I was sorting my bookmarks yesterday and stumbled over Katinka Matson site. And I am still amazed over her pictures, the sheer minimalism and purity of the flowers. If I was a flower and needed to take a picture of myself – she would be on the top of my list.
You should go here if you like flowers….
http://www.katinkamatson.com/prints/paper1.html
http://www.katinkamatson.com/prints/paper2.html
Enjoy….
Today, I hear the terrible news that the USA has decided to escalate the conflict, by sending 20’000 additional troops. The situation in Iraq is horrible and seems to be going from bad to worse. The vacuum of centralized power has split the country into numerus factions. Irak is a war zone and in a state of civil war.
The Iraqis are without hope. Desperate at the situation, they see the American/Coalition presence as the cause of their inhuman life. The guerillas seem to have no problem in getting support from the population and even the local police. They are being helped with their silence, help, and ressources. The conflict will only worsen, unless the country is stable and find a person or idea to back behind – somehow to find a new common Iraki identity.
The parallels to the Vietnam War are horrific. There military are sending more resources and trying to delegate the military power to the local authorises. The question is how can conventional troops gain a military victory in a civil war, without support from the population? They are slowly getting deeper and deeper bogged down. They won the war but lost the peace. This it tragic for both parties, they are as now doomed to continue the dance of death. More dead troops, more dead Iraqis and pushing the country into further destruction.
The sending of further troops, are just making more potential targets for the disillusion population. Never underestimate the power of hate, it is far easier unite against someone with hatred, than to unite for a common good. I guess what Bush and the “neo-cons” where planing was some sort of nation building. But what do you do with a country that doesn’t have the institutions to handle democracy. Is there hope? There is all ready enough pain to go around and there has to be a solution! Saddam might be gone, but was is really worth it sacifice? Are the Iraqis better of now?
I hope that Iraq gets stabilized and that there can be some kind og peace. I might be grasping at straws, but maybe there is a Iraqi Atatürk? The founder of the republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was able to reform Turkey to a secular democratic progressive state. His legacy has kept Turkey in the realm of the secular state. Maybe he could succeed where the Americans have lost? I know, i know - I am grasping at straws….
In going to end with a little quote and a picture…
“Oh rational creature,
who desires eternal life.
Here you have wisdom, worth noting:
to properly end your mortal life.
It’s called the dance of death,
which everyone will learn to dance.
For man and woman it’s natural,
Death spares neither small nor great [persons].
In this mirror everyone can read
that he will dance likewise.
Sage is he who mirrors himself well.
Death makes the living [one] advance,
You will see the greatest begin [= lead the dance]
for there is nobody whom Death does not vanquish.
It’s a pitiable thing to consider.
All are forged out of the same material….”
(Source: http://www.dodedans.com/Eparis.htm)
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Holbein-death.png)
You guessed it, i’m sick – but still only in the physical since. Friday i started of with a small discomfort and now it has escalated to a full fledged flu. I am hot, tried, cold, snotty, annoyed, lack of focus and most of all – bored out of my mind!!! I hate being sick – the sheer lack of energy and inactivity – it’s killing me!!! I feel like a fish – i have to move or else my gills don’t get enough O2…
Here is a picture of the Hawaiian State Fish, the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa (my kindred spirit?).
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking in my state of inertia. One of my conclusions, is that I have been using far too much energy in looking and seeking for my better half. The last six months I have been dating, a hell of a lot. All the energy, I have put inn really hasn’t trickled in to anything I can work with. I’m a patient guy, but maybe i should focus on other areas that give me pleasure. Let me see – family, friends, law degree, clarinet and so on..
I do hope she is out there but so-far, no good. I dislike my solitude, but I’m still single and dealing with it…
This poem hits my soft spot and is how i feel. From my favorite band…
“Small time shot away” – Massive Attack (100th. window)
Took her in
Dropped a line
Turned me on
(I travel I travel)
We never leave each other ’cause we leave each other so cold
Makes it melt away
The easy part is taking yourself in
It’s wartime every time
Shot away
Wipe the smile from your face
It’s getting in the way
It’s wartime every time
She cut me a line and she turned me on
She made it cool
You couldn’t do it if you wanted to
(Believe me believe me)
It’s wartime every time
Small talk every time
It’s my favourite chloroform
It’s pill talk every time
Get it out the way
Friction wound
Shot away
Ricochet
We’re like identical twins
Sucking on the same teat
Spitting out the same things
(I travel far, I travel far)
It’s wartime every time
Small talk every time
It’s my favourite chloroform
It’s pillow talk every time
Get it out the way
Friction wound
Ricochet
Line’em up and knock’em down
Shot away
A shot away
A shot away
A shot away
Well, must sleep and get well…
On Sunday evening, I was a bit restless. I called Christian and Jón and asked if they were in the mood for a damn good kebab. And I was in luck, Christian was “dog-sitting” and going to pick up his parents later that evening – and Østerbro (where i live) was “on route”. Jón too, was feeling a bit peckish and besides “why not”. Jón is great – you can always count on him, joining in, on some spontaneous action.
I decides to pack my camera and hopefully take a couple of decent shots for my blog before meeting up with Jón and Christian. Here is some of my “more successful shots”, while I was waiting for Jón on Triangelen (the triangle) in Østerbro…
Picture taken from nearby Triangelen west thourds Fælledparken. Long exposure and low ISO.
Funny angel, facing south.
Not so funny angle…
Jón and I met up and shortly after, Christian came as well. We were able to quench our craving for the fantastic Kebab. If you wan’t a good Kebab you usually have to go to Nørrebro (area of Copenhagen). But there is a great place close to where i live. It on Nordre Frihavnsgade (no. 50-60?). The kebabs are big, taste good and there is a realistic salad (lettuce+tomatoes+…). As an extra bonus it’s quite cheap kr. 20 for a pita and kr. 30 for a dürum-roll.
(The Kebab-craving Poul Kjartan)
(Christian nearing the end – Jón has “ended”)
After kebabs all-round, we bought some coffee and cookies from 7-eleven. I love spontaneity, it good for the soul. Our outdoor adventure was at an end, as all thing have a tendency to do…
I have always admired musicians. The ability to make and play music, seems to me to be almost magical – like alchemy. Somehow I had a craving to be a part of the “club”. The only rational solution was to start. Still, I didn’t want to play an ordinary instrument, like the piano, or a guitar. After a while, the only instrument that was practical and diverse enough was the clarinet or the mandolin. I chose the clarinet. If you listen to Clarinet Concerto in A major, by Mozart – you will be amazed how diverse the clarinet can by played. It’s godlike – if you are not touched by this, then you are missing out of another element, that makes life sweeter to live. It hits “my soft spot”!!!
Here is a couple of links to the “godlike”…. It free and legal – enjoy!!
Clarinet Concerto in A major, 1st movement
Clarinet Concerto in A major, 2st movement
Clarinet Concerto in A major, 3st movement
Conductor: Simon Schindler, Ensemble: Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Clarinetist: Bruce Edwards, and Location: Grosser Saal der Orangerie Fulda.
But still, the clarinet can be used in jazz, blues, rock, and so on. The subject at hand, is too vast, so I better be mooving on…
I began to play the clarinet a half a year ago and I’ve made a lot of progress. This project, is a solo-project – booklet with advice, sheet music and a CD (“Progressive Clarinet: by Peter Gelling”), was my only help. It a bit funny to hear the discrepancy between what you are playing and what you should be playing on the CD 
– but I can still play a decent “When the Saints go Marchin’ in”. I had reached a spot where I couldn’t move on. My legatos and staccatos really sucked and there where a lot of notes I wasn’t able to reach. Another hindrance is that I have been too busy, with too many things.
My dear dancebuddie Carina, helped me out – hence “my clarinet is back”. All I had to do was to change to a harder reed and improve my breathing technique. She has been playing the last 15 years – and she is still active. Her talent is light-years beyond where I am at the moment. But if I hang in there I might be able to play a decent score. My clarinet gives me a lot of pleasure, it’s always fun to create and progress.
I suppose my greatest challenge in life, is to have few, but completed projects. But to do this, you have to make priorities and hard choices. I have too many project floating around that are distracting me at the moment, but I’m getting closer to my “challenge”.
It’s hard work – but life isn’t easy…
I have a lot of quests. On my top three – there is finishing my law-degree, being able to play the clarinet (well), and as you might have guessed it – finding a soul-mate. Now the two first things are “simple tasks”. If you continually put in a lot of hard word and dedication – you really can’t go wrong. The rules for the “quest” are easy to follow and you can see a clear result for the effort you put in to it.
Now, on the other hand you have love… “That”, has to be the ultimate proof that God has a great sense of humor and is a bit of a joker. I believe that love is a mystery that just won’t make sense and the only way to learn about love is by loving. The problem is, where is she? I’m still optimistic, I have a lot to do, and i’ll be fine even if she doesn’t show up soon…. But it would make life sweeter to live.
Women have it a lot easier – the following says it all….
HOW TO IMPRESS A WOMAN…
compliment her,
cuddle her,
kiss her,
caress her,
love her,
stroke her,
tease her,
comfort her,
protect her,
hug her,
hold her,
spend money on her,
wine & dine her,
buy things for her,
listen to her,
care for her,
stand by her,
support her,
go to the ends of the earth for her….
HOW TO IMPRESS A MAN…
show up naked,
bring beer.
(Source http://jokes.comedycentral.com/popUp.asp?sql=7&id=2869&cat=998#top)
To drastically change the subject, i have a picture of a “nøkkerose” (Nymphaea alba?). I took it a while back, right after i got my camera. The picture is in my opinion a bit sub-standard but its the best of my Nøkkerose-pictures.
The next pictures are Roses, and these are taken with my own camera (click for larger picture).
Enjoy…
The word divine might be an overstatement, but it’s my favorite website on the vast seas of WWW. If there is a site worthy of such a statement, it has to be DA (http://www.deviantart.com).
I bought my first digital camera a couple of years back. I was playing around with long-time exposure, iso-numbers, and basically playing around with all the functions it had to offer. I didn’t stop there, I also played with motive, light, angles and just having fun taking pictures. I was recommended this site by my dear friend Christian.
There, I found a community, that really gave me a lot of inspiration, for my pictures and after a while I even publish a few on the site (http://cykelmand.deviantart.com/). It was a positive and good experience. The great thing is, that you are able to get feedback, hints and encouragement in this forum. There are even a lot of pro’s, that also publish and are helpful. For me it was a force-multiplier for my abilities as a amateur photographer.
But deviantART is much more than just photography – its a vast resource of creativity. Literature, cartoons/anime, flash and so on. It’s all neatly sorted in categories and sub-categories. Of course there is a lot of stuff, that isn’t that good. It still doesn’t degrade the forum, it’s just different degrees of quality.
I even found this funny little quirky poem yesterday, about aluminium (?!?!):
“Aluminium foil is silver and pretty.
Its not very witty.
Because it has no brain.
Because foil has no brain,
if it did, it might be insane.
Or it might not.
I really shouldn’t judge.”
Source: (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38578141/)
Discover it on your own terms and you will not be disappointed.
Kudos to you devianART!!!
Sometimes i just can’t sleep, i’m wide awake – not feeling tired and am full of energy. So why not put a couple of pictures in my blog. By the way, these pictures were taken with my dear departed camera, that is no more.
Enjoy….
This is a rather cute picture. It’s Mulan (cute cat) and Baldur (lovable bulldog). You can clearly see, that they were best friends. Baldur is no longer with us. He had arthritis and was in a lot of pain – so he had to be put down. I didn’t like him at first. He snored, had flatulence, threw up all over the place and always begged for scraps. But he had so much charm that you realy couldn’t ignore his “Baldur Charm” – it just grows on you. I do miss him a lot and so does Mulan….
Picture taken in Thorshavn (Faroe Isl.). Ólavsøku is a lot of things – well officially it’s a national holiday where we commemorate Olav II (later canonizes as “Saint Olav the Stout”) and the Faroese Parliament (Løgtingið) opens.
But for me, the true meaning of olavsøku, is meting old friend and family you havn’t seen for a long time and having fun. It’s “sinfull”, peaceful and lively at the same time….
It gives life a capitol “L”.
I have an old door that could do with a complete “makeover”. A couple weeks ago I tried a so-called chemical “paint remover”. The theory is very simple, apply remover to surface and voila after 10 min. – the pain can easily be scraped off. As you have guessed, that was the “theory” and reality is something completely different.
Basically, it doesn’t work! Even in the areas, that got more than ample, it hardly did any difference. To make it worse – the price-tag is steep (over 150 dk.kr.). I had really hoped, that this “magical product” could save me a lot of time and effort – but as to many times before, my hopes got shattered and burned… Rising from commercial hopes – to tragic reality.
What can I say – life is evil and too cruel some times!!
Now enough with the self pity and negativity. Last Thursday i bought a 2000W heat-gun, with a good assorted set of scrapers at a reasonable price. To remove what chemicals couldn’t. I’ve tried on a small patch – and I can say it’s a bit slow but darn effective.
My plan is as follows. I’ll get back as soon as I get started with pictures and text – so keep tuned in…
Well, it is definitely not a cat :=)
At last… I’ve returned to the photoworld and I’m able to take pictures. My last camera died tragically in a canoeing accident. She lies buried in a box up in the attic along with her to dear CF-cards. I haven’t been able to get rid of her. I must have taken at least 6000 pictures with her. Without bragging, my pictures turn out rather good.
Hopefully I will rekindle my love-affair with my new camera – she might not be that fancy but she’ll have to do…
