald's site Ackworth Born, Gone West (he keeps a small list of benches he finds on his way) might be profitable.