About eighteen months ago now, I realised I’m a materialist; I believe that everything in this world is matter, that there is no such thing as spirit, that what others might perceive as “spirit” can be explained materially. And for some thirteen, fourteen months, my Christian flatmate Håvard has challenged me on this.
To him there [...]
Posts filed in Hodge-podge rambling
Some things I suspect I believe to be true
A-braggin’ we shall go
I got the results of my last exam this weekend, and in connection to that I guess I ought to say a little more about why, exactly, it is that I’ve been absent for so long the last couple of weeks.
You see, the last month of the Fall term, I spent relatively much time on [...]
Another one of GRRM’s ASOIAF fantasy references?
So far, I’ve noticed references to at least two other writers of Epic Fantasy in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. The first was quite simply the use of the name Vance on one of Westeros’ noble families, and the second (which I admittedly didn’t discover myself, I’m ashamed to say) is [...]
Hässelby by Johan Harstad
2007.
444 pages, Gyldendal hardcover.
This is a tale about Albert Åberg — the main character of a series of childrens’ books written by Gunilla Bergström in the early 1970s. What happened to him after his childhood in the quiet Stockholm suburb of Hässelby? How did he grow from a lively, enthusiastic boy to a disillusioned, bored [...]
Fireworks? You mean Embrace’s ‘best of’ album?
I’ve noticed a bit of a ruckus about this new ban on the “stick rocket” kind of fireworks, but I’ve been unable to care much.
I mean, I kinda grew bored with loud bangs and flashy lights when I was 10. Or possibly before.
And also, if I want to hear loud bangs and see flashy lights, [...]
This does not bode well…
I was in Molde yesterday, to have dinner with a buddy of mine from high school, and somehow at least two thirds of the four hours we spent together were spent talking about World of Warcraft, which said buddy, like so many others, had been pretty much addicted by the last couple of years. Personally, [...]
Curses! Or constructing next term’s schedule
I checked my course registration page at NTNU (ooh!) about an hour ago, and much to my delight I discovered that I’ve been registered for not two but three courses this spring, and that these three combined fill my required term quota of 30 study points.
English Linguistics gives me 7,5 points if I pass it; [...]
I’m concerned for my university
I had my fifth and final exam for the term today, and unfortunately, I thought it was just like the four previous ones.
You see, based on the curriculi and the lectures in the courses I’ve been taking this fall, I’ve been expecting to be satisfied with a straight Cs. Global English had a lot of [...]
w00t!
Finally! Almost two years since I bought and started playing it, and some five or six years since the game’s release, I finally finished Neverwinter Nights!
I was close about half a year ago, too, when I had this rather nice Half-Orc Paladin going for me, but unfortunately, he proved to be no match for the [...]
Concerning music and laziness…
I used to like Minor Majority. I considered them to be one of my favourite Norwegian bands of all time, and there were few things in the world that could soothe me and calm my nerves more effectively than the first couple of chords of “Think I’m Up For You And I”. And the album [...]
Oh, the shame! The shame!
During my medieval history exam on Monday, I managed to confuse the Battle of Poitiers with the ditto of Agincourt.
I feel like I’m going to melt; at least that would allow me to forget that a professor of history will read my mistake and shake his head in disappointment and disbelief at my folly…
‘Tis been a good day, so far…
First, I took my NwN Dwarven monk through a couple of levels. Which is always fun, as they get so many feats and special abilities, it’s a treat to play them. Then, just as I had cleared level 7 and killed Head Gaoler Aelfinn, I was roused by my flatmates who desired my company for [...]
Night of Knives, by Ian C. Esslemont
Night of Knives,
by Ian C. Esslemont.
2005.
Bantam Press.
282 pages, hardcover edition.
Even though I enjoyed the book, and ripped through it faster than I have ripped through anything since I had a severe cold about two months ago, I am not sure if I see Esslemont as an independent author. Sure, he is the co-creator of the [...]
Angel: After the Fall
This one took me somewhat by surprise. I’d heard that it was scheduled for release on 29 November, and then, last Thursday, Loki exclaims at me that this was some seriously good stuff. I, naturally, become flabbergasted, run home from downtown Trondheim (I was shopping for Christmas and November-Me presents when I got his message), [...]
And!
Just in case anyone was wondering (right!): Yeah, the reason I’ve increased my posting rate is that that fiendishly swift “Lotta” is catching up. He’s currently reduced my lead to a meagre 323 posts!
Also, this post’s title is fun, if you pronounce it in Norwegian.
Or do I only think that because it’s a [...]
Concerning Documentaries
I just watched an Australian documentary about Mullah Krekar (whose real name is Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad), one of the founders of the militant, Kurdish, Islamist organization Ansar al Islam, and an asylum seeker in Norway. The guy whom the Americans tried to use to link Saddam Hussein to Osama bin Laden a couple of years [...]
Love In Rainbows
It’s been over four years. There have been times when I’ve almost given up hope. But on Monday, all my prayers (well, at least some of them) were answered.
Too bad I won’t get my hands on the physical record before some time late in December, but at least the digital version’ll be avaliable in five [...]
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